Steve Stone+
=His best year was undoubtedly
1980, when he went 25–7 for the Orioles, won the
Cy Young Award and
The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award, and came in 9th in the AL
MVP voting.
"I knew it would ruin my arm. But one year of 25-7 is worth five of 15-15."
— Stone, on throwing over 50% curveballs in 1980
Stone had decided to try for one big year, throwing more
curveballs -- over 50% -- at the expense of his arm. He led the league in wins and won-lost percentage (.781), and was 2nd in games started (37), 7th in ERA (3.23), strikeouts (149), hits allowed/9 IP (8.04), and hit batsmen (6), and 9th in innings (250.7). At one point, he had won 14 games in a row. He also pitched 3 perfect innings in the All-Star Game that year.
"I used to try not to lose before," Stone said in 1980. "Now, when I go out, I go out to win every time, and I'm certain I am. I try to envision myself literally walking off the mound a winner. I allow no negatives in my thinking. When certain ones start creeping in, I erase them and make it like a blank blackboard waiting to be filled in with things like, 'The team is going to play well, is going to score some runs, I'm going to throw strikes, I'm going to win.' "
The heavy curveball diet took its toll, and Stone struggled with
tendinitis in 1981, going 4-7 with a 4.60 ERA, and retiring a year after his best season at age 34.
vs.Denny McLain+
=McLain’s descent into his gambling obsession was further precipitated by an offhand remark made during an interview—that he drank about a case of Pepsi a day. (When he pitched, he was known to down a Pepsi between innings.) A representative from Pepsi then offered McLain a contract with the company, just for doing a few endorsements.
