1970INDIANS
PITCHER
SAM MCDOWELL1970
Sam McDowellpitcher · 1970 indians
Ht 6'5"Wt 190Bats LThrows LBorn 1942 · Pittsburgh, PA
The summer of 1970, the league’s best hitters took their cuts against Sudden Sam and mostly whiffed. Twenty wins. Three hundred and four strikeouts. Three hundred and five innings. The man threw his fastball past the entire American League and walked away with The Sporting News’ Pitcher of the Year award. The control was still a tax on the thunder—131 walks will do that—but when he found the zone, Municipal Stadium turned into a museum of frozen bats. The crown summer. The frames ahead tell the rest.
20–12
Twenty wins · three hundred five innings — the crown summer.
304 K
Fifth AL strikeout title · frozen bats at Municipal Stadium.
TSN PITCHER OF THE YEAR
The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year — Sudden Sam’s loudest summer.
Major League Pitching — Year vs Life
| W | L | G | GF | SV | IP | SO | BB | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 20 | 12 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 305.0 | 304 | 131 | 2.92 |
| Life | 141 | 134 | 425 | 39 | 14 | 2492.1 | 2,453 | 1,312 | 3.17 |
SkillScore
107.671970 · CLE
ComponentsERA 2.92WHIP 1.20K/9 9.0
Sam McDowell, Cleveland Indians, circa 1968. Associated Press press photo / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (US — no notice).