WAR Room: Steve Carlton, sp, Cleveland Indians
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Steve Carlton was an amazing pitcher. 329 career wins, four Cy Young Awards, 10 All-Star selections, two-time World Series Champion, and of course, 1994 first ballot Hall of Famer. During his career–which lasted 24 seasons–he amassed 90.2 WAR, putting him 45th all-time. The nearest active player to him is Mike Trout, who is #52 with 85.2 WAR.
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When you think Steve Carlton, you probably think Philadelphia Phillies or, maybe, St. Louis Cardinals. After all, those are the teams he spent most of his career with. But, me…well, I think the same thing. But he was, for a second, a member of the Cleveland organization.
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Carlton signed with Cleveland in 1987, though he pitched poorly was traded to the Twins by July. But he did stay long enough to make some history: On April 9, 1987, Carlton came in to relieve Phil Niekro, pitching the final four innings in Cleveland’s 14-3 victory against the Blue Jays in Toronto. It marked the first time in MLB history that two 300-game winners pitched for the same team in the same game. Niekro would get the win, his 312th of his career.