Mike Scott

[Cowtipper]

Mike Scott spent 13 years in the big leagues, going 124-108 with a 3.54 ERA and 1,469 strikeouts. Honestly, those aren't very inspiring numbers for a Hall of Fame thread even by my standards, but I wonder if he had Hall of Fame potential. He was an All-Star three times, after all, and he won the Cy Young Award, NLCS MVP and NL TSN Pitcher of the Year honor in 1986. In 1997, he received a little support for the Hall of Fame, earning 0.4% of the vote.

Even though his career was so short, he did pretty well with black ink, totaling 19 points in that category. He won over 15 games four times and he totaled 20 wins once, and he totaled at least 200 strikeouts twice (with a high of 306 in 1986).

He led the league in WAR, ERA, WHIP, H/9 IP, K/9 IP, innings pitched, strikeouts, shutouts, K/BB ratio and ERA+ in 1986. In 1987, he led the league game started, in 1988, he led league pitchers in fielding percentage and in 1989, he paced the loop in victories.

From 1985 to 1989, he averaged 17 wins, 7 complete games and 208 strikeouts a year, while posting a 2.93 ERA. He tied for third most wins in the big leagues in that time span, was fourth in strikeouts and third in shutouts.

Statistically, he is similar to Earl Wilson, John Denny, Ray Culp, Frank Lary, Gary Peters, Doc Medich, Dock Ellis, Mike Boddicker, Steve Gromek and Johnny Antonelli.

What do you think about Mike Scott? Did he have Hall of Fame potential? Should he be in the Hall of Fame?

[jjpm74]

Very good pitcher who dominated the Mets. Not a HOFer.

[SamtheBravesFan]

It took Scott a long time to get going and that's what derails his Hall of Fame chances. But what he figured out in Houston at the age of 30 in 1985 started one of the better pitching runs in that team's history. It was short, but if he had done something like that the rest of his career, he woudl be a very solid Hall of Fame candidate. That's why I voted "no, but potential".

[Yankillaz]

First Cy Young winner to come out of Houston. That's with Dierker, Richard, Niekro and Ryan. Nice list.

[chicagowhitesox1173]

He was pretty amazing for awhile but I voted no because it just took him to long to be a better pitcher

[dgarza]

The Koufax of the '80s. kinda

His 20s and 30s are completely different beasts.

24-29 (1979-1984)
29-44 = .397 %
4.45 ERA
78 ERA+
1.427 WHIP
4.2 SO/9
1.46 SO/BB
-2.6 pWAR

30-36
1985-1991
95-64 = .597 %
3.11 ERA
115 ERA+
1.095 WHIP
7.4 SO/9
2.79 SO/BB
24.4 pWAR


Amazing!, albeit short, postseason performance.

1986	31	HOU	NL	NLCS	L	NYM	2	0	1.000	0.50	2	2	0	2	1	0	18.0	8	1	1	0	1	0	19	0	0	0	65	0.500	4.0	0.0	0.5	9.5	19.00
1 NLCS							2	0	1.000	0.50	2	2	0	2	1	0	18.0	8	1	1	0	1	0	19	0	0	0	65	0.500	4.0	0.0	0.5	9.5	19.00

[Los Bravos]

If he gets with Craig earlier. A guy much like Dave Stewart. His overall career falls short but he was a beast at his peak.

I guarantee that members of the '86 Mets (at least the ones who can still remember back 26 years) still wake up in cold sweats from time to time, dreaming about him.

[Fuzzy Bear]

First Cy Young winner to come out of Houston. That's with Dierker, Richard, Niekro and Ryan. Nice list.

Scott was, arguably, the only guy of that lot that deserved the Cy Young Award while with Houston. Had the Mets lost Game 6 of the 1986 NLCS, they would have faced Scott and his 0.50 postseason ERA in Game 7. Scott was truly fearsome to the Mets that year, and had he pitched the Astros to a pennant that year, Scott would have been much more memorable.

One of the things that would also have made Scott more memorable is if he had gotten his 20 win season the same year he won his Cy Young Award. Scott won 20 in 1988, but it wasn't real impressive (though it's still 20 wins).

What really hurt Scott was not his kind of sudden decline, but the fact that it took so long for him to develop. He was 24 before he was in the big leagues, 26 before he really posted a full year as a starter, 28 when he posted his first winning record as a back-of-the-rotation starter, and 30 when he had his Big Star Breakthrough.

[TomBodet]

Yeah he was a fave, wish he could have lasted at that high level. Loved what he did
to the Mets in 86.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Yeah he was a fave, wish he could have lasted at that high level. Loved what he did
to the Mets in 86.

There would be a lot less talk about the 1986 Mets if the 1986 NLCS had gone to game 7. If Scott had beaten them, and had the kind of WS he had in the NLCS, he might have been viewed as a pitcher of the stature of a Don Newcombe. How close is Scott's career to Newk's? That's an interesting question.