On May 13th, 1965, future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter pitched in his first Major League game for the then, Kansas City Athletics.

I have read in a few places over the years that by some sabrmetrics Catfish Hunter does not really belong in the Hall of Fame. That is, of course, cow poop!

Let’s look at some real numbers:

• In 1975 he had 30 Complete Games. (Yes, you read that correctly. 30!)
• He had 181 Career Complete Games
• He had 42 Career Shut Outs
• In 1975, he threw 328.0 Innings. (In 2024, the innings leader–Logan Gilbert– had 208.2.)
• He averaged 230 Innings a year over his 15 year career
• He was a starting pitcher in 6 different World Series

While baseball stats, especially modern “sabrmetrics,” can help us see the game better, they can also get in the way of actually seeing the game as it is played on a real field. This seems particularly true to me when applied to players and teams before the early 2000s.

Catfish Hunter did what an Ace was expected to do in the 1960s and 1970s. And he did it exceptionally. He ate innings, he won games, and he intimidated opposing batters. Most of all he made his teams win. He helped the OAKLAND Athletics win 3 World Series. He helped the Yankees win 2 more.

Catfish Hunter was one of the biggest stars in the game. Look at the numbers that matter. He is a no-doubt Hall of Famer and will always be one of my favorite players of all time.

Catfish died in 1999. He was just 53 years old.