Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

with whom he won four

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

s as well as the 1980 World Series. He was elected to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. Nicknamed "Lefty", Carlton has the second-most lifetime

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s of any left-handed pitcher (4th overall), and the second-most lifetime wins of any left-handed pitcher (11th overall). He was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards in a career. He held the lifetime strikeout record several times between and , before his contemporary

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

passed him. One of his most remarkable records was accounting for nearly half (46%) of his team's wins, when he won 27 games for the last-place (59–97) Phillies. He is the last National League pitcher to win 25 or more games in one season, as well as the last pitcher from any team to throw more than 300 innings in a season. He also holds the record with the most career balks of any pitcher, with 90 (double the second on the all-time list, Bob Welch).

Early years

Carlton was born and raised in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, where he played

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationAmerican Legion Baseball during his youth. Steve was the only son of Joe and Anne Carlton and was raised with his sisters Joanne and Christina on 144th street in Miami. Joe Carlton was an airline maintenance worker. As a teenager, Carlton began reading and following the teachings of Eastern philosophy and

Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...

, who promoted greatness through meditation. He attended North Miami High School, playing baseball and basketball at first. Carlton had no plans beyond high school and showed little interest in his studies. As a senior, Carlton quit basketball to concentrate on pitching. He was teammates in high school with

Kurt Bevacqua Kurt Anthony Bevacqua (; born January 23, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from 1971 to 1985. Bevacqua is notable for his performance during the 1984 World Series when h ...

, and his teammate Richie Mehlich defeated

Charlie Hough Charles Oliver Hough (; born January 5, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) knuckleball pitcher and coach who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Florida Marlins from 1970 to 1994. Play ...

1–0 in the playoffs under Coach Jack Clark; Mehlich was later the victim of murder. After high school, Carlton played baseball at

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

North, where he pitched in relief on a strong team under Coach Demie Mainieri. In 1963, while a student at Miami-Dade, he signed with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

for a $5,000 bonus.$5,000 in 1963 is equivalent to $38,556.97 in 2014 dollars.

Minor leagues

In 1964, Carlton pitched for four teams as he quickly advanced through the Cardinals minor league system. He pitched for the Cardinals team in the Florida East Coast Instructional League going 2–3 with a 2.89 ERA; in 12 starts with the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...

of the Class A Northern League he was 4–4 with a 3.36 ERA; with the Rock Hill Cardinals of the Class A

Western Carolinas League Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland The Western Carolinas League was a Class D (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league base ...

he was 10–1 with a 1.03 ERA in 11 starts, earning a promotion to Class AA Tulsa. Carlton concluded 1964 with the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, going 1–1 with a 2.63 ERA in four games. Overall, Carlton was 15–6 with a 2.22 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 178 innings in 1964. In 1965, Carlton pitched one game and 5 innings of one-run ball with the Cardinals team in the Florida East Coast Instructional League and was promoted to the major league team. In 1966, Carlton started 19 games with the now Class AAA Tulsa Oilers of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, going 9–5 with a 3.59 ERA

Major league career (1965–1988)

St. Louis Cardinals (1965–1971)

Carlton debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals as a 20–year-old in 1965 and by was a regular in the Cardinals rotation. An imposing man () with a hard fastball and slider, Carlton was soon known as an intimidating and dominant pitcher. Carlton enjoyed immediate success in St. Louis, posting winning records and reaching the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and 1968. In 1967, Carlton was 14–9 with a 2.98 ERA in 28 starts. In 1968, he was 13–11 with a 2.99 ERA. On September 15, , Carlton struck out 19

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, while losing to the Mets, 4–3, setting the modern-day record at that time for strikeouts in a nine-inning game. He finished 1969 with a 17–11 record, a 2.17 ERA, second-lowest in the NL, and 210 strikeouts. In the

1967 World Series The 1967 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1967 Major League Baseball season, 1967 season. The 64th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL ...

, Carlton started Game 5 and pitched 6 strong innings, giving up only an unearned run, but taking a 3–1 loss. The Cardinals beat the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

to capture the World Series. In the

1968 World Series The 1968 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 Major League Baseball season, 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between American League (AL) ch ...

