DaddyO is right...mound went down in '69. And Gibson's dominance (along with Denny McClain's 31-win AL performance) probably was the deciding factor...but pitchers had dominated for a few years, already. NL league ERA went from 2.99 in '68 to 3.59 in '69. AL numbers were nearly identical, going from 2.98 in '68 to 3.62 in '69. gibson was dominant in both years. But his ERA rose more than the league increase. Going from 1.12 to 2.18. McClain went from 1.96 in his 31-win '68 to 2.80 in an excellent '69 (CY's in both years). So it looks like the lowering of the mound actually effected the dominant pitchers more than the league average guys.
To get an idea of how dominant Gibson was in '68 check this out. He appeared in 34 games, starting them all. He threw 28 complete games with 13 shutouts!!!!! In those 34 appearances he threw 304 innings. He averaged 8.94 innings every start. In essence, he averaged a complete game every time out. The Card's offense was a bit tepid. With a 1.12 ERA and a .853 WHIP AND 13 shutouts, he was still only 22-9. Assuming he won all the shutouts, he was 9 and 9 in his other 21 starts. 9 and 9 with an estimated ERA of 1.85 (or thereabouts) in those 21 starts. Sheesh!
Oh...in '68, McClain only threw 336 innings with a WHIP of .905! Can you say K-O-U-F-A-X?
The stuff I cut my teeth on!
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