Minor League Workhorses: 1976-1980
We’re ready for another update on the heaviest minor league workloads. Our prior explorations have focused on 1946-1950, 1951-1955, 1956-1960, 1961-1965, 1966-1970 and 1971-1975. This time we’ll see what was going on while Star Wars, Fleetwood Mac and Three’s Company were going on.
As a reminder, to reveal the top end of pitcher usage levels in the minor leagues, we:
– Record the top 10 pitchers in innings pitched in each minor league classification each season.
– Compute the average stat lines of these top workhorses.
– Compare the year-to-year changes.
Remember that EP = estimated number of pitches, using Tangotiger’s pitch estimation formula.
First we’ll look at the Triple-A leagues, including the Pacific Coast League, which operated under a unique “Open Classification” status from 1952 through 1957.
Triple-A Open Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Year Age G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP
1946 31 39 ? 24 280 18 15 262 78 157 2.69 4303
1947 32 39 ? 21 277 17 15 286 77 117 3.39 4290
1948 30 38 ? 18 251 16 13 268 93 122 3.93 4062
1949 30 41 ? 23 282 21 13 271 98 147 3.35 4448
1950 29 41 ? 21 283 19 14 270 102 133 3.46 4447
1951 28 36 32 18 249 16 12 220 98 123 3.22 3912
1952 31 40 34 20 270 18 14 238 79 135 2.76 4094
1953 29 42 34 18 266 19 13 253 84 115 3.30 4094
1954 29 39 34 17 258 17 13 229 101 162 3.15 4111
1955 29 39 34 19 259 19 13 237 76 129 2.88 3956
1956 28 38 32 17 245 16 13 244 85 133 3.43 3905
1957 25 35 31 14 233 16 11 215 92 139 3.29 3730
1958 28 35 30 14 226 15 11 209 76 127 3.31 3536
1959 29 36 31 13 233 15 11 226 73 122 3.31 3639
1960 27 38 30 13 225 14 12 226 66 121 3.37 3512
1961 28 36 30 11 218 14 9 214 65 123 3.47 3401
1962 28 35 30 13 225 14 10 219 67 139 3.28 3527
1963 26 38 30 14 224 15 13 220 61 143 3.50 3491
1964 24 36 30 12 217 13 12 198 65 166 3.08 3406
1965 24 33 30 11 215 14 11 209 65 140 3.61 3381
1966 23 33 31 13 224 14 11 218 67 151 3.36 3528
1967 26 35 31 14 231 15 12 226 65 131 3.05 3585
1968 25 35 32 17 241 16 11 220 60 151 2.77 3664
1969 ? 41 31 18 239 18 12 224 72 146 2.65 3719
1970 28 40 32 14 226 16 12 223 75 133 3.49 3587
1971 32 36 29 16 223 16 12 216 58 140 3.03 3456
1972 23 40 29 15 216 15 11 205 68 147 3.16 3407
1973 26 33 29 14 213 16 11 202 78 136 3.17 3401
1974 31 35 28 17 227 16 12 213 70 135 2.87 3535
1975 33 35 30 18 240 16 13 226 70 142 2.50 3717
1976 29 34 30 18 233 16 10 215 67 131 2.54 3577
1977 28 36 33 21 252 19 13 229 74 153 2.39 3889
1978 35 37 31 20 247 18 11 227 67 150 2.47 3788
1979 32 33 32 22 255 20 10 237 63 157 2.37 3886
1980 26 28 27 10 191 12 10 197 72 93 3.67 3080
1946-50 30 40 ? 21 275 18 14 271 90 135 3.37 4310
1951-55 29 39 34 18 260 18 13 235 88 133 3.06 4033
1956-60 27 37 31 14 232 15 12 224 78 128 3.34 3664
1961-65 26 35 30 12 220 14 11 212 64 142 3.39 3441
1966-70 26 37 31 15 232 16 12 222 68 142 3.05 3617
1971-75 29 36 29 16 224 16 12 212 69 140 2.94 3503
1976-80 30 34 31 18 236 17 11 221 69 137 2.64 3644
As we saw last time, the Mexican League’s impact is extreme here. The great majority of the heaviest-worked AAA pitchers in this era were Mexican Leaguers, who were typically veterans in mid-career, not prospects on the way up. Still, it’s interesting that Mexican League top aces were worked a little heavier in the late ’70s than they had been early in the decade.
