Nine years ago, Steve Carlton, a left-handed baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, asked for a moderate raise. He had been with the Cardinals for six years and had won many games.
Since most baseball pitchers are right-handed, a good left-hander is rare and considered more valuable than a good right-hander. But Carlton’s request was denied, and he was traded for a right-handed pitcher.
Pitcher Carlton has unusual physical qualifications. He is 6’5″ with a very long pitching arm which enables him to throw with great speed and curve-ball deception.
Pitching for the Phillies, Carlton has surpassed the major league career strikeout record for left-handers. Now he is closing in on the strike-out records for right-handers. It should be remembered that several of these records, such as most, strike-outs made by Walter Johnson between 1907 and 1027 were made before the practice began of using many new baseballs in a single game.
The new balls are an advantage to the batter because they are brighter and more visible. The used balls are an advantage to the pitcher because their scuffed covers allow him to put more “stuff” on his curved pitches.
Steve Carlton won his 14th victory for 1980 on July 6. On that date he had a big lead in victories over all other pitchers in the major leagues.
Since pitching is so hard on the arm, most major league pitchers have short careers. It is remarkable that Carlton is enjoying his best year at age 35 in his 15th year of major league pitching.
Carlton still has the lean, trim figure he had when he started in the majors 15 years ago. Sports writers praise his rigorous year-round conditioning program as the best in baseball. He is so handsome that people suggest an offseason career in the movies or television.
Baseball fans who have not seen Carlton pitch should do so while he is at the peak of his ability. When the New York Times polled the major league ballplayers in 1980 on who is the best player for each position, Carlton received more votes than anyone else.
Another amazing current athlete is Edwin Moses. On July 3 in Milan, Italy, he broke his own world record for the 400 meters hurdles race. This js considered the most difficult of all races because it requires great hurdling skill as well as speed and endurance.
When Moses set a world record at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, it was widely believed that his record would last for years. Without the benefit of Olympic competition in 1980, Moses lowered his own world record from 47.64 to 47.13 seconds. He beat the best hurdler in Europe by many yards. Moses has run the seven fastest times in history for this event and has been ranked the No. 1 400-meter hurdler since 1976.
No race in track requires more technical ability than the 400-meter hurdles. There are ten hurdles, each 36 inches high. Moses, age 24, coaches himself and trains by himself. He has an engineering degree and a good job in business. He is still single and, when not racing, lives with two fine African runners in Southern California.
When we think about the drug-using musicians some of our young people seem to worship, we should be thankful that Steve Carlton and Edwin Moses are available as role-models. Two of our greatest and best-behaved contemporary athletes deserve to be known beyond the sports pages.
Moses has made a tremendous personal sacrifice by the boycott of the 1980 Olympics because, in track and field, there is no substitute for the Olympics. Some way should be devised to give this most talented and successful athlete the credit and recognition he deserves.
