Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Winning 200 Games
From SABR member Chris Jaffe at The Hardball Times on August 8:
Almost there.
Tim Wakefield is almost there. After 3,000-plus innings over 19 seasons with two teams, the knuckleballer who just celebrated his 45th birthday last week has 199 career wins. Next time he steps on the field, which should be later today, he can become the 111th person to win 200 big league games (108th if you don’t count the National Association as a big league).
Now 200 wins isn’t one of the great milestones. That’s what 300 wins is for, or for batters 3,000 hits or 500 homers. But 200 wins is still mighty dang impressive. You have to be a pretty good pitcher to make it that far.
In honor of Wakefield’s impending achievement, I thought I’d take a look at the 200-win club and some of the more interesting facts about its members and their 200th wins. One nice thing about the 200-win club—since there are more members than the more prestigious 300-win club, there are more comparisons to make. Besides, since this is my 200th column for THT, it’s as good a time as any to look at 200 wins.
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/10-things-i-didnt-know-about-winning-200-games/
Originally published: August 9, 2011. Last Updated: August 9, 2011.