The explanation for the sudden dropoff in 1980 is quite simple: A players’ strike ended the Mexican League season in July. So the line for 1980 we see above was compiled entirely by pitchers north of the border. We thus see the distinct difference between the usage pattern of Mexican Leaguers and U.S. Triple-A aces in this period.
Double-A Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Year Age G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP
1946 29 38 ? ? 252 19 9 227 80 132 2.42 3874
1947 28 36 ? 20 253 18 11 238 77 132 2.83 3909
1948 25 40 ? 17 244 16 14 239 102 115 3.53 3938
1949 29 38 ? 17 239 16 11 242 85 99 3.57 3785
1950 27 40 ? 18 244 19 11 220 98 148 3.15 3908
1951 26 37 32 20 258 16 14 227 113 130 2.92 4123
1952 30 38 31 19 256 18 12 234 80 109 2.82 3913
1953 28 39 31 17 251 16 12 246 99 129 3.21 4036
1954 27 40 31 15 246 17 12 237 99 149 3.89 3982
1955 29 39 32 18 254 19 11 226 92 146 3.03 3985
1956 28 37 32 15 240 17 10 229 80 135 3.27 3775
1957 29 39 31 15 243 17 12 224 88 132 3.25 3826
1958 27 36 32 16 247 17 11 235 86 154 3.30 3920
1959 28 39 31 17 243 16 12 241 75 137 3.48 3820
1960 24 38 29 13 227 15 10 221 94 151 3.53 3716
1961 24 34 27 12 217 14 12 205 80 130 3.51 3462
1962 22 36 28 12 213 14 11 226 77 141 4.01 3485
1963 28 33 30 16 227 16 10 218 63 156 3.09 3551
1964 28 34 31 14 226 15 11 221 69 166 3.56 3592
1965 26 35 30 13 233 17 10 214 69 168 3.02 3645
1966 28 38 30 14 226 17 11 211 80 176 2.84 3642
1967 22 29 28 13 198 12 11 170 77 139 2.68 3153
1968 24 30 24 9 185 12 8 152 51 120 2.37 2791
1969 23 29 26 10 188 13 8 173 68 125 3.22 2992
1970 21 29 28 11 197 12 11 172 67 134 3.01 3086
1971 24 27 27 13 197 13 10 166 66 132 2.76 3059
1972 22 30 26 12 191 13 8 165 64 149 2.74 3006
1973 21 28 28 11 192 11 11 179 76 146 3.36 3127
1974 22 27 26 12 186 13 10 172 80 124 3.25 3031
1975 21 27 27 12 193 13 9 179 74 114 2.89 3077
1976 21 28 27 12 191 12 12 184 70 106 3.22 3040
1977 22 27 27 11 190 13 9 170 72 119 3.29 3012
1978 22 28 28 13 197 12 11 176 75 129 3.20 3136
1979 22 27 26 13 191 13 10 187 76 107 3.35 3086
1980 22 28 28 11 201 14 9 188 75 124 3.31 3208
1946-50 28 38 ? 18 246 18 11 233 88 125 3.10 3883
1951-55 28 38 32 18 253 17 12 234 97 133 3.17 4008
1956-60 27 38 31 15 240 16 11 230 85 142 3.37 3811
1961-65 26 34 29 14 223 15 11 217 72 152 3.44 3547
1966-70 24 31 27 11 199 13 10 176 69 139 2.83 3133
1971-75 22 28 27 12 192 12 10 172 72 133 3.00 3060
1976-80 22 28 27 12 194 13 10 181 73 117 3.27 3096
The usage of aces at this level was amazingly stable over the 1970s: The average lines of 1971-75 and 1976-80 are essentially identical.
