Steve Carlton on Bob Gibson: "He was a teacher by his presentation on the field"

Steve Carlton on Bob Gibson: "He was a teacher by his presentation on the field. ... I had to teach myself to be that intense."

[@danvitco771]

As reclusive as Lefty was during his career, it’s great to watch him loosen up In his later years. You can tell he’s a very intelligent man with a great sense of humor.

[@Mryrhodesian]

His 1972 Season belongs in the top 5 greatest pitching seasons ever.

[@waynejohanson1083]

On a team that did not even win 60 games.

[@kencummings953]

Gaylord Perry, also a hall of famer, went 24-16 that same year with a bad Cleveland team and no one remembers it.

[@tommcconville4270]

@@kencummings953 Gaylord Perry was the most overlooked pitcher in Major League Baseball in my opinion. A 24 and 16 record is an incredible feat, that's 40 decisions! Almost as good as Denny Mc Lain's 31 & 6 record in 1968. Actually, Gaylord's record is just as good. I think this was either '73 or '74 when he accomplished. Forget about the greaseball folks, he was flat out a real good pitcher. A very good case should be made to get him into the Hall of Fame, most likely by the e Veterans Committee. By the way, his brother Jim Perry was a pretty good pitcher also.

[@tommcconville4270]

@@kencummings953 And he was a great pitcher for the Giants, along with Juan National.

[@tommcconville4270]

@@kencummings953 Geez Ken, it's Juan Marichal, these bleepin'' phones always play these stinkin' name and word tricks. It's Marichal and Perry, two great Giants pitchers. And Juan is a Hall of famer.

[@vincentrobinson9645]

Carlton was always different, but nothing takes away from his greatness!!!

[@dxwheel6491]

What a trio in STL in the late 1960s: Gibby, Lefty, and Timmy.....great clubs. Check out Lefty's '67 Game Five WS start against Boston, he was brilliant in defeat against his future Philadelphia teammate, Jim Lonborg.

[@patrickgray5633]

Always different Vincent the planet lefty is on hasn’t been discovered yet. At one point he said he didn’t own a wrist watch, believe in time or birthdays, a guy told him he just recently bought a pistol & Carlton replied “You better put all your guns in PVC Pipe & bury them cause the government is coming in black helicopters to coffin skate everyones gun. I know he’s one of the finest pitchers that ever lived but he’s in his own world that nobody can find him in.

[@kenyongray2615]

R.I.P Bob Gibson. I did not like him as a player since he nearly always beat the team I rooted for. But always respected him as a great pitcher. Steve Carlton was great himself. His slider ranks with Randy Johnson's as the best I have seen in my 60+ years of watching baseball. Thanks for the video.

[@jamesrivera4947]

Had the privilege seeing Carlton not only pitch a five-hit, 2-0 shutout against the Dodgers in July, 1972, but also tripling in the only runs of the game! Nobody like Lefty ⚾

[@AnthonyRodriguez-xp2fg]

I was there too.

[@loadedfun4764]

Philly Loves you more Steve.....

[@Goat69-mi1ku]

Lefty

[@dombrunelli5082]

I've been a Phillies fan since the '55 season..Steve Carlton was the most valuable Philly ever. My son was a left-handed pitcher through college, and he modeled his delivery on Carlton; his attitude on Bob Gibson..My son was successful throughout.

[@joemckim1183]

The Cardinals trading Carlton was one of the worst trades in Cardinals history if not MLB history.

[@patrickgray5633]

@@joemckim1183 bingo it’s right there with my guys trading Frank Robinson for Milt Pappis so Robinson goes to Baltimore when DeWitt called him a “Old 30” & he won The Triple Crown. Lol

[@cards1985]

What a legendary pitcher lefty was.

[@teller1290]

He and Tom Terrific were the two best I saw in my 56 years. Maddox honorable mention.

[@kevinw8688]

@@teller1290 Sounds about like I think dude. Lefty and Tom T---none better that I saw.

[@PabluchoViision]

Gibson! Seaver! Jenkins! Carlton! Marichal! Ah, when giants strode the earth!!!

[@bowtieguy377]

Steve was one hell of a pitcher and he also had 13 career homers and 346 hits. Not too shabby for a pitcher.

[@kevinmcconnell3641]

The best pitching performance I ever saw was Bob Forsch beating Carlton 1-0, Carlton didn’t lose 1-0 games, he won 1-0 games. I think that was 1983?

[@MarkSmith-js2pu]

I’m glad to hear Steve talk. We was great for the game🇺🇸

[@garrywilliams5777]

Carlton, Koufax from the left side and Gibson, Ryan from the right side were the best in my lifetime. Good chance when you played against them not many hits or runs on that given night. Absolutely dominant and miss that era of baseball ⚾.

