There was a time where 250 wins was kind of a line of demarcation for a pitcher. Two-fifty wins got you into the Hall pretty much no questions asked. pretty much locked you in. Over the years, as bullen use became the norm, and as OOTP’s injury algorithm came into more realistic play, that number faded, though. Maybe 30 years ago, it seemed that 225 was the magic marker. Nowdays It’s probably 200.
Check it out, right?
As I type, 35-year-old Dave Corfield old and 36-year-old Barney Lindsayay are at 225. Pretty much clam dunks. Bernie Short is at 210. He’s probably in? Maybe? Dave Lee and Reuben Vazquez at 198 and 190 are going to be interesting conversations. Lee is 39 and close to done, Vazquez is 37 and the same. Mahad Einen is 34 and sits at 188 wins. Thomas Turned is 35 and has 179. Thirty-five-year-old Phil Coleole sits are 157.
So, yeah. The world has changed since those Grand Old Days. Two hundred wins is kind of a marker today. Though you could argue that maybe 210 or 215 is the harder line.
Of course, we haven’t discussed the unicorn in the room.
Yes, I’m talking about Alaric Wullenweber. The 40-year-old Boy Wonder who some were writing off a few years back, but who has simply latched his wagon the Portland Lumberjack trailer and continued to win and win. Here’s a comp for you. Nolan Ryan is arguably the Alaric Wullenweber. Heading to the end of August, 2060, Wullenweber sits at 4,249 strikeouts. Ryan finished at 5,714. Other than that, and the fact that Wullenweber has won both championships and about seven billion Nebraskas, the two are similar in certain ways. Both are guys who avoided injury enough to pitch hard into their old ages. And with a paid more years on his contract, there’s no telling where Wullenweber might end up.
What’s that, you say?
Wasn’t this about Pitcher Wins?
Why, yes it was.
Wullenweber has … in this day and age … wait for it … 287 victories.
That’s right. In an era where the line of Hall Demarcation is sliding south as fast as an icy cliff in the Arctic Circle Alaric Wullenweber is threatening the lofty regions of 300. For reference, here is the list of 300 game winners throughout BBA history:
# # #
Steve Nebraska
# # #
Yes. That’s it. Steve Freaking Nebraska. That’s the list. If Alaric Wullenweber makes 13 more victories over the next two and a few seasons of his contract, he will join Steve Nebraska as the only 300 game winners in league history. Of course, Nebraska wound up with 382, so I think that record is not on the table. But it would be interesting to compare and contract the pair relative to their peers. Nebraska compiled his in that era where 250 was the line. Si he was 130 up on a baseline of 250. Let’s say Wullenweber finishes at 305…that would say he was 105 up on a baseline of 200. Nebraska probably wins that. By a little.
Still, Alaric Wullenweber and Steve Nebraska.
Enjoy him while he’s here folks.
I admit I love the story of Starting Pitchers.
