Remington: Bartolo Colon’s forebears: the previous winningest Latin pitchers of all-time
From Alex Remington at The Hardball Times on August 29, 2018:
On August 7, Bartolo Colon passed Dennis Martinez on the all-time wins list among pitchers from Latin America. Martinez had held the record since August 9, 1998 when he notched his 244th win to pass the great Juan Marichal of the Giants, a Hall of Famer from the Dominican Republic, and one of baseball’s first Latin superstars. Martinez retired a month and a half later, having pushed his career total to 245, which remained the record for almost exactly 20 years.
Baseball records are almost Biblical in their complexity, and more than a century of assiduous record-keeping can sometimes lead to lists of begats longer than Leviticus. But in the case of this particular record, it’s pretty brief:
- The 45-year-old Colon took the record from Dennis Martinez, who remained in baseball past his 44th birthday in order to be able to pass Juan Marichal.
- Marichal recorded his 243rd and last win on August 11, 1974. He took the record on July 26, 1970, when he won his 195th career game.
- That broke a record that for 35 years had belonged to Dolf Luque, who won his 194th and last game on April 23, 1935.
Read the full article here: https://www.fangraphs.com/tht/bartolo-colons-forebears-the-previous-winningest-latin-pitchers-of-all-time/
Originally published: August 30, 2018. Last Updated: August 30, 2018.