The Cardinals' Starting 5: A Chance to Make History

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Although the Cardinals have their own 2015 ongoing thread in this section, I thought that this particular (potential) feat stood out enough to warrant it's own specific attention.

All 5 of the Cardinals current starting pitchers have ERA's under 3.00.

Jamie Garcia (1.77)

Michael Wacha (2.69)

Lance Lynn (2.80)

Carlos Martinez (2.91)

John Lackey (2.92)

These are the last 4 teams to have had 5 starting pitchers with ERA's all under 3.00.

1981 ASTROS

Nolan Ryan (1.69)

Bob Knepper (2.18)

Don Sutton (2.62)

Joe Niekro (2.82)

Vern Ruhle (2.91)

1972 ATHLETICS

Catfish Hunter (2.04)

Blue Moon Odom (2.50)

Ken Holtzman (2.51)

Vida Blue (2.80)

Dave Hamilton (2.93)

1968 METS

Jerry Koosman (2.08)

Tom Seaver (2.20)

Don Cardwell (2.95)

Dick Selma (2.75)

Jim McAndrew (2.28)

1944 CARDINALS

Red Munger (1.34)

Mort Cooper (2.46)

Ted Wilks (2.64)

Max Lanier (2.65)

Harry Brecheen (2.85)

That's impressive, but this is at least somewhat era-dependent. You're not going to find a team from 2000 on the list when the league ERA was near 5.00. In 19-and-aught-six the Cubs had six pitchers make at least 10 starts, and five of them had ERAs under 2.00. That was a very impressive team, but the median ERA that year was about 2.60.

That's impressive, but this is at least somewhat era-dependent. You're not going to find a team from 2000 on the list when the league ERA was near 5.00. In 19-and-aught-six the Cubs had six pitchers make at least 10 starts, and five of them had ERAs under 2.00. That was a very impressive team, but the median ERA that year was about 2.60.

Yes.

I believe that another consideration that should be factored in is the difference between the 4-man rotation and the 5-man rotation.

Back in the 40's, 50's, 60's, and early 70's, teams (for the most part) had 4-man rotations.

Hence, the 3 teams that ARE on the list from that/those eras (the 1944 Cardinals, the 1968 Mets, and the 1972 Athletics) might be even more impressive than that of the 2015 Cardinals and the 1981 Astros because of the fact that you had to have at least 5 pitchers on the team with at least 10 starts. In the last 35-40 years, every team has used a 5-man rotation (and subsequently almost always has had at least 5 pitchers with at least 10 starts), so the odds of it happening now (as opposed to then) are significantly higher, based on chance alone.

Yes.

I believe that another consideration that should be factored in is the difference between the 4-man rotation and the 5-man rotation.

Back in the 40's, 50's, 60's, and early 70's, teams (for the most part) had 4-man rotations.

Hence, the 3 teams that ARE on the list from that/those eras (the 1944 Cardinals, the 1968 Mets, and the 1972 Athletics) might be even more impressive than that of the 2015 Cardinals and the 1981 Astros because of the fact that you had to have at least 5 pitchers on the team with at least 10 starts. In the last 35-40 years, every team has used a 5-man rotation (and subsequently almost always has had at least 5 pitchers with at least 10 starts), so the odds of it happening now (as opposed to then) are significantly higher, based on chance alone.

Kind of. I would run a bb-ref query if I could here at work, but I think most teams prior to the 5-man rotation had many more than four starters. In fact, prior to sometime in the 1950s, many teams didn't use a regular rotation. It was basically impossible because of train travel and many, many more rainouts/doubleheaders. For example, Whitey Ford was the best pitcher on an epic dynasty, but until 1961 had never started more than 33 games in a season. The '54 Yanks (103-51 on the season) had one pitcher start 25 or more games (Ford with 28), but used 13 starters including seven who made 10 or more starts. The four-man rotation really was the rule only from about 1960 through sometime in the mid-1970s.

Kind of. I would run a bb-ref query if I could here at work, but I think most teams prior to the 5-man rotation had many more than four starters. In fact, prior to sometime in the 1950s, many teams didn't use a regular rotation. It was basically impossible because of train travel and many, many more rainouts/doubleheaders. For example, Whitey Ford was the best pitcher on an epic dynasty, but until 1961 had never started more than 33 games in a season. The '54 Yanks (103-51 on the season) had one pitcher start 25 or more games (Ford with 28), but used 13 starters including seven who made 10 or more starts. The four-man rotation really was the rule only from about 1960 through sometime in the mid-1970s.

OK, thanks for that info/clarification.

o

Although the Cardinals have their own 2015 ongoing thread in this section, I thought that this particular (potential) feat stood out enough to warrant it's own specific attention.

All 5 of the Cardinals current starting pitchers have ERA's under 3.00.

Jamie Garcia (1.77)

Michael Wacha (2.69)

Lance Lynn (2.80)

Carlos Martinez (2.91)

John Lackey (2.92)

These are the last 4 teams to have had 5 starting pitchers with ERA's all under 3.00.

1981 ASTROS

Nolan Ryan (1.69)

Bob Knepper (2.18)

Don Sutton (2.62)

Joe Niekro (2.82)

Vern Ruhle (2.91)

1972 ATHLETICS

Catfish Hunter (2.04)

Blue Moon Odom (2.50)

Ken Holtzman (2.51)

Vida Blue (2.80)

Dave Hamilton (2.93)

1968 METS

Jerry Koosman (2.08)

Tom Seaver (2.20)

Don Cardwell (2.95)

Dick Selma (2.75)

Jim McAndrew (2.28)

1944 CARDINALS

Red Munger (1.34)

Mort Cooper (2.46)

Ted Wilks (2.64)

Max Lanier (2.65)

Harry Brecheen (2.85)

FINAL SEASON TOTALS:

Jamie Garcia (2.43)

John Lackey (2.77)

Carlos Martinez (3.01)

Lance Lynn (3.03)

Michael Wacha (3.38)