100 wins and still with his original team

Thanks to offseason transactions, Justin Verlander is now the only active 100-game winner who is still with his original team. Verlander is signed with Detroit for another three years.

As you see in the table below, there were two such pitchers at the end of 2011, both toiling in the Windy City:

Rk Player Franch. W ▾ L ERA ERA+ WAR From To Age G GS CG SHO IP BB SO HR Tm
1 Mark Buehrle 1 161 119 3.83 120 46.6 2000 2011 21-32 390 365 27 8 2476.2 564 1396 274 CHW
2 Carlos Zambrano 1 125 81 3.60 122 31.8 2001 2011 20-30 319 282 9 4 1826.2 823 1542 152 CHC
3 Justin Verlander 1 107 57 3.54 124 27.2 2005 2011 22-28 199 199 14 5 1315.1 410 1215 118 DET
4 Ervin Santana 1 87 67 4.22 101 15.8 2005 2011 22-28 206 203 13 6 1297.2 414 1034 164 LAA
5 Brandon Webb 1 87 62 3.27 142 29.2 2003 2009 24-30 199 198 15 8 1319.2 435 1065 92 ARI
6 Felix Hernandez 1 85 67 3.24 129 29.1 2005 2011 19-25 205 205 18 4 1388.1 424 1264 116 SEA
7 Jered Weaver 1 82 47 3.31 128 26.8 2006 2011 23-28 177 177 8 4 1131.2 308 977 121 LAA
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/3/2012.

But those 2011 leaders are now both with Miami: Mark Buehrle went free agent after 161 wins in the pale hose (#6 on the franchise list, 2 shy of Wilbur Wood), while Carlos Zambrano was mercy-traded to the Marlins after wearing out his welcome both on and off the Wrigley playing field. Big Z is #11 on the Cubs’ career list with 125 wins, 3 short of Pete Alexander.

Only three other active one-team pitchers have 80+ wins: Ervin Santana (87) and Jered Weaver (82) of the Angels, and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez (85), who is the active SP leader in WAR for his original team (29.1 to Verlander’s 27.2). All three are under contract for at least the next two years, though there is much trade speculation about King Felix.

Buehrle’s departure from the South Side means that Ron Guidry remains the one-franchise leader in the free-agent era with 170 wins:

Rk Player Franch. W ▾ L ERA ERA+ WAR From To Age G GS CG SHO SV IP BB SO HR Tm
1 Ron Guidry 1 170 91 3.29 119 44.4 1975 1988 24-37 368 323 95 26 4 2392.0 633 1778 226 NYY
2 Mark Buehrle 1 161 119 3.83 120 46.6 2000 2011 21-32 390 365 27 8 0 2476.2 564 1396 274 CHW
3 Brad Radke 1 148 139 4.22 113 41.4 1995 2006 22-33 378 377 37 10 0 2451.0 445 1467 326 MIN
4 Dennis Leonard 1 144 102 3.68 107 24.2 1975 1986 24-35 307 298 103 23 1 2165.0 610 1315 202 KCR
5 Jim Palmer 1 139 83 2.98 124 35.8 1975 1984 29-38 290 278 113 27 2 2081.1 622 1035 170 BAL
6 Scott McGregor 1 138 108 3.99 99 17.5 1976 1988 22-34 356 309 83 23 5 2140.2 518 904 235 BAL
7 Steve Rogers 1 133 125 3.13 117 40.3 1975 1985 25-35 344 338 111 33 2 2450.0 747 1403 127 MON
8 Carlos Zambrano 1 125 81 3.60 122 31.8 2001 2011 20-30 319 282 9 4 0 1826.2 823 1542 152 CHC
9 Bob Stanley 1 115 97 3.64 119 21.5 1977 1989 22-34 637 85 21 7 132 1707.0 471 693 113 BOS
10 Paul Splittorff 1 113 91 3.91 102 11.5 1975 1984 28-37 296 262 50 8 1 1697.2 520 627 134 KCR
11 Justin Verlander 1 107 57 3.54 124 27.2 2005 2011 22-28 199 199 14 5 0 1315.1 410 1215 118 DET
12 Mario Soto 1 100 92 3.47 108 26.9 1977 1988 20-31 297 224 72 13 4 1730.1 657 1449 172 CIN
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/3/2012.

From 1920 through 1974 — comprising 958 team-seasons — there were 30 pitchers with at least 200 wins, of which 15 won 200+ on behalf of one team (whether or not they also pitched elsewhere). But since the dawn of free agency in 1975 (comprising 1,024 team-seasons), only 3 out of 23 pitchers with 200 wins did so for one team: teammates Tom Glavine (244) and John Smoltz (210) with Atlanta, and Andy Pettitte (203) with the Yankees. Three more came close: Jack Morris won 198 with Detroit, Greg Maddux 194 with Atlanta and Roger Clemens 192 with Boston.