, Carlton pitched in two games in relief, giving up three runs over four innings as the Cardinals lost to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in seven games. A contract dispute with the Cardinals (he had made $26,000 in 1969 and was holding out for $50,000, as opposed to the Cardinals' contract offer for $31,000)made Carlton a no-show at spring training in . He proceeded to go 10–19 with a 3.73 ERA, leading the NL in losses. In , Carlton rebounded, going 20–9 with a 3.56 ERA, his first of six 20–win seasons. Following another salary dispute, Cardinals owner

Gussie Busch August Anheuser "Gussie" Busch Jr. (March 28, 1899 – September 29, 1989) was an American brewing magnate who built the Anheuser-Busch Companies into the largest brewery in the world by 1957 as company chairman from 1946 to 1975.Holian, Ti ...

ordered Carlton traded. The Cardinals were offering $55,000 and Carlton wanted $10,000 more. He was traded to the

on February 26, 1972, just before the season for pitcher

Rick Wise Richard Charles Wise (born September 13, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Re ...

. The trade is now considered one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history. However, at the time, the trade appeared to make sense from the Cardinals' perspective. Carlton had won 77 games to Wise's 75, and both were considered among the game's best pitchers.

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardinal ...

, who had caught for Carlton in St. Louis and for Wise in Philadelphia (and who would later become Carlton's personal catcher again with the Phillies), described the trade at the time as "a real good one for a real good one." He felt Carlton had more raw talent, but Wise had better command on the mound. Wise pitched in the majors for another 11 years (he pitched two seasons with the Cardinals before being traded to Boston), and the trade is reckoned as an epoch-making deal for the Phillies, as well as one of the worst trades in Cardinals history. Carlton was 77–62 with a 3.10 ERA in 190 games and 172 starts with the Cardinals over parts of seven seasons, with 66 complete games and 16 shutouts. He was selected to the NL All-Star team in 1968, 1969 and 1971.

Philadelphia Phillies (1972–1986)

In Carlton's first season with Philadelphia, he led the league in wins (27), complete games (30), strikeouts (310), and ERA (1.97), despite playing for a team whose final record was 59–97. His 1972 performance earned him his first

and the

Hickok Belt The S. Rae Hickok Professional Athlete of the Year award, known as the Hickok Belt, is a trophy that was awarded from 1950 to 1976 (27 years) to the top professional athlete of the year in the United States, and then re-established in 2012. It was ...

as the top professional athlete of the year. He became the first pitcher on a last-place team to win the Cy Young Award, and his winning percentage of 46% of his team's victories that season is a record in modern major league history. Carlton attributed his success to his grueling training regimen, which included Eastern

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

techniques, the most famous of which was twisting his fist to the bottom of a 5–gallon bucket of rice. Some highlights of Carlton's 1972 season included starting the season with 5 wins and 1 loss, then losing 5 games in a row, during which period the Phillies scored only 10 runs. At this point he began a 15–game winning streak. After it ended at a 20–6 record, he finished the final third of the year with 7 more wins and 4 losses, ending with 27 wins and 10 losses. Carlton also completed 30 of 41 starts. During the 18 games of the winning streak (3 were no-decisions), Carlton pitched 155 innings, allowed 103 hits and 28 runs (only 17 in the 15 winning games), allowed 39 walks, and had 140 strikeouts. From July 23, 1972, to August 13, 1972, he pitched five complete-game victories, allowed only 1 unearned run while only giving up 22 hits in 45 innings, and threw four shutouts. He had a fastball, a legendary slider, and a long looping curve ball; and later a change-up, then a screwball. Baseball commentators during 1972 regularly remarked that Carlton's slider was basically unhittable. "Auggie Busch traded me to the last-place Phillies over a salary dispute," reflected Carlton on his 1972 season. "I was mentally committed to winning 25 games with the Cardinals and now I had to re-think my goals. I decided to stay with the 25-win goal and won 27 of the Phillies' 59 victories. I consider that season my finest individual achievement."

Media silence

When Carlton slumped in , finishing 13–20 with a 3.90 ERA, the media's questioning of his unusual training techniques led to an acrimonious relationship between them and Carlton. In 1976, upon the advice of his lawyer Edward L. Wolf, he decided to sever all ties with the media, and refused to answer press questions for the rest of his career with the Phillies. When approached unbeknownst he was on live air in the early 1980s he hurled a sponsor's watch at the commentator's head in the pregame show. This reached a point where, in , while the Mexican rookie

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (, born November 1, 1960) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from to and to . While he played for six MLB teams, he is best remembered f ...

was achieving stardom with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, a reporter remarked, "The two best pitchers in the National League don't speak English: Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Carlton." "One thing I regret is that Philadelphia fans didn't see the same Steve Carlton we saw in our clubhouse," longtime Phillies teammate

Larry Bowa Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6, 1945) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Bowa went on to ma ...

said of Carlton's media silence. "He put up a mask when the writers came in. He was very consistent with the writers. He didn't talk to any of them." Carlton reflected on his longtime media silence, saying: "It (not talking to the media from 1974 through the end of his career) was perfect for me at the time. It took me two years to make up my mind. I was tired of getting slammed. To me it was a slap in the face. But it (his silence) made me concentrate better. And the irony is that they wrote better without access to my quotes. It's all quotes, anyway, and it all sounds the same to me. After that they wrote better and more interesting stuff. I took it personal. I got slammed quite a bit. To pick up the paper and read about yourself getting slammed, that doesn't start your day off right."

