Complete game
In
The frequency of complete games has evolved since the early days of baseball. The complete game was essentially an expectation in the early 20th century and pitchers completed almost all of the games they started. In modern baseball, the feat is much more rare and no pitcher has reached 30 complete games in a season since 1975; in the 21st century, a pitcher has thrown 10 or more complete games in a season only twice.
Historical trend
Year | Games started | Complete games | Complete game % | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1904 | 2,496 | 2,186 | 87.6 | [2] |
1914 | 3,758 | 2,067 | 55.0 | [2] |
1924 | 2,462 | 1,198 | 48.7 | [2] |
1934 | 2,446 | 1,061 | 43.4 | [2] |
1944 | 2,484 | 1,123 | 45.2 | [2] |
1954 | 2,472 | 840 | 34.0 | [2] |
1964 | 3,252 | 797 | 24.5 | [2] |
1974 | 3,890 | 1,089 | 28.0 | [2] |
1984 | 4,210 | 632 | 15.0 | [2] |
1994 | 3,200 | 255 | 8.0 | [2] |
2004 | 4,854 | 150 | 3.1 | [2] |
2014 | 4,860 | 118 | 2.4 | [3] |
In the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start, barring injury or ejection. Pitchers were expected to complete games they started. Over the course of the 20th century, complete games became less common, to the point where a modern pitcher may pitch an entire season without throwing a complete game. (In the 2023 MLB season, 0.7% of starts were complete games.)[4] To put this in perspective, as recently as the 1980s, 10–15 complete games a year by a star pitcher was not unheard of, and in 1980, Oakland Athletics pitcher Rick Langford threw 22 consecutive complete games.[5] Years earlier, Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies threw 28 consecutive complete games, spanning the 1952 and 1953 seasons. In 1962, a news article detailed Bo Belinsky's concern when he failed to complete six starts in a row.[6]
This change has been brought about by strict adherence to
Career leaders
- Cy Young – 749
- Pud Galvin – 646
- Tim Keefe – 554
- Walter Johnson – 531
- Kid Nichols – 531
- Bobby Mathews – 525
- Mickey Welch – 525
- Charley Radbourn– 489
- John Clarkson – 485
- Tony Mullane – 468
- Jim McCormick – 466
- Gus Weyhing – 448
- Grover Cleveland Alexander – 437
- Christy Mathewson – 434
- Jack Powell – 422
- Eddie Plank – 410
- Will White – 394
- Amos Rusie – 392
- Vic Willis – 388
- Tommy Bond – 386
All pitchers above are right-handed, except for Eddie Plank. All also played most or all of their careers before the start of the modern live-ball era of baseball, which began during the 1920 season and was fully established in 1921. Among pitchers whose entire careers were in the live-ball era, the all-time leader in complete games is Warren Spahn, whose total of 382 places him 21st all-time.
Active career leaders
Through April 9, 2022, the top 10 active players who lead MLB in career complete games were:[11]
Rank | Name | Complete games |
---|---|---|
1 | Adam Wainwright | 27 |
2 | Justin Verlander | 26 |
3 | Clayton Kershaw | 25 |
4 | Corey Kluber | 18 |
5 | Zack Greinke | 17 |
David Price | 17 | |
7 | Madison Bumgarner | 16 |
Chris Sale | 16 | |
9 | Dallas Keuchel | 12 |
Max Scherzer | 12 |
Single-season leaders
- Will White – 75 (1879)
- Charley Radbourn– 73 (1884)
- (tie) Pud Galvin – 72 (1883)
- (tie) Guy Hecker – 72 (1884)
- (tie) Jim McCormick – 72 (1880)
- Pud Galvin – 71 (1884)
- (tie) John Clarkson –68 (1885)
- (tie) John Clarkson – 68 (1889)
- (tie) Tim Keefe – 68 (1883)
- Bill Hutchison – 67 (1892)
- (tie) Jim Devlin – 66 (1876)
- (tie) Matt Kilroy – 66 (1886)
- (tie) Matt Kilroy –66 (1887)
- (tie) Charley Radbourn– 66 (1883)
- (tie) Toad Ramsey – 66 (1886)
- (tie) Pud Galvin – 65 (1879)
- (tie) Bill Hutchison – 65 (1890)
- (tie) Jim McCormick –65 (1882)
- Silver King – 64 (1888)
- (tie) Tony Mullane – 64 (1884)
- (tie) Mickey Welch – 64 (1880)
- (tie) Will White – 64 - (1883)
All pitchers were right-handed except Matt Kilroy and Toad Ramsey. The record for complete games in a live-ball season is 36, set by Bob Feller in 1946.[12]
Other records
- Jack Taylor completed 187 consecutive games he started between 1901 and 1906.[13]
- Leon Cadore and Joe Oeschger share the record for the longest complete game, achieved when they pitched against each other in a 26-inning marathon that ended in a 1–1 tie on May 1, 1920.[14]
- Allan Traversallowed 26 hits and 24 runs in a 1912 complete game, both still records.
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-15-600580-7. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Baseball Prospectus 2007, p.75
- Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Rick Langford Game Logs 1980 Season
- ^ Richman, Milton (June 22, 1962). "Belinsky Finally Wins 7th". The Gadsden Times. p. 8. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Baseball Prospectus 2007, p.79
- ^ June 14, 1974 Boxscore, Red Sox vs. Angels
- ISBN 978-1-60078-312-8.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Games Started". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- ^ "Active Career Leaders in Complete Games". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ [2]
- ^ "SABR's Baseball Biography Project: Jack Taylor". Archived from the original on 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ Complete Games Records by Baseball Almanac
References
- ISBN 978-0-465-00547-5. Retrieved March 5, 2011.