St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter collected his 17th complete game for the club, the most over the last decade, but few compared to past greats.
St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter made his MLB-leading 35th start of the season on Thursday night at home against the Colorado Rockies. Expectations were uncertain as the 35-year-old had lost his previous four starts, allowing one big inning of at least four runs each time while posting an ERA over seven in the process.
Carpenter shrugged off any concerns, throwing his first complete game of the 2010 season. Rockies batters managed just four hits and one run against the veteran, who threw only 100 pitches.
At age 35, ignoring his past history of elbow and shoulder problems, Carpenter has completed his seventh season with the Cardinals, with two shortened by injury. This season, Carp led the Cards with 235 innings pitched, just seven short of his career high set in 2005.
With the help of researcher Tom Orf, we can see that only Matt Morris approached Carpenter’s team-leading 17 complete games over the last decade. As a team, the Cardinals had 65 complete games since the start of the 2001 season.
St. Louis Cardinals, complete games, 2001-2010
| Pitcher | CGs | Record |
| Chris Carpenter | 17 | (15-2) |
| Matt Morris | 13 | (11-2) |
| Adam Wainwright | 8 | (6-2) |
| Woody Williams | 4 | (4-0) |
| Joel Pineiro | 3 | (3-0) |
| Mark Mulder | 3 | (2-1) |
| Jason Marquis | 3 | (2-1) |
| Brett Tomko | 2 | (2-0) |
| Anthony Reyes | 2 | (0-2) |
| Darryl Kile | 2 | (2-0) |
| Garrett Stephenson | 1 | (1-0) |
| Bud Smith | 1 | (1-0) |
| Jason Simontacchi | 1 | (1-0) |
| Braden Looper | 1 | (1-0) |
| Kyle Lohse | 1 | (1-0) |
| Jaime Garcia | 1 | (1-0) |
| Chuck Finley | 1 | (1-0) |
| Andy Benes | 1 | (1-0) |
| Total | 65 |
Narrowing that group down to complete games that matched or bettered Carp’s Thursday performance yields this list of 35, of which he has just under one-third.
St. Louis Cardinals, complete games with four or fewer hits and none or one run allowed, 2001-2010
| Pitcher | # | Record | |
| Chris | Carpenter | 11 | (10-1) |
| Matt | Morris | 7 | (7-0) |
| Woody | Williams | 3 | (3-0) |
| Joel | Pineiro | 3 | (3-0) |
| Adam | Wainwright | 2 | (2-0) |
| Garrett | Stephenson | 1 | (1-0) |
| Bud | Smith | 1 | (1-0) |
| Anthony | Reyes | 1 | (0-1) |
| Jason | Marquis | 1 | (1-0) |
| Braden | Looper | 1 | (1-0) |
| Kyle | Lohse | 1 | (1-0) |
| Darryl | Kile | 1 | (1-0) |
| Jaime | Garcia | 1 | (1-0) |
| Chuck | Finley | 1 | (1-0) |
| Total | 35 |
Since Carpenter first took the mound for St. Louis in 2004, he ranks in a tie for fifth for most complete games across Major League Baseball. His former Blue Jays teammate Roy Halladay, now with the Phillies, is the leader by a huge amount.
MLB, complete games, 2004-2010
| Pitcher | CGs | |
| Roy | Halladay | 44 |
| CC | Sabathia | 26 |
| Cliff | Lee | 20 |
| Livan | Hernandez | 18 |
| Roy | Oswalt | 17 |
| Chris | Carpenter | 17 |
Obviously, today’s game of pitching specialization is very different from the past. Here is one vivid reminder of how different. Carpenter’s 17 complete games ties him with Eric Rasmussen for 63rd on the Cardinals all-time complete games list since 1920. Bob Gibson is first with 255, one mark that will most likely never be broken.
St. Louis Cardinals, complete games, 1920-2010
| Rank | Pitcher | CGs |
| 1 | Bob Gibson | 255 |
| 2 | Jesse Haines | 209 |
| 3 | Dizzy Dean | 141 |
| 4 | Bill Sherdel | 129 |
| 5 | Harry Brecheen | 122 |
| 6 | Mort Cooper | 105 |
| 7 | Howie Pollet | 96 |
| 8 | Max Lanier | 85 |
| 9 | Bill Hallahan | 82 |
| 10 | Flint Rhem | 73 |
| T11 | Lon Warneke | 70 |
| T11 | Larry Jackson | 70 |
| 13 | Bob Forsch | 67 |
| 14 | Steve Carlton | 66 |
| 15 | Pete Alexander | 59 |
| T16 | Red Munger | 53 |
| T16 | Murry Dickson | 53 |
| T18 | Gerry Staley | 51 |
| T18 | Vinegar Bend Mizell | 51 |
| 20 | Bill Doak | 48 |
| T21 | Curt Simmons | 47 |
| T21 | Ernie Broglio | 47 |
| T21 | Al Brazle | 47 |
| 24 | Harvey Haddix | 45 |
| 25 | Syl Johnson | 43 |
| T26 | Ray Sadecki | 42 |
| T26 | Paul Dean | 42 |
| 28 | Tex Carleton | 40 |
| 29 | Bob Weiland | 38 |
| 30 | Joaquin Andujar | 37 |
| 31 | Jeff Pfeffer | 35 |
| 32 | Rick Wise | 34 |
| 33 | Art Reinhart | 31 |
| T34 | Paul Derringer | 30 |
| T34 | John Denny | 30 |
| 36 | Tom Poholsky | 29 |
| T37 | Bill Walker | 28 |
| T37 | Bill McGee | 28 |
| T37 | Nelson Briles | 28 |
| T40 | Lynn McGlothen | 27 |
| T40 | Burleigh Grimes | 27 |
| T40 | Reggie Cleveland | 27 |
| T43 | Ray Washburn | 25 |
| T43 | Allan Sothoron | 25 |
| T43 | Clarence Mitchell | 25 |
| T46 | Ernie White | 24 |
| T46 | Sam Jones | 24 |
| T48 | Harry Gumbert | 23 |
| T48 | Red Barrett | 23 |
| T50 | Pete Vuckovich | 22 |
| T50 | John Tudor | 22 |
| T51 | Ted Wilks | 21 |
| T51 | Johnny Stuart | 21 |
| T51 | Curt Davis | 21 |
| T51 | Danny Cox | 21 |
| 56 | Joe Magrane | 20 |
| 57 | Johnny Beazley | 19 |
| T58 | Bob Tewksbury | 18 |
| T58 | Ferdie Schupp | 18 |
| T58 | Bill Pertica | 18 |
| T58 | Matt Morris | 18 |
| T58 | Ken Burkhart | 18 |
| T63 | Eric Rasmussen | 17 |
| T63 | Chris Carpenter | 17 |
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There is a different mindset about pitchers today, no question.