More success

Carlton continued to enjoy many years of success with the Phillies, winning the

in , , , and , and pitching the Phillies to the best string of post-season appearances in club history. Carlton was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards, a mark later matched by

Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...

, and exceeded by

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

and

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

. His Cy Young Award in 1972 was by unanimous vote, and he finished fifth in balloting for the National League MVP. Gradually the Phillies improved their team, and won the National League East Division three consecutive times from 1976 to 1978. In 1980, Carlton led the National League in victories (24), strikeouts (286) and

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(304) to help the Phillies win the 1980 World Series, their first title; he won the series' final game and was 2–0 with a 2.40 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15 innings in his two starts against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Carlton was the last major league pitcher to have 300 innings pitched in a season. Carlton won a

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

for his fielding in . On September 13, 1982, for the fourth time in his career, Carlton hit a home run and tossed a complete-game shutout in the same game. He is the only pitcher to have done so in three different decades. He helped the Phillies to another pennant in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, finishing 15–16 with a 3.11 ERA in 37 starts. but they lost to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in the World Series. Carlton was 2–0 with a 0.66 ERA against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, allowing 1 run in 13 innings with 13 strikeouts. In the 1983 World Series, Carlton was matched up against

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

in Game 3, where he gave up 2 earned runs in innings of a 3–2 loss. The Phillies lost the series in five games. On September 23, 1983, in a game against his former team, the

, Carlton won the 300th game of his career, becoming the 16th pitcher to accomplish the feat.

Race with Nolan Ryan and Gaylord Perry for the all–time strikeout record

Steve Carlton - Philadelphia Phillies - 1983

Over a three-year period between –, Carlton was involved in an interesting pitching duel with

and

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...

, in which they often traded places at the top of the all–time strikeout list. At the start of the 1983 season, the 55-year-old mark of

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

was 3,508 strikeouts, but there were three pitchers who were within 100 strikeouts of Johnson: Ryan (3,494), Perry (3,452), and Carlton (3,434). Ryan was the first to surpass Johnson on April 22,

against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. However a stint on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

shortly after he set the record, combined with a spectacular season by Carlton, allowed Carlton to make up ground and on June 7,

, Carlton passed Ryan as the all-time strikeout king with 3,526 to Ryan's 3,524. There were 14 lead changes and one tie that season, often after each of their respective starts, before the season ended with Carlton leading 3,709 to 3,677. Perry, aging and in his final season passed Johnson later to finish his career with 3,534 strikeouts. Since then, five other pitchers have surpassed Johnson's mark and Johnson has fallen to ninth place on the all-time strikeout list. There were five more lead changes and a tie in before Carlton ran out of gas. His last–ever lead in the all–time strikeout race was after his start on September 4,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, when he struck out four Cubs to lead Ryan by three (3,857 to 3,854). Although the season ended with a mere two–strikeout lead for Ryan (3,874 to 3,872), Carlton had an injury-riddled season in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and an even worse season in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

before being released by the Phillies just 18 strikeouts short of 4,000. On his longtime Phillies teammate

Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 18-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a ...

, Carlton said, "Schmitty provided what pitchers need most, home runs and great defense. He's the best third baseman that I ever played with, and maybe of all-time. Obvious Hall of Famer, even then. He retired while on top of his game. I thought for sure he was going to hit 600 home runs." In 15 seasons with the Phillies, Carlton was 241–161 with a 3.09 ERA. He started 499 games with 185 complete games, 39 shutouts and 3,031 strikeouts against 1,252 walks in 3,697 innings. He was a seven–time All–Star with the Phillies and won the NL Cy Young Award four times: in 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982.

San Francisco Giants (1986)

After being released by the Phillies, Carlton joined the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

; he also briefly broke his self-imposed boycott of the media to give a press conference after signing with the Giants. Carlton pitched seven shutout innings in a game against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, in which he also hit a 3–run homer, for his only win as a Giant. Overall, Carlton went 1–3 with a 5.10 ERA in six games for the Giants.

