Strike Three!

Strike Three! My Years in the Pen is a delayed celebration of the top strikeout staff in the history of the American League. Roger Clemens indictment refocuses attention on the effects of drugs on pitching records, such as those of the top strikeout staff in the history of the AL, the Cleveland Indians of 1964-68. The 1964 Indians was the first staff to strike out (SO) 1100 AL batters in a season, and they would lead the league with over 1100 SO for a record-setting 5 years, not since duplicated. They were the first to SO 7.0 batters / 9 innings. Of 7 AL staffs that averaged 7 SO / 9 innings for 5 consecutive years, only they led the rest of the AL by more than 1 SO / 9 innings. They would set a single-season record with 1189 SO in 1967, a record that would stand for 30 years, broken only in the steroid era. They would be the only staff since WW II to lead the NL in SO 5 consecutive years. Second, Strike Three! is a story of the bullpen, and bullpen catchers, as the job has evolved from 1946 to 2010. Third, it is a story of a teen-age, bullpen-catcher-author who caught the record-setting staff from 1964-66, and his Years in the Pen.