WHY I THINK OREL HERSHISER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK OREL HERSHISER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

As soon as he came up to the Majors, many people could tell that Orel Hershiser would be one of the greatest pitchers in history. He was one of the great postseason performers of all time, a hard luck pitcher whose record doesn’t do him justice (he gave up 155 unearned runs, including as many as 20 in a season), a workhorse on the mound who led the NL in innings pitched three times in a row, and a star who made waves in 1988 as he eclipsed Don Drysdale’s record for consecutive scoreless innings (59). Hershiser was also a very good fielding pitcher, hard to steal on because he had a good pickoff move, and a good hitter (he was a Silver Slugger in 1993 when he hit .356), providing value in other, integral parts of the game. Orel Hershiser started his career with the Dodgers in 1983, pitching eight games out of the bullpen. A fastball-sinker pitcher until his late career when he added a slider, he attained rookie status in 1984 when, despite starting only 20 games, he led the NL with four shutouts. He went 11-8 with a 2.66 ERA in that first season. He had a Cy Young type season in 1985 (19-3, 2.03 ERA), but slumped to 14-14 in 1986. Hershiser went 16-16 with a 3.06 ERA in 1987 (when the ball was livened up and teams averaged over a homer a game for the first time in history) and won the Cy Young Award in 1988, when he won 23 games and posted a 2.26 ERA. In 1989, he went 15-15, but was about as good as he was the year before, striking out the exact same amount of batters (178) and putting up an almost identical ERA (2.31). In 1990, however, a torn labrum in his right (pitching) arm limited him to just over 25 innings, and he pitched only 112 in 1991. If not for the injury, he could have had a shot at 250 wins. That, and the 1994-95 strike that ended his tenure with the Dodgers, ruined his chances at the milestone. At any rate, he signed with the Indians and won 16 games for them in 1995, leading them to their first postseason since 1948. As he had been in 1988, he was brilliant in the postseason, going 4-1 with an ERA of 1.53, but the Tribe lost to the Braves in the World Series. The hard hitting 1990’s, tainted by many artificial factors, such as the widespread use of anabolic steroids, brought Hershiser’s career ERA up to almost 3.50, but his seasonal ERA’s were above average until 2000, when he pitched 24 ⅔ innings for the Dodgers at the age of 41. He went 1-5 in his return to the club before his retirement. Like Drysdale, he moved to the broadcaster’s booth, and is still active today calling Dodger games. Orel Hershiser was one of the greatest postseason hurlers of all time, a good pitcher through his age 40 season, and a phenom who lit up the nation with his consecutive inning scoreless streak. For all of his many achievements, Orel Hershiser gets my vote for the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 510 season high: 45 in 1984 

Starts career: 466 season high: 35 in 1986 and 1987 

Complete Games career: 68 season high: 15 in 1988 led NL: 15 in 1988 

Shutouts career: 25 season high: 8 in 1988 led NL: 4 in 1984, 8 in 1988 

Games Finished career: 19 season high: 10 in 1984 

Wins career: 204 season high: 23 in 1988 led NL: 23 in 1988 

Losses career: 150 season high: 16 in 1987 led NL: 15 in 1989 and 1992 

Winning Percentage career: .576 season high: .864 in 1985 led NL: .864 in 1985     

ERA career: 3.48 season low: 2.03 in 1985 

WHIP career: 1.261 season low: 1.031 in 1985 

Innings Pitched career: 3,130 ⅓ season high: 267 in 1988 led NL: 264 ⅔ in 1987, 267 in 1988, 256 ⅔ in 1989 

Strikeouts career: 2,014 season high: 190 in 1987 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 5.8 season high: 7.1 in 1984 

Walks career: 1,007 (108 intentional) season high: 86 in 1986 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 2.00 season high: 3.00 in 1984 

Saves career: 5 season high: 2 in 1984 

Fielding Percentage career: .946 season high: .983 in 1998 

Double Plays career: 44 season high: 6 in 1986, 1987, and 1988 

Putouts career: 332 season high: 37 in 1987 led NL P: 37 in 1987, 32 in 1988, 22 in 1994 

Assists career: 569 season high: 60 in 1988 led NL P: 60 in 1988, 51 in 1989 led AL P: 47 in 1996 

Caught Stealing Percentage career: .342 season high: .667 in 1997 

Pickoffs career: 18 season high: 5 in 1988 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Bulldog” by manager Tommy Lasorda 

-pitched five consecutive shutouts in 1988

-had an ERA of 0.00 in three career all-star games (1987-89) 

-was the Major League Player of the Year, the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, and The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year in 1988 

-won the 1988 Babe Ruth Award (for the best performance in the postseason) 

-won six career Pitcher of the Month awards and four Player of the Week awards 

-won a Gold Glove in 1988 

-twice led the NL in batters faced 

-allowed the fewest home runs per nine innings in the Majors in 1985 

-finished sixth in the NL MVP Award voting in 1988 and 16th in 1985 

-also finished third in the NL Cy Young Award voting in 1985 and fourth in both 1987 and 1989 

-finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year Award voting in 1984 

-had a career ERA of 3.46 until his final start, which raised it to 3.48

-was the MVP of the 1988 NLCS (1-0, 1 save, 1.09 ERA in 24 ⅔ innings), the 1988 World Series (2-0, 1.00 ERA in 18 innings), and the 1995 ALCS (2-0, 1.29 ERA in 14 innings) 

-was 8-3 with a 2.59 ERA and two shutouts in postseason play, and was the first to win his first seven decisions 

-had 101 career sacrifice hits, including a NL high 19 in 1988 

-went 2-for-7 in the 1985 NLCS and 3-for-3 with two doubles in the 1988 World Series  

-among MLB pitchers, ranks eighth in career putouts 

-was used as a pinch hitter six times and as a pinch runner three times 

-coached the Rangers from 2002 through 2005