Texas pitching rotation

[armadillo slim]

I wasn't alive during the Clemens and Schiraldi era, but would be difficult to top that rotation.

well, retrospectively, at least.

my memory may be faulty, but it seems like Schiraldi was the ace in that lineup and clemens was down in the pecking order. he prospered in the pros and calvin had a fair career, but nothing super special. i see Calvin at the Disch frequently. i had forgotten how good that 1970 lineup was. i saw street pitch his 7 inning perfect game in lubbock that year.

 

[utisdabomb12]

I am still a fan of Lukas.He can be great.

He actually has the best stuff out of all our pitchers IMO. His only problem is location and throwing strikes (walks entirely too many batters). Like I said in other threads, when Lukas is throwing strikes it's almost impossible to get a hit off him. When he walks batters he gets himself in precarious situations. The last two outings for Lukas have been excellent, so maybe it was just a settling in type thing.

 

[JimR]

I wasn't alive during the Clemens and Schiraldi era, but would be difficult to top that rotation.

that is only two pitchers, not a rotation. the entire staff was not the equal of '70 or '75, imo.

Clemens was in CG's doghouse much of the time like Shane Reynolds later was. He told me more than once RC was "gutless." Clemens was not the best pitcher on that staff.

 

[JimR]

He actually has the best stuff out of all our pitchers IMO. His only problem is location and throwing strikes (walks entirely too many batters). Like I said in other threads, when Lukas is throwing strikes it's almost impossible to get a hit off him. When he walks batters he gets himself in precarious situations. The last two outings for Lukas have been excellent, so maybe it was just a settling in type thing.

his arm action and delivery are so loose and herky-jerky that I imagine finding a consistent release point is difficult for him.

 

[BeauR]

that is only two pitchers, not a rotation. the entire staff was not the equal of '70 or '75, imo.
Clemens was in CG's doghouse much of the time like Shane Reynolds later was. He told me more than once RC was "gutless." Clemens was not the best pitcher on that staff.

I agree totally, Jim. 1983 was a great rotation, but not like the other two. Schiraldi was national pitcher of the year and first-team All-America. Remember how he struck out David Magadan, the nation's leading hitter, in the key encounter in the game between the final unbeatens in the CWS? The team had a 2.72 ERA. The stats for the main guys:

Calvin Schiraldi 14-2 1.74

Kirk Killingsworth 12-3 2.56

Mike Capel 13-1 2.98

Roger Clemens 13-5 3.04

Steve Labay 7-2 2.65

Wade Phillips 4-1 2.93

But in comparing, one has to remember that Burt Hooton was the first-ever three-time All-America pitcher from any school -- no one at Texas or anywhere else has equalled him. His ERA for three years was 0.88 (that's right!), 1.47, and 1.11. Unbelievable.

And on the 1975 team, Jim Gideon was a two-time All-America and went 36-2 those years. Wortham was the All-America in 1976, when he became the first college pitcher to ever win 50 career games. I'm not sure that there has ever been a better duo than Gideon and Wortham (although Hooton and Street or Swindell and Ruffin were pretty amazing as well). Swindell, of course, was the second three-time first-team All-America pitcher in college history.

 

[JimR]

I agree, Beau. You demonstrate beautifully why Swindell and Gideon were apoplectic when Gustafson (not UT) retired Clemens' number at an Alumni game. They wore 21 also. Swindell went berserk in the dugout that day. I played with Gideon's brother Joe, who was an OF, and got to know Jim in part through a juvenile diabetes connection.

Funny story about Joe and Falk. Gideon went to Falk's office late one season to talk. He was having a poor year at the ballpark and in the classroom. He apologized to Falk for his poor play and for not doing well in school. Joe was really down on himself and told Falk so. After he finished, Falk looked at him and said " That's the life of a .200 hitter."