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spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","","Roger Clemens","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050605/050605_clemens_vmed.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "David J. Phillip", "AP", "298", "194", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "While many pitchers have transformed themselves over the years from power to finesse -- like Frank Tanana and Pedro Martinez -- the select few go down with fastballs blazing, power pitchers to the end. In the case of Roger Clemens, we won’t know for sure if the end is here until he decides to retire -- for good. The Rocket may be the best example of the pure power pitcher who is ruthlessly effective with the \"here comes my fastball, try and hit it\" philosophy. NBCSports.com offers this Top 10 tribute to the greatest power pitchers still alive.
They all should tip their baseball caps to the late, great Walter “Big Train” Johnson, the first and legendary power pitcher, who came from an another era, one where radar guns and pitch count didn’t turn the heated duels at 60-feet, 6-inches into cold, calculating science experiments.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Roger Clemens","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040318/040318_rogerClemens_hmed_7p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "David J. Phillip", "AP", "273", "333", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
Does anyone have a better baseball nickname than “The Rocket?” Guaranteed none are more appropriate. This guy was Astro-nomical long before he pitched for Houston. He’s still launching heat from the mound, just as he did as a lean Red Sox rookie in 1984. His fastball was his calling card right out of the University of Texas, but also developed a nasty, diving splitter. The pitch looked like a fastball coming to the plate, but it was 8-10 mph slower and the bottom dropped out just as the batter swung.
The Rocket has never slowed, either. Clemens has chalked up 4,502 strikeout victims, including 185 in 211.1 innings last season when he turned 43. His 2005 ERA was 1.87, best among all major-league starters. So was holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. That followed his astonishing 2004 season, his first with the Astros after he “un-retired” from the Yankees to live and pitch near his home. That was his first National League season and the transition was so tough that Clemens only went 18-4 with 218 strikeouts in 214.1 innings and a 2.98 ERA. No pitcher in history has won more Cy Young Awards than Clemens’ the six -- three with Boston, two with Toronto and one with the Yankees when, at age 39, he went 20-3 in 2001.
FAST FACT Clemens became the first pitcher ever to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game when he pitched for Boston against Seattle in 1986. Incredibly, he duplicated that feat 10 years later.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Bob Feller","Bob Feller","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_BobFeller.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Mlb Photos", "MLB Photos via Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
In an era before the television boom and long before talk radio and the Internet turned every accomplishment into instant news, “Rapid Robert” was a folk legend. In 1936, at age 17, the Cleveland Indians promoted Feller to the majors before he was finished at Van Meter (Iowa) High School. In his first start, he struck out 15 St. Louis Browns. In August of that year, he tied the existing big-league record with 17 strikeouts in a game against the Philadelphia A’s. The phenom won 76 games from 1939-41 and lead the AL in victories, innings and strikeouts for all three seasons.
Despite having a family deferment, Feller enlisted in the Navy the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and was a war hero, winning campaign ribbons and battle stars even as he was losing four prime seasons to World War II. After the war, he added a slider and a curve to his blazing fastball and his legend and eventual Hall of Fame status was secure. He wound up with three no-hitters, including the first Opening Day no-no on April 16, 1940. There was such fascination with his fastball that the army used a device that clocked him at 98.6 mph, but many said that wasn’t a true measure since the test came after his four service years.
FAST FACT: How about Feller’s 1946 season? He won 26 games, including 36 complete games and 10 shutouts, struck out an AL record 348 batters in 371.1 innings and had a no-hitter vs. the Yankees.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Bob Gibson","Bob Gibson","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_BobGibson.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Louis Requena", "MLB Photos via Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
Of all the power pitchers, Gibson had the reputation as the meanest because he relentlessly knocked batters down and pitched inside. It was never his intent to injure, however. The Cardinals’ Hall of Famer always believed the brushback pitch was part of the game. He didn’t want hitters getting a false sense of security in the batter’s box. And he felt it was his duty to defend one of his own players by pitching inside. St. Louis speedster Lou Brock often stole bases with his team ahead by several runs and opposing pitchers responded by throwing at Brock. He was an enforcer without peer.
