Steve Carlton definitely had a profound influence on the Cardinals in his first full major league season. With Bob Gibson missing time and no starter getting handed the ball more then 30 times, Carlton led the team in starts (28) and strikeouts (168) and he was second in innings (193) and wins (14). Not too bad for a guy who turned 22 when the season started. And it was definitely a solid start to a Hall of Fame career.
Carlton was especially effective in the second half of the season. Both of his two shutouts were in early September and his two best months were July and September. In July, Carlton went 4-1 with a 1.77 ERA and in September, Carlton went 3-1 with a 1.99 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings. Opposing batters hit a paltry .186 against Carlton in that final month of the season.
Carlton was as effective against lefties as he was against righties. Lefties hit Carlton for .234/.303/.360 while righties hit him for .239/.298/.327. One reason Carlton was so effective was he gave up only 10 homeruns in 193 innings.
Carlton got one start in the post season. He took the loss in game five despite giving up only one unearned run in six innings of work. He gave up only three hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Here’s a look at Carlton’s 1967 numbers:
Wins 14
Losses 9
Games 30
Games Started 28
Complete Games 11
Innings Pitched 193
Hits 173
Runs 71
Earned Runs 64
Walks 62
Strikeouts 168
ERA 2.98
Runs Saved Above Average 8
Shutouts 2
H/9 8.07
BR/9 11.05
SO/9 7.83
BB/9 2.89
SO/BB 2.71
Neutral Wins 13
Neutral Losses 10