Single-A Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Year Age G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP
1946 24 33 ? 19 235 17 9 213 93 177 2.76 3805
1947 23 33 ? 14 216 15 10 201 78 138 3.05 3433
1948 25 38 ? 19 245 17 13 235 106 152 3.48 4013
1949 22 36 ? 18 245 16 13 223 100 140 3.11 3916
1950 ? 34 ? 21 250 16 13 236 105 132 3.34 4025
1951 23 36 31 21 254 18 12 223 103 156 2.95 4056
1952 ? 40 31 22 268 18 14 263 109 160 3.46 4360
1953 ? 41 31 21 264 18 15 279 98 115 3.77 4245
1954 23 37 31 21 254 18 11 227 101 157 3.07 4056
1955 23 33 29 19 229 16 10 216 91 141 3.15 3687
1956 22 35 28 16 227 15 12 195 103 160 3.18 3690
1957 23 36 30 19 240 16 11 227 93 154 3.42 3874
1958 20 35 30 13 229 16 10 211 96 140 3.16 3705
1959 23 36 29 15 226 16 11 216 69 147 3.29 3546
1960 21 31 29 12 207 14 11 187 91 146 3.41 3383
1961 23 31 28 15 213 14 11 190 74 137 3.02 3345
1962 22 32 27 15 210 14 11 190 79 173 3.28 3398
1963 19 33 29 16 225 16 9 198 85 194 3.03 3641
1964 22 32 27 15 214 14 11 194 81 203 3.40 3504
1965 20 33 28 15 222 15 11 195 91 194 2.98 3634
1966 21 32 28 17 222 15 10 195 63 159 2.76 3420
1967 20 32 27 14 208 14 10 184 79 173 2.68 3365
1968 21 31 26 13 209 16 9 182 66 180 2.67 3305
1969 21 32 27 14 209 15 9 182 65 154 2.39 3265
1970 21 30 27 14 214 14 11 185 67 148 2.34 3322
1971 19 29 27 13 202 14 9 182 75 141 3.07 3226
1972 21 29 26 13 193 14 9 176 70 152 3.00 3104
1973 20 29 27 12 202 13 9 168 74 168 2.75 3208
1974 20 28 27 14 208 14 8 169 73 156 2.56 3252
1975 20 26 26 13 191 14 9 171 71 130 2.95 3039
1976 21 26 26 11 189 12 10 173 85 122 3.25 3095
1977 20 27 27 14 197 14 9 178 61 123 2.85 3051
1978 21 27 27 12 197 13 9 178 67 140 2.91 3116
1979 21 28 27 11 198 13 10 193 73 125 3.20 3180
1980 21 27 27 12 198 16 7 161 74 139 2.64 3108
1946-50 24 35 ? 18 238 16 12 222 96 148 3.15 3838
1951-55 23 37 30 21 254 18 12 241 100 146 3.28 4081
1956-60 22 35 29 15 226 15 11 207 90 149 3.29 3639
1961-65 21 32 28 15 217 15 10 193 82 180 3.14 3504
1966-70 21 31 27 14 213 15 10 186 68 163 2.57 3335
1971-75 20 28 27 13 199 14 9 173 72 149 2.86 3166
1976-80 21 27 26 12 196 14 9 177 72 130 2.97 3110
The usage pattern here was also essentially unchanged from the early ’70s. We see only the most subtle decrease in top-end workload.
Rookie/Summer A Class Top 10 Average Innings Leaders
Year Age G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP
1963 18 15 12 3 80 5 4 74 59 85 4.32 1486
1964 19 16 12 5 94 7 5 83 53 100 3.72 1642
1965 18 18 11 5 91 7 4 92 39 99 3.93 1562
1966 21 15 12 5 91 7 4 73 41 106 2.97 1523
1967 19 14 11 4 81 6 4 73 33 72 2.82 1328
1968 20 15 12 5 87 6 4 74 35 83 2.94 1415
1969 19 15 13 6 95 7 4 80 38 104 2.77 1569
1970 18 15 13 6 98 7 5 85 35 100 3.06 1593
1971 19 14 13 6 94 7 4 80 41 103 3.04 1575
1972 19 13 13 6 94 6 5 82 42 88 3.14 1560
1973 20 14 13 6 100 7 4 88 41 94 3.02 1653
1974 19 15 14 7 102 8 5 88 44 82 2.97 1667
1975 18 14 14 5 95 7 4 87 33 71 2.93 1514
1976 20 14 13 5 98 7 4 85 36 81 2.86 1574
1977 21 15 13 5 94 6 5 96 43 75 4.25 1595
1978 21 14 13 5 94 6 5 91 39 70 3.44 1547
1979 20 14 14 5 96 8 4 90 38 90 3.11 1592
1980 22 14 13 4 91 8 3 85 30 75 2.62 1458
1963-65 18 16 12 4 88 6 4 83 50 95 3.99 1563
1966-70 19 15 12 5 90 7 4 77 36 93 2.91 1486
1971-75 19 14 13 6 97 7 4 85 40 88 3.02 1594
1976-80 21 14 13 5 94 7 4 90 37 78 3.25 1553
Again we see almost no change in the way these young prospects were deployed. There’s a slight decline in the complete-game rate, but beyond that the pattern held entirely steady.
