Steve Rogers Had A Career That We Should Try Not To Forget
On Episode 2367 of the Effectively Wild podcast, host Ben Lindbergh made reference to David Laurila’s newsletter and his weekly trivia quiz. One question revolved around the three pitchers who have won at least 100 games for the Expos/Nationals franchise. Ben got the first two, and essentially got the third, but could not place the name. The name that eluded him was Steve Rogers.
The right-handed pitcher was originally selected by the New York Yankees in the 60th round of the 1967 draft. Instead, he elected to attend the University of Tulsa, where he helped the team get to the Men’s College Baseball World Series his sophomore year. Rogers played all four seasons, graduating with a degree in petroleum engineering. But rather than drilling for oil, he again registered for the MLB draft, where the Expos took him with the fourth pick in 1971.
Just about two years later he made his debut, throwing eight innings against the Astros in the famed Astrodome, allowing two runs on four hits, getting a no decision on a game that went ten innings.
Rogers pitched from 1973 to 1985, but from 1973 to 1983, he was one of the five best pitchers in baseball. As Ben referenced on the podcast, those top five pitchers – as measured by Fangraphs WAR – were Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, Nolan Ryan, Gaylord Perry, and Rogers. Only one of these guys is not in the Hall of Fame. Just to add to the list, after Rogers, you have Phil Niekro, Tom Seaver, and Don Sutton – Hall of Famers, all.
In 1973, Rogers came in second in Rookie of the Year voting (to Gary Matthews). In 1974, he was named an All-Star for the first time.
Between 1980 and 1983, Rogers was a top-five finalist for the Cy Young Award three times. In 1982, he came in second to Carlton.
From 1973 to 1984, he had only one season (1976) when he didn’t have double-digit wins, and yet he never won twenty games (he topped out at 19 in 1982). From 1973 to 1983, he had an ERA of 3.07 while winning 150 games and accruing 46.3 bWAR. All told, Rogers was an All-Star five different times, always among the best of the best.
As a National League pitcher before the universal designated hitter, Rogers wasn’t much of a batsman, hitting .138 with in 881 career at-bats. Amongst his 122 hits, he had eight doubles and two triples, but no home runs.
Rogers is not a Hall of Famer by any rational or analytical metric. His statistics are about 50% of what is required to be elected (his career is most similar to Burt Hooten, another blast from the ‘80s past). And, true to form, in 1991, his first (and only) year on the ballot, he failed to receive even a single vote. Fans north of the border may view that as a bit harsh.
Because Rogers toed the rubber during a golden age of pitchers (many of whom are enshrined in the Hall of Fame), he may not be that memorable to anyone other than his family and those of us who grew up assiduously watching baseball in the eighties. Unfortunately, Rogers may be best remembered for giving up a game-changing, and ultimately game-winning, home run to Rick Monday in Game 5 of the 1981 National League Championship Series.
But that on at-bat should not detract from a career of durability and viability that spanned two decades and brought smiles to the faces of many a Canadian.
