The Yankees’ Roger Clemens posted his 20th victory of the season Sept. 19 vs. the White Sox 6-3. He is only the eighth major-leaguer to register a 20-victory season after the age of 39. He is the first AL pitcher since Early Wynn of the 1959 White Sox to win 20 after his 39th birthday. The oldest 20-game winner was 42-year-old Warren Spahn, who went 23-7 for the 1963 Milwaukee Braves. The eight who recorded 20 or more victories in a season 11 times were:
PITCHER YEAR AGE TEAM REC.
Cy Young 1907 40 Red Sox 21-15
Young 1908 41 Red Sox 21-11
Grover Alexander 1927 40 Cardinals 21-10
Spud Chandler 1946 39 Yankees 20-8
Early Wynn 1959 39 White Sox 22-10
Warren Spahn 1960 39 Braves 21-10
Spahn 1961 40 Braves 21-13
Spahn 1963 42 Braves 23-7
Gaylord Perry 1978 40 Padres 21-6
Phil Niekro 1979 40 Braves 21-20
Roger Clemens 2001 39 Yankees 20-1
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Doing it all
If Cleveland’s Roberto Alomar maintains the .336 batting average he had through Wednesday, he will become just the fifth big-leaguer to bat .330 or better and have at least 20 doubles, 10 triples, 20 homers, 20 stolen bases and 100 RBIs in a season. Alomar would join Ken Williams of the 1922 St. Louis Browns as the only AL players to accomplish the feat. The National Leaguers who turned the trick were Babe Herman in 1929, Chuck Klein in 1932 and Dave Parker in 1978.
Finishing school
The Oakland A’s have had a stellar second half. The A’s were 44-43 at the All-Star Break but have gone 50-15 through Wednesday Thursday to secure the AL wild-card berth in the postseason. So far, they have posted a second-half winning percentage of .769 that is the second-best in major-league history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 1954 Cleveland Indians set the record for highest second-half winning percentage going 61-19 for a .775 mark en route to an overall record of 111-43. The four best winning percentages after the break are (* – ongoing):
YEAR TEAM WIN PCT. REC.
1954 Indians .775 61-19
2001 A’s* .769 50-15
1942 Cardinals .768 63-19
1953 Dodgers .753 55-18
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The 9th century
The Arizona Diamondbacks became the seventh NL team, and the first since the 1979 St. Louis Cardinals, to have nine players with 100 hits each in a season. Damian Miller was the ninth Diamondback to reach the century mark when he singled in the second inning Sept. 22. Other NL teams that had nine players with 100 hits apiece were the 1923 Philadelphia Phillies, the 1928 New York Giants, the 1929 Pittsburgh Pirates, the 1972 Pirates and the 1976 Pirates.