4,000th strikeout

Carlton collected his 4,000th career strikeout, striking out Eric Davis in an 11–6 Giants loss to the Reds in San Francisco on August 5, 1986. He became just the second pitcher to reach the 4,000 strikeout mark, after Nolan Ryan. Two days after the milestone, Carlton announced his retirement on August 7, 1986. "Upon reflection, I realized that I've reached a career milestone never before accomplished by a pitcher spending his entire career in one league," Carlton said in a statement. "I realize that the San Francisco Giants are committed to the younger players in their organization, specifically the talented young men on their pitching staff."

Chicago White Sox (1986)

Carlton's retirement was brief; he had not submitted paperwork for the voluntary retired list nor did he submit a letter of retirement to the National League. Carlton subsequently signed with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

for the remainder of the season on August 11, 1986. With the White Sox, Carlton went 4–3 with a 3.69 ERA. Overall, Carlton's 1986 numbers (with three teams) were a 9–14 win–loss record, with a 5.10 ERA.

Cleveland Indians (1987)

In 1987, Carlton joined the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. There he became teammates with contemporary

Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 31 ...

. In a game against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, they became the first teammates and 300-game winners to appear in the same game, a 10–6 Yankee victory. It was Carlton's only pitching appearance in Yankee Stadium, having spent the majority of his career in the National League before the inception of

interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pr ...

. (He was selected to the 1977 National League All-Star team which was held in Yankee Stadium, but he did not appear in the game.)

Minnesota Twins (1987–1988)

Carlton was traded to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in late July 1987. He went a combined 6–14 with a 5.74 ERA for both the Indians and Twins. The Twins won the 1987 World Series, albeit without Carlton on the postseason roster, to earn him a third

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

. Carlton made the trip to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

to meet President

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

along with his Twins teammates. When Carlton was photographed with his teammates at the White House, newspapers listed each member of the team with the notable exception of Carlton. Instead, Carlton was listed as an "unidentified

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

agent." He made the

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

roster in , pitching in four games (0–1 with a 16.76 ERA), before being released by the Twins on April 23, 1988, after surrendering eight runs in five innings in his final game. No teams signed Carlton for the remainder of the 1988 season.

Retirement

Carlton remained unsigned in . The

offered him the use of their facilities for training purposes, but guaranteed no spot in spring training. Carlton subsequently retired at age 44. Nolan Ryan pitched until and extended his strikeout lead over Carlton to almost 1,600 before retiring. Carlton eventually fell to third and then fourth place on the all–time strikeout list after

and

passed him.

Career statistics

Carlton was an accomplished hitter for a pitcher. In his career, he hit .201 with 13 home runs, 123 runs and 140 RBI in 1,710 career at-bats. In the postseason, Carlton hit .222 overall, with a home run in the 1978 National League Championship Series. Defensively, he recorded a .952

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

, which was the league average at his position.

Legacy

A ten-time All-Star, Carlton led the league in many pitching categories. He

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

4,136 batters in his career, setting a record for a left-handed pitcher (since surpassed by

), and holds many other records for both left-handed and Phillies pitchers. His 329 career wins are the eleventh most in baseball history, behind

, and

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

among pitchers of the

live-ball era The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in (and continuing to the present day), contrasting with the pre-1920 period known as the "dead-ball era". The name "live-ball era" comes ...

(post–). He is also second (behind

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

) in major league history for the most consecutive starts with at least six innings pitched (69), which was snapped in April 1982. Phillies announcer and Hall of Famer

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...

said of Carlton as a pitcher, "Lefty was a craftsman, an artist. He was a perfectionist. He painted a ballgame. Stroke, stroke, stroke, and when he got through (pitching a game) it was a masterpiece." Carlton picked 144 runners off base, by far the most in Major League Baseball since pickoff records began being collected in 1957.

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

is second with 98. Although he never threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

, Carlton pitched six one–hitters, 11th most in baseball history. Carlton had 90 career balks, the most in history. Carlton was elected to the

in with 95.82% of the vote, one of the highest percentages ever. The Philadelphia Phillies retired Carlton's number 32 in 1989. The Philadelphia Phillies honored him with a statue outside

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The stad ...

in 2004. In 1998, ''The Sporting News'' ranked Carlton number 30 on its list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players. In 1999, Carlton was a nominee for the

Major League Baseball All-Century Team In 1999, the Major League Baseball All-Century Team was chosen by popular vote of fans. To select the team, a panel of experts first compiled a list of the 100 greatest Major League Baseball (MLB) players from the 20th century. Over two million fa ...