[@christopherlangdon2892]

I was 13, living in Philadelphia in 1972. Lefty was incredible to win 27 for an awful team. It was a pleasure watching his career...that slider!

[@Macattack11639]

I was 7 in 1972 living in Philly. That season was epic. My sisters bf took me to his 20th win game. It was sold out and nuts. Never forget it.

[@maymeclayton1402]

It was strange that the Cardinals had both Carlton and Gibson.

[@kennethlucas7473]

Trouble from the left side and trouble from the right side.

[@kencummings953]

They also had Rick Wise and Jerry Reuss.

[@cards1985]

It seemed Steve Carlton would beat my Cardinals every time. He got back at his former team. Damn, lefty was great.

[@victorduncan3254]

I still am a die hard Phillies fan after all these years. But the one pitcher I remember even Carlton had a tough time beating. Bob Forsch. Deadly poison to the Phils.

[@nightowl5475]

Steve would follow Bob Gibson's philosophy of psyching himself up before a game. He wouldn't want to converse with the opposing team at all. In fact, he wouldn't even look at the batter. To Lefty, it was just an extended game of catch with the catcher. It was a joy to watch him throw that wicked slider.

[@jameshoran8]

When Carlton joined the Phillies in 1972 one of his first appearance was at Candlestick Park in San Fran. On a really cold April night Steve allowed a single to Chris Speir to start the game. The next batter hit into a double play and Steve then retired the next 25 batters.

[@fishhookism]

Loved to watch Carlton pitch in the vet in the 1970s

[@joedambrosio5423]

Brilliant interview.

[@sha9infinite450]

Former ball players and announcers educated me on so much. Grew up on ABC and NBC coverage primarily and I appreciate the stories and education. It is priceless.

[@TheTopherocks]

Great laugh!

[@robinschell3175]

life long phillies fan, 55 years. Steve Carlton in his prime is as good a pitcher as I have ever watched.

[@ericgrove7755]

Carlton painted home plate. Great control.

[@stroise]

Roy Halladay had same dominance! I love it⚾️👍🏼

[@markko17]

All geniuses are a little bit strange. Carlton is no exception.

[@caveman3096]

Whats so strange about him? Great player who hated the media. No problem!

[@Nestor123057]

I don't know about you guys, but I felt uneasy through that interview, especially toward the end. You know, for most of his career, Carlton didn't even speak to the media.

[@kencummings953]

He looked and sounded like Bill Parcells. McCarver was his closest baseball friend, but Carlton definitely walked to the beat of his own drum.

[@highgate4767]

When asked if he felt part of the "Cardinals family", he gave a non response, response. I think he still has hard feelings about being traded by the Cardinals, especially when they didn't keep their word about giving him a raise after winning 20..

[@alcopower5710]

@@highgate4767 that’s exactly what I was thinking. The Cards did not keep their word and did him wrong. I’m just happy that he had even greater success in Philadelphia

[@jpsned]

@@alcopower5710 My feelings as well. Steve looked uncomfortable about the "Cardinals family" bit. I don't blame him.

[@RayBecker]

To grow up in the Philly area and listen to Harry and Richie announce the gems that Lefty pitched is something that I have always cherished. Yes, some of those teams were brutal, but, every 4th or 5th day you knew that Lefty was pitching and that would mostly be a win. I think the Phillies STOLE Lefty for Rick Wise.

[@Jiltedin2007]

How did Rick Wise find his was to Boston? Wise pitched for the Red Sox in the 1975 World Series.

[@arky5610]

lefty one of the best pitcher's ever ,

[@johngilbert5875]

Steve Carlton is a funny guy!!

[@patrickgray5633]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmOyfJ2fqLOGepY Watch this is he’s a very smart guy obviously but he’s extremely different with his views & beliefs. Larry Bowa said it right “If you know Lefty you know he’s not nuts he maybe a little different but he’s not nuts.” Lol

[@GeorgeCrosley]

Dan McLaughlin makes a mistake introducing Carlton as a member of the "1968 champion Cardinals". True, they were National League champions in 1968, but World Champions the year before. Carlton, of course, was a member of both teams.

[@CesarNoelQ]

Management at the time was the worst for trading Carlton when he himself wants to stay as a Cardinal

[@teller1290]

I heard Steve at one time was living in Colorado in a renovated bomb shelter or some such thing.

