Last month I was surprised when I got flooded with texts from my job at Dollar General about the new procedures we have to do now making my job more difficult to enjoy while I am working as well getting my insider news about a 43 year old Rookie by the name of Justin Verlander returning back to where he started from in Detroit. Am I happy that Verlander is back yes you could say I am. The reason I am hoping that Justin can find his old ways again this year & still be dominate like when he was a rookie back in 2005/2006. Last year when Clayton Kershaw retired from the game leaving Justin & his former teammate & good friend Max Scherzer in the hunt to become 300 career win pitchers. Clayton left with 77 wins away from the magic number of 300 career wins & Max is about 79 wins away. That leaves Justin 34 wins away going into the 2026 season. Randy Johnson remains the last pitcher to get over the 300 win amount. I hope that Justin can make the milestone cause fewer & fewer pitchers will reach it the way pitch counts are as well numerous Tommy John surgeries & lot of young arms a burning out fast.
Another reason I am looking forward to seeing what Justin still has in his arm cause I like to see him win at least 17 games this up coming year & then have the Tigers offer him another year contract & in-between get Tarik Skubal to sign for another 4 years at least with an option for a 5th year contract so he can be mentored a little bit by Justin this year as well in 2027. Plus seeing Justin get #300 would be nice since the Tigers haven't gotten any pitchers who played in their career to have 300+ wins in a career the most famous teams of ex-players who gotten 300+ wins either played for the Yankees or Red Sox. I kid you not go through the list of the names sorry I'm doing this post via through my phone. By the way I have the card that featured on top of this post but mine is #'d 519/700 & its one of early pictures of Justin wearing his break out rookie #59 which he only wore during the 2005 season for the 2 games he pitched & not his familiar #35 & I am hoping that if Justin does it that the Tigers will retire #35 in honor of him anyways that's my take on this tell me my readers do you see Justin doing it or not let me know in the comments until then remember what Rogers Hornsby once I said about signing autographs "Any ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."
300 win club
In Major League Baseball, the 300 win club refers to the group of pitchers — 24 as of 2009 — who have won 300 or more games. While the "300 club" is an informal group, becoming a member is among the highest accomplishments a starting pitcher can achieve. Several members retired soon after winning their 300th game; two retired with exactly 300 victories. All eligible pitchers with 300 wins have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Many observers expect the club to gain few, if any, members in the foreseeable future.
History
The first player to win 300 games was Pud Galvin in 1888. Six pitchers entered the club in the 19th century, with a seventh, Cy Young, joining in 1901. Early in the history of professional baseball, starting rotations of two men were commonplace, giving the best pitchers far more chances to earn wins than in today's game. Conversely, the rigor required for a two-man rotation meant that most pitching careers didn't last more than a decade or so (Young being the major exception). In addition, the medical treatments then available were minimal; if a pitcher 'blew out his arm' then his career was over. Four more pitchers joined the club in the first quarter of the 20th century.
However, only three pitchers scored their 300th win between 1924 and 1982: Lefty Grove (1941), Warren Spahn (1961), and Early Wynn (1963). For Grove and Wynn it was the final win of their careers and each struggled in his last season to achieve it. This dearth of 300-game winners may be explained by the offensive explosion following the abolition of the spitball in 1921, changes in the ball itself, World War II military service (in the cases of Bob Feller and Red Ruffing), the growing importance of the home run in the game, and the lowering of the pitching mound following the 1968 season. As the home run became commonplace, the physical and mental demands on pitchers dramatically increased, leading to the use of a four-man starting rotation.
Then, in a mere eight years, between 1982 and 1990, the 300-win club gained six members — an increase of over 40%. This may be partly explained as a consequence of the era of free agency that began in the mid-1970s. Free agency led to unheard-of player salaries, which encouraged older pitchers to stay in the game longer than they might have in the past. Another part of the explanation is the increasing sophistication of training methods and sports medicine (such as the Tommy John surgery), which have allowed players to maintain a high competitive level for a longer time. Examples include Phil Niekro, who was still under 200 wins at his 40th birthday, went on to win a record 121 games after his 40th birthday and finished his career, at the age of 48, with 318 wins and Randy Johnson, who has won more games in his 40s than he did in his 20s. Many of the pitchers who reached 300 wins in this era, such as the aforementioned Niekro, Nolan Ryan, and Don Sutton, each had just a couple of 20+ win seasons and achieved the 300 mark by pitching well into their 40s.
