When it came to pitching, the 1967 White Sox led the way. They led the American League in ERA (2.45), shutouts (24), hits allowed (1,197) and homeruns allowed (87) and they were second in walks allowed (465). About the only thing this team didn’t do was strikeout batters (the White Sox were seventh in the American League).
So the best pitcher on the best pitching staff has to be pretty good, and that guy was Joe Horlen. 1964 was Horlen’s breakout year. He finished with a league leading 0.935 WHIP and was second with a 1.88 ERA on a White Sox team that fell one game short of the Yankees in the American League. Like 1967, the White Sox combined a top notch pitching staff with a bad offense and the end result was no pennant.
Horlen put together good seasons in 1965 and 1966 before his spectacular 1967 campaign. In 1967, Horlen set career marks in wins (19), innings (258), complete games (13) and shutouts (6) and his 2.06 ERA and 0.953 WHIP led the league.
One of Horlen’s strength’s was his effectiveness against left handed hitters. As a right handed pitcher, Horlen was ever better against lefties (.187/.230/.252) then he was against righties (.218/.273/.326) and he did all of this without striking out many batters. His .216 batting average against for balls in play is simply off the chart and it’s little surprise that he was able to replicate this 1967 season.
Horlen got off to a great start in 1967. He won his first eight decision and in four of those games, the opposition didn’t score a run. He was 10-2 by the All Star break and that earned him his first and only All Star appearance of his career. Horlen actually pitched better in the second half but the offense didn’t get the job done for him and he finished one win shy of 20.
The end result of this fantastic season was a fourth place finish for the Most Valuable Player award and a second place finish for the Cy Young. Red Sox starter Jim Lonborg didn’t have as good of an ERA or WHIP, but he struck out 246 and finished with 22 wins.
Here are Horlen’s numbers in 1967.
Wins 19
Losses 17
Games 35
Games Started 35
Complete Games 13
Innings Pitched 258
Hits 188
Runs 66
Earned Runs 59
Walks 58
Strikeouts 103
ERA 2.06
Runs Saved Above Average 25
Shutouts 6
H/9 6.56
BR/9 8.72
SO/9 3.59
BB/9 2.02
SO/BB 1.78
Neutral Wins 17
Neutral Losses 9
April 15th, 2007 at 11:49 am
No mention of his no-hitter!!!! This is clearly a biased website, and I love it!!!!!!!!
–Joe
December 25th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
And in a clutch performance, at that—a September game against the Detroit Tigers, one of the three teams they were battling for the American League pennant!