Sidebar: Verlander and Weaver have been linked ever since they were drafted in 2004:

  • Verlander went #2 over all that year, while Weaver (the collegiate player of the year) slipped to #12 due to “signability concerns” (Latin name: Borasthesia).
  • Both were MLB fixtures within 2 years; Verlander broke camp with the 2006 Tigers and wound up as Rookie of the Year, while Weaver was called up in late May and placed 5th on that ballot.
  • Each has at least 11 wins every year since 2006; they rank #1 and #4 in AL wins in that span.
  • Verlander led the majors in strikeouts last year, Weaver the year before.
  • Verlander edged Weaver for the AL ERA crown last year, 2.40 to 2.41.
  • Verlander also holds a slim edge in their 5 career face-offs, with a 3-2 record and 3.89 ERA, compared to 2-3, 4.50 for Weaver.
  • Their career bWAR values are virtually the same — 27.2 for Verlander, 26.8 for Weaver.

 

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DaveR
DaveR
12 years ago

I have been a Padres fan since I started following baseball in 1977. It is disappointing to me that the franchise leaders in wins (100) and home runs (163) will likely never be broken because of free agency.

vivaeljason
vivaeljason
12 years ago
Reply to  DaveR

It always shocks me how LOW the Padres home run total is. I mean, if you look at the list of franchise leaders, you get legendary names like Ruth, Williams, Aaron, Schmidt, Killebrew, and Mays as well as guys who aren’t on that same tier but still who had a run of dominance (the Mets and Darryl Strawberry spring to mind, as well as the Blue Jays and Carlos Delgado). Then you get the Padres and Nate Colbert. Granted, some teams have lower home run setters (the Marlins have Dan Uggla at 154 and the Rays have Carlos Pena at… Read more »

DaveR
DaveR
12 years ago
Reply to  vivaeljason

Yeah, he was just a couple back. Maybe in ten years, the Padres can reaquire him near the end of his career and he can hit a few more. You know that the record will STILL be there for him to break!

Luis Gomez
Luis Gomez
12 years ago
Reply to  DaveR

How about Jake Peavy? He was within striking distance of the Padres career wins record before being traded to Chicago.

Hub Kid
Hub Kid
12 years ago
Reply to  Luis Gomez

Of course neither Adrian Gonzalez nor Jake Peavy fit John A.’s exact criteria of counting stats achieved while on the original team only. Jake Peavy does fit them more closely: the Padres were his original team, unlike Adrian Gonzalez, who did spend some time with the Rangers (although I’d forgotten until checking b-ref). It would be nifty to see him return for 8-9 more wins with the Padres, although it doesn’t seem very likely. There are lots of ways to quibble about “single team players,” and I guess they are mostly technicalities. This is a great post; i personally find… Read more »

DaveR
DaveR
12 years ago
Reply to  Luis Gomez

Yeah, but the Padres have to get him soon, because he looks close to done. Maybe Randy Jones can toe it up for a few more.

Lawrence Azrin
Lawrence Azrin
12 years ago
Reply to  vivaeljason

Dave R, Vivaeljason;

Yeah, I was really surprised that the Padres all-time HR was only 163; I guessed “Dave Winfield”, but he was a little short at 151. Tony Gwynn spent his entire 20-year career with the Padres, but he was no HR-hitter.

Until Frank Thomas came along,I think that the White Sox’s career HR leader was similarly surprisingly low {Bill Melton?}.

ajnrules
ajnrules
12 years ago

Pitchers that spent their entire careers with one teams are pretty rare even before the free agent era. Walter Johnson holds the all-time record for wins for a single team with 417, and he’s the only member of the 300-win club that spent his entire career with one club. Even if you extend it to the 250-win club, the only people who got all their wins with one team are Jim Palmer (268), Bob Feller (266), Ted Lyons (260), Red Faber (254), Carl Hubbell (253), and Bob Gibson (251).

Dr. Doom
Dr. Doom
12 years ago

Wow… spammed three comments in a row. You’ve really hit the big time, fellas!

Anyway, great post, JA. I hadn’t ever really thought about this topic, and it’s a good one. As much as almost everyone around here decries pitcher wins (and rightfully so) they can still be helpful for things like this “study.” Anyway, I can’t believe Bradke is #2 on the FA era list. He’s one of my all-time faves.

Hartvig
Hartvig
12 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Doom

What? Gazpacho Recipe Informational Website isn’t a real person? Say it isn’t so. Odd too that both current leaders went to the same team. Buehrle has long been a favorite of mine and has always reminded me of Jim Kaat- good fielding lefty who doesn’t mess around on the mound. It does seem that more pitchers are starting to realize the more time you spend on the field on a hot & humid summer day the greater a toll it takes on your pitching as well as the defense you have playing behind you. If I were a catcher for… Read more »

vivaeljason
vivaeljason
12 years ago
Reply to  Hartvig

I am *SO* changing my user name to Gazpacho Recipe Informational Website.

kds
kds
12 years ago
Reply to  vivaeljason

That’s taken, how about Vichyssoise Recipe Informational Website. Of course potatoes and leaks will refer to different baseball players than tomatoes, cucumber, onions and garlic.

