Books and articles about Steve McCatty

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.

RELATED LINKS Submissions » My Hero, Steve Sparks by Sparky Williams

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)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » April 10, 1980: Minnesota outlasts Oakland, 9–7, in 12 innings. Rick Sofield hits his first ML homer, a 3-run shot in the 12th, and Roy Smalley adds another in the frame -- both off Steve McCatty. Sofield has three hits and three runs in the game but will end his ML career in 1981 with a .207 average. He'll switch to football and become the starting quarterback for the University of South Carolina in 1983. » August 10, 1980: Steve McCatty becomes the 4th A's starter to pitch a 14-inning complete game this season, losing 2–1 to Seattle despite pitching a 6-hitter. Teammates Matt Keough (on May 17th), Mike Norris (June 11th), and Rick Langford (July 20th) have also pitched 14-inning complete games for manager Billy Martin, who will later be widely criticized for ruining their arms through overwork. » September 7, 1980: The Oakland A's pitch their ML-record 78th complete game of the season as Steve McCatty beats the Orioles 5–2. » May 8, 1981: Oakland's Steve McCatty beats the Brewers, 2–0. Dwayne Murphy supplies a solo home run and Dave McKay swipes home for the other score. McKay also stole home last September. » October 7, 1981: Another series of excellent pitching: the A's Steve McCatty goes the distance in a 2–1 win over the Royals. » November 3, 1981: Brewers Rollie Fingers (28 saves, 1.04 ERA) wins the American League Cy Young Award, collecting 22 of 28 possible first-place votes. The other six go to Oakland's Steve McCatty. » April 2, 1982: In an exhibition game against the Padres, A's pitcher Steve McCatty steps to the plate wielding a 15-inch toy bat on the instructions of manager Billy Martin, who was upset that his club was not allowed to use a DH in spring training games at National League parks. Home plate umpire Jim Quick refuses to let McCatty use the bat, and McCatty takes three called strikes. » May 30, 1984: Kirk Gibson's 9th inning homer, off Steve McCatty, gives the Tigers a 2–1 squeaker over the A's. Reliever Willie Hernandez is the winner. » September 4, 2002: Aaron Myette, ejected yesterday for two pitches behind Melvin Mora, starts today's game, allowing six of the 11 walks in an 8–3 loss to Baltimore. According to the New York Times, it is the first back to back start by a pitcher since Steve McCatty in 1980 [though five pitchers -- Dennis Martinez (Baltimore), Bert Blyleven (Cleveland), Pete Vuckovich (Milwaukee), Rick Langford (Oakland), and Juan Eichelberger (San Diego) -- made the last start before the 1981 strike and the first start after].