Triple-A Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Ernesto Kuk Lee R ? 1979 Mexican 37 35 24 277 19 14 285 70 174 2.53 4329 Aurelio Monteagudo R 35 1979 Mexican 38 34 24 276 21 12 280 73 159 2.45 4296 Luis Mere R ? 1978 Mexican 40 35 24 276 18 13 245 64 195 2.51 4185 Mike Nagy R 29 1977 Mexican 35 35 27 284 17 16 231 76 114 2.22 4163 Aurelio Monteagudo R 34 1978 Mexican 42 29 23 275 17 12 236 58 222 2.26 4153 Bobby Castillo R 22 1977 Mexican 34 32 22 255 19 11 216 110 199 2.22 4141 Roger Hambright R 28 1977 Mexican 36 33 22 263 21 12 272 64 158 2.94 4090 Aurelio Monteagudo R 33 1977 Mexican 37 33 15 264 16 18 235 77 168 2.76 4065 Arturo Gonzalez R ? 1979 Mexican 36 34 18 243 12 18 253 105 144 3.67 4034 Roger Hambright R 27 1976 Mexican 36 32 17 250 17 11 248 91 133 2.70 3993
In the early 1970s, just one Mexican League ace achieved as many as 4,000 estimated pitches. In the four seasons from 1976 through 1979, that mark was exceeded nine times.
Interesting stories abound here. Monteagudo was the son of Rene Monteagudo, one of the early Cubans to play in the big leagues. Aurelio had a pretty good screwball, and was given a shot with 10, count ’em, 10 different U.S. organizations in the ’60s and early ’70s, but never managed to stick in the majors. But then he went to Mexico, and blossomed in his 30s with the outstanding seasons we see above.
Nagy finished second in American League Rookie of the Year balloting in 1969 (though he didn’t pitch nearly as well as his 12-2 record suggested), but then struggled. Hambright appeared briefly with the Yankees in 1971, but didn’t last. Both found significant success, several years later, south of the border.
Castillo was a Californian of Mexican heritage. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1974 at the age of 19, but for reasons unknown to me, never played in their organization. His first professional experience occurred in the Mexican League in 1976, and he then presented the tremendous season we see above, prompting the Dodgers to acquire him. He had a pretty decent major league career, appearing in all or part of nine seasons.
Though he never pitched an inning in the majors, probably the most interesting story belongs to Won Kuk Lee. His profile in The Baseball Library, written by Merritt Clifton:
A Korean, Kuk Lee was signed in 1964 by the San Francisco Giants organization, who also signed Masanori Murakami that year. He pitched ambidextrously, earning brief looks in spring training. After the Giants released him, he concentrated on pitching righthanded, changed his name to Ernesto, married a Mexican woman, grew a handlebar mustache, and, playing into the 1980s, won more than 150 Mexican League games.