Of course, none of that would have mattered -- and he wouldn’t have lasted 17 seasons -- if Gibson also wasn’t a premier pitcher. He struck out more than 3,000 batters, won 251 games and had a career ERA of 2.91. He was also a postseason stud. In Game 1 of the 1968 Series against the Tigers, Gibson struck out a record 17 batters in a 4-0 victory. He won another game in that Series, before being beaten by Mickey Lolich in Game 7. But in 1967, Gibson was a one-man wrecking crew against the Red Sox’ Impossible Dream team, beating Boston three times on three complete games with a Series ERA of 1.00.
FAST FACT: Gibson’s 1968 season remains one of the landmark seasons in baseball history. It stood out even in “The Year of the Pitcher.” Gibson was 22-9 with a remarkable 1.12 ERA. He pitched 13 shutouts among his 28 complete games and led the NL with 268 strikeouts. In one stretch he allowed just two earned runs in 95 innings, including 47 scoreless frames. How did he ever lose 9 games?";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Goose Gossage","Rich \"Goose\" Gossage","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_GooseGossage.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Louis Requena", "MLB Photos via Getty Images", "297", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
Was there ever a more menacing-looking pitcher than Rich “Goose” Gossage? He was 6-3 and 220 pounds with a droopy mustache and a no-nonsense stare that before he began his herky-jerky delivery in which it didn’t appear that he looked at the plate until the last instant. His fastball flew in the upper 90s and during his years as the Yankees’ dominant closer, he developed a bit of a “nickel curve” or tight slider that froze many a hitter. Gossage is a legitimate Hall of Fame candidate, though his numbers are watered down by hanging on for a number of “tack-on” seasons late in his career and the fact that pitchers didn’t save as many games in era.
No player was more important to the Yankees in 1978 than “the Goose” during New York’s miraculous comeback against the Red Sox in which they made up a 14-game deficit. Gossage had replaced 1977 Cy Young Award-winning reliever Sparky Lyle as the team’s closer and led the league with 27 saves. He was also the man on the mound at the end when the Yankees beat the Red Sox in the so-called “Bucky Dent” one-game playoff at Fenway Park, as well as also saving their clinchers against the Royals in the LCS and the Dodgers in the World Series.
FAST FACT: Gossage was an incredible workhorse out of the bullpen. Four times he exceed 100 innings in relief and he had 99 in another season. Five times he exceeded 100 strikeouts, including an NL record 151 for the Pirates in 1977.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Sandy Koufax","Sandy Koufax","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_SandyKoufax.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Louis Requena", "MLB Photos via Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
There is no greater example in baseball history of a player making a lasting impression in a short span than the Dodgers’ brilliant lefty made from 1962-66. His fastball exploded up in the strike zone while his “nose-to-toes” curve was a marvel. In those five seasons, Koufax was 111-34, won a record five consecutive ERA titles, set a single-season strikeout record with 382 in 1966 -- one of three 300-plus whiff seasons -- and pitched four no-hitters.
Those five seasons, plus his 1961 campaign that featured 18 victories and a league-high 269 strikeouts, were enough to get Koufax elected to the Hall of Fame despite winning only 165 career. He retired after the 1966 season, at age 30, rather than risk a crippling injury to his painfully arthritic pitching elbow. There was no arthroscopic surgery available in those days, otherwise Koufax undoubtedly would have continued pitching. He posted a 0.95 ERA in World Series play, still the record for any pitcher with more than 50 innings, and he set a then-Series record by fanning 15 Yankees in the opener of the first bicoastal Yankees-Dodgers Fall Classic.