Recent history
Changes in the game in the last decade of the 20th century have made the 300-game winner an endangered species again, perhaps more so than during the mid 20th century. The four-man starting rotation has given way to a five-man rotation, which gives starting pitchers still fewer chances to pick up wins. The physical and mental demands on starting pitchers have also increased yet again, thanks to the explosion in offense that has taken place since the 1990s. As a result, managers are much quicker to put in relief pitchers than in the past, particularly after the starting pitcher has thrown more than 100 pitches, even when the starting pitcher is winning the game. This increases the likelihood that a pitcher not get a win because of circumstances beyond his control. The 2006 season was the first time that no pitcher won 20 games in a non strike-shortened year.
Members
Out of all the members, only Roger Clemens is not in the Hall of Fame.
| Pitcher | Wins | Date of 300th | Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cy Young | 511 | July 3, 1901 | Cle (NL), Bos (AL), Stl (NL), Bos (NL), Cle (AL), Bos (NL) |
| Walter Johnson | 417 | May 14, 1920 | Was (AL) |
| Grover Cleveland Alexander | 373 | September 20, 1924 | Phil (NL), Chi (NL), StL (NL) |
| Christy Mathewson | 373 | June 28, 1912 | NY Giants (NL), CIN |
| Pud Galvin | 365 | September 4, 1888 | Buf, Pit (Amer. Assoc.), Pit (NL), Pit (Players League), Stl (NL) |
| Warren Spahn | 363 | August 11, 1961 | Bos/Mil, NY Mets (NL), SF |
| Kid Nichols | 362 | June 13, 1900 | Bos, StL, Phi (NL) |
| Greg Maddux | 355 | August 7, 2004 | Chi (NL), Atl, LA (NL), SD |
| Roger Clemens | 354 | June 13, 2003 | Bos, Tor, NY (AL), Hou (NL) |
| Tim Keefe | 342 | June 4, 1890 | Troy, NY (Amer. Assoc.), NY Giants (NL), Phil (NL) |
| Steve Carlton | 329 | September 23, 1983 | StL (NL), Phil, SF, Chi (AL), Cle, Min |
| John Clarkson | 328 | September 21, 1892 | Worc, Chi (NL), Bos (NL), Cle (NL) |
| Eddie Plank | 326 | September 11, 1915 | Phi (AL), StL (Fed. League), StL (AL) |
| Nolan Ryan | 324 | July 31, 1990 | NY Mets (NL), Cal (AL), Hou (NL), Tex (AL) |
| Don Sutton | 324 | June 18, 1986 | LA (NL), Hou, Mil (AL), Oak, Cal |
| Phil Niekro | 318 | October 6, 1985 | Mil/Atl (NL), NY (AL), Cle, Tor |
| Gaylord Perry | 314 | May 6, 1982 | SF, Cle, Tex, SD, NY (AL), Atl, Sea, KC |
| Tom Seaver | 311 | August 4, 1985 | NY Mets (NL), Cin, Chi (AL), Bos |
| Charles Radbourn | 309 | May 14, 1891 | Prov, Bos (NL), Bos (Players League), Cin |
| Mickey Welch | 307 | August 11, 1890 | Troy, NY Giants (NL) |
| Tom Glavine | 305 | August 5, 2007 | Atl, NY Mets (NL) |
| Randy Johnson | 303 | June 4, 2009 | Mtl, Sea, Hou, Ari, NY (AL), SF |
| Early Wynn | 300 | July 13, 1963 | Was, Cle, Chi (AL) |
| Lefty Grove | 300 | July 25, 1941 | Phi (AL), Bos (AL) |