. Despite his career-long rivalry with Ryan, Carlton maintains his greatest rival was

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

. His losing 19-strikeout effort against the Mets was a microcosm of his career against them. While he posted 30 wins against them during his career, they bested him 36 times. Carlton appeared in an episode of '' Married... with Children'', playing himself in an episode where former athletes humiliate

Al Bundy Al Bundy is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series '' Married... with Children''. Played by Ed O'Neill, Bundy is a misanthropic, working-class father of two who is portrayed as a somewhat tragicomedic figur ...

while filming a shoe commercial. In the episode,

Kelly Bundy The show '' Married... with Children'' revolves around Al Bundy, his wife Peggy, children Kelly and Bud, their next-door neighbor Marcy, and her husband Steve Rhoades—who leaves in Season 4 and is eventually replaced by Jefferson D'Arcy. Overv ...

asks him for an autograph and he is shown writing with his right hand. Media charges of bigotry and anti-Semitism In 1994, he agreed to an interview with writer Pat Jordan at his home in

Durango, Colorado Durango is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States Census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis Coll ...

. The result was the story "Thin Mountain Air" in the April 1994 issue of ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

''. The article was noted by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as being the source of numerous claims about Steve Carlton's political and social beliefs: "According to Pat Jordan, the writer of the article, Carlton alternately said that the world is ruled or controlled by the Russian and United States Governments, which fill the air with low-frequency sound waves, the Elders of Zion, British intelligence agencies, 12 Jewish bankers meeting in Switzerland and a committee of 300 which meets at a roundtable in Rome. Not only that, but Carlton also charges, according to Jordan, that President Clinton has a black son he won't acknowledge and that the AIDS virus was created at a secret Maryland biological warfare laboratory to get rid of gays and blacks. The same ''New York Times'' article notes that teammate Tim McCarver defended Carlton against charges of being a bigot and an anti–Semite, though he acknowledged "If he's guilty of anything, it's believing some of the material he reads. Does he become confused with his reading about radical things? Yes. I've told him that. Does that translate into him being anti-Semitic? No." In an interview with ESPN's

Roy Firestone Roy Firestone (born December 8, 1953) is an American sports commentator and journalist. Firestone is a graduate of Miami Beach High School and the University of Miami. Television career Firestone began his career as a sports anchor and repor ...

, Firestone asked Carlton, “Why do you think you were put on this earth?” Carlton answered, “To teach the world how to throw a slider.”

Personal

Carlton was married to Beverly for 33 years, divorcing in 1998. The couple has two sons. As of 2017, Carlton lives in

. Carlton has an orchard and 150 fruit trees, saying, "Before Al Gore was green, I was green," Of his healthy partnership with St. Lukes, he added "I'm interested in this 'fit for life' idea, we're trying to get people off the couch, move a little bit, not a sedentary life. ... St. Luke's and myself, we're on the same page as far as how we think about that. I'm not on the medicine side, but I've been trained well. I know a lot of different arts. That's what I'm interested in." Carlton does not have a television and doesn't follow daily baseball, saying "I don't know these players anymore, (I know) some of the coaches, but I've moved on. Something else to do, there's more to it. I owned it for 24 years. I played it, so I don't need to do it again. I'm on to different things." Speaking about today's pitch counts, Carlton said, "I wasn't raised in this environment, so I think differently. These guys don't know anything but pitch counts. I would balk at it because I don't agree with it, but they can't go up against it because that's all they know. Philosophically I don't agree with it because I think these guys are not really in shape because they don't throw enough. You need to throw so much so the tendons, ligaments, the muscle and bone get bigger, denser, stronger to be able to handle the stress of throwing. I don't think they throw enough. 100 pitches is not a lot. You warm up with 100 pitches. Then you throw your 200. We threw 185 pitches in a game." Said his longtime teammate and personal catcher

, "When Steve (Carlton) and I die, we are going to be buried in the same cemetery, sixty feet, six inches apart."

Honors

* In 1989, Carlton's #32 was retired by the Philadelphia Phillies. * Carlton was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. * Carlton was elected to the

in 1994. * In 2004, the Philadelphia Phillies erected a statue of Carlton, displayed outside

Notes

References

External links

Steve Carlton
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Steve Carlton
at Baseball Almanac
Steve Carlton
at Baseball Biography *Steve Carlton {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlton, Steve 1944 births American conspiracy theorists Baseball players from Miami Columbus Clippers players Living people National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees National League All-Stars Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Minnesota Twins players Philadelphia Phillies players San Francisco Giants players St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball pitchers Cy Young Award winners Gold Glove Award winners National League Pitching Triple Crown winners National League ERA champions National League strikeout champions National League wins champions Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Winnipeg Goldeyes players Rock Hill Cardinals players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players