Double-A Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Steve Brown R 23 1980 Texas 27 27 16 209 14 12 215 81 103 3.66 3379 Terry Sheehan R ? 1978 Southern 30 30 11 213 17 8 182 84 136 3.17 3375 Steve Schneck R ? 1978 Eastern 28 26 18 205 15 7 142 106 180 2.15 3351 Bob Veselic R 23 1979 Southern 28 28 13 201 11 10 220 71 151 3.58 3333 Steve Bedrosian R 22 1980 Southern 29 29 9 203 14 10 167 96 161 3.19 3330 Alan Wirth R 20 1977 Eastern 27 27 15 210 15 5 180 77 149 2.87 3320 D. Leatherwood L ? 1979 Southern 28 26 15 202 15 11 180 103 95 3.07 3303 Brian Holton R 20 1980 Texas 27 27 16 207 15 10 204 65 139 3.43 3289 Jon Perlman R 23 1980 Texas 30 30 9 200 13 7 230 76 78 4.28 3274 Dave Stewart R 21 1978 Texas 28 28 5 193 14 12 181 97 130 3.68 3237
Brown, Veselic, Wirth and Perlman all had big league cups of coffee, of various sizes. Holton had a fair major league career, appearing in 185 games.
But both Bedrosian and Stewart became substantial major league stars, “Bedrock” primarily as a reliever and “Smoke” as an ace starter. Each was a remarkably durable and resilient pitcher, and each lasted into his late 30s.
Single-A Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Bob Veselic R 22 1978 Calif. 29 28 13 215 18 8 214 98 160 3.35 3614 Mike Griffin R 20 1977 W. Carol. 27 27 19 209 17 9 189 75 201 3.49 3407 Greg Heydeman R 24 1976 Calif. 27 27 12 195 11 10 198 99 159 3.46 3367 Andy Hawkins R 19 1979 Calif. 27 27 7 188 8 13 232 97 130 5.60 3355 Ron Woods R ? 1978 Calif. 27 27 11 189 13 13 211 115 91 5.52 3336 Steve Crawford R 21 1979 Carolina 29 28 15 211 11 11 208 67 127 2.94 3334 Steve Wagner R ? 1979 Calif. 27 26 5 196 13 9 214 84 143 4.27 3323 C. Wickensheimer R ? 1980 Fla. State 26 26 15 200 15 8 167 93 162 2.21 3286 Bill Tallman R ? 1976 Calif. 27 27 10 184 11 10 213 101 135 5.04 3283 Jim Lewis R 22 1978 Calif. 26 26 14 212 12 11 166 61 189 2.12 3266
We see Veselic again, quite the minor league workhorse. Heydeman and Lewis also had sips of major league java. Griffin and Crawford became big league journeymen.
The most substantial major league career was achieved by Hawkins, who was never especially effective, but was solid and durable enough to log more than 1,500 innings in 10 seasons. The Padres’ organization allowed him to work 188 Class A innings at the age of 19 despite his being regularly pounded.
Rookie/Summer Single-A Top 10 Workloads
Pitcher T Age Year League G GS CG IP W L H BB SO ERA EP Mario Mudano L ? 1978 Pioneer 17 14 8 100 6 8 125 61 63 5.85 1833 John Altman R ? 1977 Appal. 22 10 3 100 4 10 122 48 72 5.67 1765 Scott Budner L ? 1977 Pioneer 14 14 7 99 9 3 91 54 121 3.36 1759 Mark Dempsey R 22 1980 Pioneer 15 14 9 114 14 1 96 27 109 1.58 1757 Rich Rodas L 19 1979 Pioneer 13 13 11 113 12 0 81 18 148 1.12 1707 James Nobles L ? 1977 Pioneer 13 13 4 95 9 4 100 49 92 4.17 1678 Warren Mertens R ? 1977 Appal. 14 14 7 103 4 7 118 27 68 4.19 1660 Ken Angulo L ? 1978 Appal. 15 15 8 97 9 4 90 46 97 3.43 1656 Mark Smith R 21 1977 Appal. 14 14 8 98 7 5 75 53 89 3.03 1643 Miguel Torres R ? 1979 Pioneer 14 14 3 92 6 7 121 44 59 5.67 1641
In 1977, the name of this classification was changed from “Rookie” to “Summer A,” but it still primarily deployed first-year signees fresh out of school.
Most of these youngsters never made the majors, and those who did (Dempsey, Rodas and Smith) made only the briefest of appearances.
Were Dempsey and Rodas effective at this level, or what? Combine their records, and this is what you get: 27 starts, 20 complete games, a 26-1 record with a 1.35 ERA in 227 innings, 177 hits allowed, 45 walks and 257 strikeouts.