Now that Bert Blyleven is in the Hall of Fame, let's look once more at Jack Morris and why he shouldn't be, since we have two years left to block him, to put it bluntly.
On Morris, and why he should get in the Baseball Hall of Fame, one "tout" for him has been that he was "The Pitcher of the 80s." But, a number of other people have noted, the 80s really kind of sucked in terms of starters, other than Nolan Ryan, who you'd really call more of a 70s pitcher.
Well, Roger Clemens actually won his first Cy in 1986. But, before that? Among starters?
Steve Stone, Pete Vuckovich, LaMarr Hoyt, Frank Viola and Brett Saberhagen (2) were the other AL starters to win the Cy in the 1980s besides Clemens. In the NL? During the 80s, you had Steve Carlton, a 70s pitcher, win twice, along with Orel Hershiser, Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden, Rick Sutcliffe, John Denny, Mark Davis, and Fernando Valenzuela. (Bruce Sutter, Steve Bedrosian, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley and Willie Hernandez won Cys in the 2 leagues as relievers.)
See, there's a LOT of UHHH? as far as long-term success of primarily 80s pitchers.
Hershiser was solid but a bit short of top level, and had too short a career. Mike Scott was a short-peak flash. Gooden? Sniff, sniff, and even more, chug, chug, we know what happened there. The others? Even lower. So, *somebody* had to be "top pitcher of the 80s" and it was Morris.
Another way to look at this? Ryan, in 1999, was the last "pure starter" (as opposed to the half-and-half Eckersley) to be elected to the Hall. Until yesterday, that is.
The 1980s just weren't a big pitchers' decade.
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