Strike Three!

"Strike Three! My Years in the Pen" is a delayed celebration of the top strikeout staffs in the history of the American League. Strike Three! shifts attention from the effects of PEDS on hitting and HR records to their effect on pitching records, such as those of the the Cleveland Indians of 1964-68. The 1964 Indians was the first staff to strike out (SO) 1100 AL batters in a season, and they would lead the league with over 1100 SO for a record-setting 5 years, not since duplicated. They were the first to SO 7.0 batters / 9 innings. They would set a single-season record with 1189 SO in 1967, a record that would stand for 30 years, broken only in the steroid era. Of 7 AL staffs that averaged 7 SO / 9 innings for 5 consecutive years, only they led the rest of the AL by more than 1 SO / 9 innings. They would be the only staff since WW II to lead the NL in SO 5 consecutive years. All the records were remarkably accomplished while pitching in Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which had the greatest foul area of any BLB stadium. Bill James noted the '64 staff would be the top "future wins" staff in AL history, with Tommy John, Luis Tiant, Sam McDowell, and Sonny Siebert themselves combining for over 700 future wins. Strike Three! is also a story of the bullpen, and bullpen catchers, as the job has evolved from 1946 to 2010. Finally, it is a story of the teen-age, bullpen-catcher-author who caught the record-setting staff from 1964-66, and his Years in the 'Pen.