Mike L
Mike L
12 years ago

Really interesting post. I also wonder whether the decline also correlates to the movement to five man rotations, the increased use of bullpens and reduction in complete games.

Andy
Admin
12 years ago

Yeah I manually spam a few comments on my threads but I’ll leave it up to JA and Raphy to do it on their own posts 🙂

Latefortheparty
Latefortheparty
12 years ago

I wonder which of those non-Buehrle, non-Zambrano pitchers will a) spend the most time with one team and b) win the most with that one team. Predictions? Speculations? WAGs? I’m confident it won’t be Webb.

Hartvig
Hartvig
12 years ago

As a Tiger fan I’m really hoping it will be Verlander in Detroit for another 200 or so wins.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
12 years ago

Ervin Santana (87) and Jered Weaver (82) of the Angels, and Seattle’s Felix Hernandez (85) of Seattle

I think you’ve garbled the syntax for the wrong team, John.

(-:þ

Dr. Remulak
Dr. Remulak
12 years ago

Sad in a way that Guidry’s 170 is #1 in the free agent era.

Dr. Remulak
Dr. Remulak
12 years ago

Pettitte’s unfortunate 3-year exile in Houston kept him off this list.

Question (and recognizing that W-L records are derided in these parts): How many pitchers who are >100 games above .500 are NOT in the HOF?

Dr. Remulak
Dr. Remulak
12 years ago

Pettitte’s unfortunate 3-year exile in Houston kept him off this list.

Question (recognizing the general disdain for W-L here): how many pitchers who are >100 games over .500 are NOT in the HOF?

MikeD
MikeD
12 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Remulak

I believe all pitchers 100+ games over .500 are in the HOF, with the exception of two — Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte. Of course, neither are yet eligible. I fully support Mussina’s case. In my book he’s a no-brainer. Pettitte is a better pitcher than some people want to credit, and he would not lower the standard of the Hall, but he falls short in my book. His best chance would have been consistent “very goodness” (sorry!)over a long period. His best chance would have been to get up into the 280-career win category, coupled with by then would… Read more »

Doug
Doug
12 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Remulak

You can add these recent, soon to be Hall-eligible guys to the list. All should make the Hall, IMHO.
• Greg Maddux, 355-227
• Roger Clemens, 354-184
• Tom Glavine, 305-203
• Randy Johnson, 303-166
• Pedro Martinez, 219-100

Have to go back to the 19th century to find someone who missed the Hall.
• Bob Caruthers, 218-99

NJ Baseball
12 years ago

I understand the reason for limiting the list to the era of free agency, but why only count wins earned during the free-agency era? Palmer had 268 in his career, all with the Orioles, and though his entire career wasn’t played in the FA era, obviously a good chunk of it was — meaning he did have the option to pitch for another team should he have chosen to do so.

MikeD
MikeD
12 years ago

Verlander and King Felix certainly have both the ability, and youth, to challenge for the record. It’ll all come down to if their teams can afford to keep them. As the Tigers just showed with Prince Fielder, the Tigers certainly can afford to pay Verlander. King Felix might be more tricky. The Mariners are not a small-market team and they have access to plenty of cash, yet that doesn’t mean they still won’t trade Hernandez for the right package of prospects.

My guess is one of these two guys — probably Verlander — will take the #1 spot eventually.

Doug
Doug
12 years ago

This is the first time in the free-agent era that there has been only one pitcher with 100 career wins still playing for his first team. Here’s the list. 2011, 1, Verlander 2010, 2, Buehrle, Zambrano 2009, 5, Buehrle, Zambrano, Halladay, Lackey, Oswalt 2008, 4, Buehrle, Halladay, Oswalt, Smoltz 2007, 5, Buehrle, Halladay, Oswalt, Sabathia, Smoltz 2006, 3, Radke, Smoltz, Zito 2005, 3, Radke, Smoltz, Morris 2004, 2, Radke, Smoltz 2003, 3, Pettitte, Radke, Smoltz 2002, 6, Glavine, Nagy, Pettitte, Radke, Reynolds, Smoltz 2001, 5, Glavine, Nagy, Pettitte, Reynolds, Smoltz 2000, 5, Glavine, Nagy, Pettitte, Mussina, Smoltz 1999, 6, Finley,… Read more »

AlvaroEspinoza
AlvaroEspinoza
12 years ago

Mariano Rivera is not too far behind on that list with 75 wins.