McCatty was one of the five Oakland starters whose burnout was blamed by some on
overuse by manager
Billy Martin. The five threw 93 of the A's modern-day-record 94
complete games in 1980, though McCatty had just 11. In strike-shortened 1981, when
Oakland won the AL West title, the 6'3" power pitcher had a league-best 2.32 ERA
and tied for the AL lead with 14 wins and 4 shutouts. He finished second to Rollie
Fingers in
Cy Young voting. He had a complete-game victory in the divisional playoff
series against the Royals.
Of McCatty's 22 games, 16 were complete. His arm miseries
began in 1982. He lost his fastball, wasn't very effective as a finesse pitcher,
and in 1985 suffered through a final, 4-4, 5.57 season.
(JCA)
Steve McCatty