FAST FACT: How’s this for a season on which to retire? In 1966, Koufax won a second straight pitcher’s Triple Crown with 27 wins, 317 strikeouts and a 1.73 ERA. He also led the NL with 41 starts, 27 complete games, 5 shutouts and 323 innings.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Randy Johnson","Randy Johnson","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_RandyJohnson.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Lisa Blumenfeld", "Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
It could be argued that the six seasons strung together by Randy Johnson between 1997 and 2002 are the equal of Sandy Koufax’s Dodgers run. And that was with five seasons when Johnson pitched in the home run-fueled offensive boom era when ERAs under 3.00 were rare. There are other similarities. Both were leftys with fastballs in the mid-to-upper 90s. Both registered many of their strikeouts when a second, devastating pitch. In Koufax’s case, it was a classic overhand curve. In Randy’s case, it was a sling-shot slider with bite.
During that six-year surge, which began in Seattle and ended in Arizona, the Big Unit struck out more than 300 batters five times and had 291 whiffs in the other season. He also won at least 20 games three times and 19 games twice. On Koufax’s Hall of Fame resume, those six years are, essentially, it. But Johnson was dominant for the Mariners in 1993 and 1995, led the NL in strikeouts for the Diamondbacks in 2004 and was the Yankees’ big winner in 2005, with 17 victories, including a 5-0 mark against the rival Red Sox. At age 41, Johnson struck out 211 batters in 225 innings. Only in the Bronx could that be considered a disappointing campaign.
FAST FACT: In 1999, Johnson had one of the most misleading 17-9 seasons ever. During one stretch, he allowed a total of four runs in three games and lost them all. He struck out 364 batters in 271.2 innings, 23 times fanning 10 or more, walked only 70 and joined Pedro Martinez and Gaylord Perry as the only players to win the Cy Young Award in each league.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Nolan Ryan","Nolan Ryan","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_nolanRyan.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Mlb Photos", "MLB Photos via Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
Another apt nickname – “The Ryan Express”. When he pulled into the station for the last time, Ryan was 46 years old and STILL threw his fastball in the mid-90s. No wonder he is -- by a wide margin -- baseball’s all-time strikeout king with 5,714 over a remarkable 27-year career. There were many highlights, including a record seven no-hitters. No. 6 came in 1990 when, at age 43, Ryan beat the Oakland A’s, 5-0, to become the oldest pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter. Incredibly, he was 44 -- the oldest player in the majors -- when he tossed No. 7 on May 1, 1991.
Ryan, who also possessed one of the best curveballs, may have been unhittable at times, but he wasn’t always unbeatable. He won 324 games, but lost 292 -- the third most in history. His winning percentage of .526 is the lowest of any Hall of Fame starting pitcher and he also walked a record 2,795 batters, a major reason why he was barely a .500 pitcher for much of his career. But he was a physical marvel, a fierce competitor and never backed down. Wouldn’t it have been great to watch him challenge the free-swinging sluggers of today?
FAST FACT: In 1987, Ryan had one of the most unfortunate seasons of all time. He struck out a league-leading 270 batters in 211 innings for the Astros while also leading the NL with a 2.76 ERA. But he was only 8-16 and became the first pitcher not to win the Cy Young Award despite leading the league in strikeouts and ERA.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Curt Schilling","Curt Schilling","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_CurtSchilling.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Ronald Martinez", "Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
Schilling may not end up in the Hall of Fame because of modest career numbers, mostly because of injuries and beginning as a reliever. But he’s sure made up for lost time beginning with the Diamondbacks in 2001. In that world championship season, Schilling went 22-6, striking out 293 batters in 256.2 innings. In the World Series, he and Randy Johnson shared the MVP award as Schilling struck out 26 Yankees in 21.1 innings. He went 23-7 the next season with 316 strikeouts, the third time in his career that he reached that figure.
