Pitching 2+ Season Openers @ Age 23 Or Younger Since 1919
Posted by Steve L. on March 22nd, 2012 · Comments (2)
It’s a small list -
| Rk | Player | #Matching 6 | W | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Feller | 3 | Ind. Games | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Fernando Valenzuela | 3 | Ind. Games | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Don Drysdale | 3 | Ind. Games | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Felix Hernandez | 3 | Ind. Games | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | Bert Blyleven | 3 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Dwight Gooden | 3 | Ind. Games | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | Gary Nolan | 2 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Larry Dierker | 2 | Ind. Games | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Catfish Hunter | 2 | Ind. Games | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Scott Kazmir | 2 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | Pete Donohue | 2 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Dennis Eckersley | 2 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | CC Sabathia | 2 | Ind. Games | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Frank Tanana | 2 | Ind. Games | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Van Mungo | 2 | Ind. Games | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | Josh Beckett | 2 | Ind. Games | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Pedro Ramos | 2 | Ind. Games | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | Gary Bell | 2 | Ind. Games | 1 | 0 |
.
These are some “brand” names – and a few not so brand…
Pete Donahue was an interesting case. DYK that by the time he turned 26 he had a career record of 82-53 (.609), won 20 games 3 times, and had led the NL in different years in Wins, Winning Percentage, Complete Games, and Innings Pitched? Then his career just collapsed. That happened to a few of the fireballers on the list here, but none I think so drastic as Donahue.
Correction. On his 26th birthday Donohue actually had a record of 103-67 (.606)—jeez, my math is bad. Anyway, at that age the closest pitcher to him by similarity scores is Waite Hoyt. Donohue was an All American pitcher at TCU in 1921 and made his MLB debut that summer for the Cincinnati Reds.