At first blush, this may seem like an odd category around which to center a Sporcle. After all, it's not exactly a sexy stat these days, and starting pitchers on the whole are seeing their outings limited. This post was inspired, though, by the passing of Phil Niekro,
Niekro, of course, is famous for the late start to his career, the sheer number of innings pitched (4th all-time, with 5,404), and the knuckleball that helped him achieve that. Thinking about Niekro reminded me of a contemporary knuckleballer of his, whose photo graces the top of the page. While I won't spoil the answer (he appears in the Sporcle!), he had an insane IP total from 1971-1974 of 1,390.1, most in that span, each year throwing 300+ innings (for reference, Niekro was 10th in that span with 1098.1). Moreover, his 1972 season saw him throw 376.2 IP, just one of 25 instances a pitcher has logged 375+ innings in a single season in the modern era. (I'll note here that Detroiter Mickey Lolich just about matched the feat with 376 innings of his own the year before, 1971).
So, innings pitched is today's theme. Specifically: who has logged at least 200 innings in a season going back to 1945? That's 141 entries: how many can you fill in? Good luck!
Quiz Parameters
- I've allotted 15 minutes for completion attempts.
- For hints, you get the year, and the innings pitched.
Useless information to amaze, annoy, confuse, and/or confound your friends and family:
- The lowest ERA from the pitchers on this list is 1.88, in 1964...
- ...While the highest is 5.79 in 1997.
- The highest ERA+, though, came in 1955: a nice round 200.
All data from stathead.com