Considering the speed of his fastball and slider, Schilling’s control is as remarkable as his grit and competitiveness. His career strikeout-to-walk ratio is almost 4-1, an amazing statistic. Schilling seems to save his most amazing moments for the Yankees. Not only did he helped beat them in the 2001 World Series, but it was his fabled bloody “red sock” that was as much a symbol as anything else in Boston’s historic seven-game victory over the Yankees in the 2004 LCS, when the Red Sox became the only team ever to rally from a 3-0 deficit. Schilling, after getting lit up in Game 1 because of a detached tendon in his right ankle, dominated New York in a Game 6 victory.
FAST FACT: In this age of specialization, where setup men and closers are high-profile members of pitching staffs, Schilling starts what he finishes more often than most. Five times he has led his league in complete games, including a modern-day marvel 15 complete games for the Phillies in 1998, when he was only 15-14 but struck out his 300th batter in the final game.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Tom Seaver","Tom Seaver","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_TomSeaver.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Louis Requena", "MLB Photos via Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i-1].body = "
“The Franchise” never made it look easy. He derived the power in his mid-90s fastball from a leg drive that was so fierce, his right knee pounded the mound as he released the ball, dirtying his uniform in that spot every game. But his pitching and winning attitude helped lift the Mets from their status and lovable cellar dwellers, beginning with his rookie of the year season in 1967. By 1969, Seaver anchored a corps of young pitchers that also featured Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and Nolan Ryan and led what became known as the “Miracle Mets” to their first-ever National League pennant and World Series triumph. Seaver went 25-7 with a 2.21 ERA for the first of his three Cy Young Awards.
He compiled nine straight seasons of 200-plus strikeouts en route to 3,640 during a career that also saw him win 311 games. In his first 10-plus seasons in New York, Seaver went 189-110. Unfortunately for Mets fans, neither his 300th victory nor his only career no-hitter came as a Met. After a controversial trade to the Reds, Seaver pitched a no-hitter for Cincinnati in 1978. No Mets pitcher has ever pitched one. Then Seaver, while a member of the White Sox for his 300th victory in 1985.
FAST FACT: On April 22, 1970, Seaver struck out what was then an NL-record 19 batters against San Diego. Even more remarkable, he fanned the last 10 batters of the game.";
spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("","Billy Wagner","Billy Wagner","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/pitcherApp/pitcherApp_BillyWagner.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Ezra Shaw", "Getty Images", "296", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
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Billy Wagner and his 5-11, 200-pound frame almost seems normal. But stand in the batter’s box against this “normal”-sized man and it’s like watching Bruce Banner turn into the Incredible Hulk. The lefthander has hit 100 on the radar gun more than once and is considered a key ingredient for the Mets’ chances to reach the 2006 postseason. That’s why they paid the 34-year-old more money than the Yankees pay the incomparable Mariano Rivera. In fact, this is really a joint-entry because Rivera, like Wagner, relies most on a high-octane fastball to place himself among the elite relievers in the game. But while Rivera’s cutter has allowed him to dominate for a decade, including a remarkable post-season run, Wagner is young and throws harder.
And few relievers ever have struck out batters at the rate Wagner does. He had struck out 489 batters in 407 innings for his career entering 2006. Rivera no longer averages a strikeout an inning, but Wagner is well above that ratio. In fact, in 10 seasons as a closer, Wagner has averaged more than a strikeout an inning EVERY year. Now that’s heat. He seems to be holding up well at a most taxing position. Last year with the Phillies, Wagner had a career-low ERA of 1.51, with 38 saves and 87 strikeouts in 77.2 innings.
FAST FACT: In 1997, you were lucky to put the ball in play against Wagner, then the Astros’ closer. He set a major-league record by averaging 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings (106 Ks in 66.1 innings). That broke former Rob Dibble’s record of 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings set in 1992."; spt_MLB_power_pitchers[i++] = new Array("spt_Best_power_pitcher","Vote","","","","", "lv2", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); // END editorial data