Top Blue Jays Player #27: Pat Hentgen
Position: Pitcher
Seasons With the
Jays: 10 (1991-1999, 2004)
MLB Awards: AL Cy
Young Award (1996)
All-Star Game
Selection: 1993, 1994, 1997
Stats: Games Pitched 270 Innings Pitched 1636
Wins/Losses 107-85 Saves
0
ERA 4.28 Strike
outs 1028
Games Started 238 Games
Finished 13
Complete Games 31 Shutouts 9
Pat Hentgen has the honour of
being the first pitcher in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays to win the
American League’s Cy Young Award when he did so in 1996. For a period of about
five years in the mid-1990s, it could be argued that he was one of the best
pitcher in the AL during that time.
He was drafted by the Blue Jays
in the fifth round of the 1986 Amateur Draft but didn’t make the Big League
team until the 1991 season. During that season, he only appeared in three
games, starting one and only pitching 7 1/3 innings. His ERA was 2.45 and he
struck out three batters.
He saw more action in 1992,
pitching in 28 games, starting two, and finishing with a 5-2 win/loss record,
posting a rather high 5.36 ERA and striking out 39 batters in 50 1/3 innings.
However, he was left off of the post-season roster as the Blue Jays went on to
win the World Series for the first time.
In 1993, however, Hentgen more
than made his presence known to the baseball world. He would lead the team with
19 wins (against 9 losses), post a 3.87 ERA and strike out 122 batters in 216
1/3 innings. He went from reliever/spot starter to the club ace in one year. He
was even selected to the All-Star Game in Baltimore but did not get to play in
the game.
While he struggled in his only
start in the ALCS against the Chicago White Sox (six earned runs in three
innings) he won his lone start in the World Series against the Philadelphia
Phillies. In Game 3, he picked up the win after pitching six innings, allowing
only one earned run and striking out six batters. He would have been the
starting pitcher in Game 7 had Joe Carter not performed his heroics in the
sixth game.
In the strike-shortened 1994
season, Hentgen was again an All-Star selection. He posted a 13-8 win/loss
record, had a 3.40 ERA and struck out 147 batters. He struggled a bit in 1995
(10-14, 5.11, 135) but the whole club underachieved as the Jays finished in
last place for the first time since 1982.
The Cy Young year of 1996 was a little
unexpected after his performance the previous season. He didn’t even earn an
All-Star selection, but by the end of September, he made those making the
selections in July look foolish. He won 20 games (only the second pitcher in
club history to do so after Jack Morris won 21 in 1992), had a 3.22 ERA, struck
out 177 batters, and led the AL in complete games (10) and shut outs (3).
He pitched well in 1997 (15-10,
3.68, 160) while leading the league in complete games and shutouts again (9 and
3) but was overshadowed by his new teammate, Roger Clemens, who won the AL Cy
Young Award, making it two for the Jays in back-to-back seasons.
Two disappointing seasons
followed. In 1998, Hentgen went 12-11 but his ERA ballooned to 5.17. A losing
record followed in 1999 (11-12) and although his ERA improved to 4.79, it
appeared his best days on the mound were behind him. At the conclusion of the
season, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.
During his one year with the
Cards, he won 15 games, but three injury-filled seasons with the Baltimore
Orioles followed, netting only nine wins. He returned to Toronto in 2004, but
wasn’t even a glimmer of his former self. He pitched in 18 games, starting 16,
had a 2-9 record, and a 6.95 ERA. He announced his retirement in July, unable
to complete the season.
Hentgen returned to the Jays as
their bullpen coach for the 2012 and 2014 seasons and now works as a special
assistant to the organization.
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