[@spryfolII]

Steve Carlton was "The Man"! In Philly they started winning when he came to town! In their heyday (1976-83) the Phillies played in Big games! Lefty seemed like he never lost when the Phillies needed it most! There a many players that put up stats, but just have problems coming through in the clutch! Carlton was NOT one of those guys! Given a choice of all the pitchers of my day 1970s and 80's! There are 5 that if my life depended on them winning I would choose these guys? 5. Jim Palmer 4. Jack Morris 3. Tom Seaver 2. Steve Carlton 1. Catfish Hunter Honorable Mention 5. Luis Tiant 4.Don Sutton 3. Ron Guidry 2. Bert Blyleven 1. Gaylord Perry 10 of my guys! Pitchers who if you had to win 1 game, and you had to face these guys, you knew your ass was in trouble. These guys had the traits, the mental capacity, and desire to win, and even if they didn't have their best stuff, their guile would get you. I remember Gaylord Perry pitching for the Yankees against my Orioles, and it was one of those games where your pitching coach has more mound visits than innings. Perry had absolutely nothing that day and still won. Runners all over the place every inning but when he needed to get a out, he did, and I remember my neighbor and I who were about 12 or 13 and we loved the game, talking about pitching and we both were saying to the crowd who were booing the Yankees that we were watching a "true" professional. One hit or walk away from going to the showers, Perry wound up going deep into the gane, and when he didn't come out for, I want to say the 8th, we all started applauding and chatting GAY-LORD... GAY-LORD!!! GAY-LORD!!! Perry, came out, but he didn't go out from the dugout, but he kinda peeked out and did a mini hat tip! He knew, we knew how much he battled and we appreciated his effort! Great moment! That's the kind of emotion a great pitcher can give a crowd. It meant something to him and it definitely meant something to us and to this day I still think about it!

[@tommcconville4270]

Totally agree with your list, they were all great and I watched them all pitch. But you left out Tommy John and Jim Kaat, two great left-handers of the '60's, '70's and '80's. They were among the most clutch pitchers if this era. Tommy had 288 career wins, and helped get the Dodgers into the World Series in'77 & '78. And all this after a serious elbow ligament issue, corrected by Dr. Frank Kobe. He also went to the Yankees and pitched them into the playoffs. Jim Kaat as a warrior; he and Mudcat Grant were co - aces if the 1965 Twins World Series finalists against the Dodgers. And he won many games for them then went to the Phillies in mid seventies where he and Steve Carlton pitched Phil's into NLCS and World Series victory in 1980. Jim had over 300 career wins. Why are pitchers like Jack Morris, Luis Tiant, Tommy John and Jim Kaat not in the Hall of Fame? This is an injustice that must be addressed now! I was never impressed with Don Sutton, he seemed like a compiler to me.

[@tommcconville4270]

And Gaylord Perry too. An excellent pitcher who should get Hall of Fame consideration. I posted the other day the Veterans Committee should take up his cause.

[@tommcconville4270]

Sheez, it's Dr. Frank Jobe, this phone is absolutely BRUTAL!!! Pardon the error but this phone continues to play name and word tricks constantly. I'm going throw it at the wall and get an I - phone, and not have this phone issue any longer.

[@spryfolII]

@@tommcconville4270 You know your baseball. I remember John and Kaat. John was a power pitcher until the elbow exploded. Then, after the miracle surgery, John won games on smarts and keeping that ball low with late movement. When John was with the Yankees, that was a game we had to go to. John always pitched well against my Orioles. We got him once. It was 1980, and the Yankees were in town for a MONUMENTAL 5 game series late in the season. We basically had to either sweep, or get at least 4 to have a legit shot at catching them. We rocked John, but I believe Craig Nettles had a monster game and we lost. We took 3 games, but it wasn't enough. The Yankees won 103 games. we came in 2nd with 100 games won. Another great season by the Birds, but the Yankees had it all. They finally lost to the Royals in the ALCS as No.5 for the Royals took Goose deep for a (Earl Weaver) 3 run homer in the clincher. I could write a book about Mr. Brett! What a money player he was. As clutch as any I've seen in any sport.

[@kurtmiller3760]

I got to see Carlton pitch in Game 1 of 1977 NLCS against the Dodgers he gave up the grand slam to Ron Cey that tied the game but the Phillies still won the game he was such a great pitcher though and it was really cool to see him pitch!

[@robertwilliams3322]

LEFTY, LEFTY, LEFTY

[@billhair9552]

He said Carlton was part of the 1968 Champion Cardinals. Detroit beat St Louis in 68

[@Volunteersunrise]

He was talking about the National League champions. The League Championship was a lot more important before devision s.

[@othgmark1]

l was in St. Louis in 67 and 68 nobody in St. Louis l knew considered 68 champions. St. Louis fans only counted World Series championships at that time. Only the Yankees had won more world series at that time.

[@Jiltedin2007]

Steve Carlton also picked up a World Series Ring with the 1987 Minnesota Twins. Carlton has 3 World Series Rings!

[@jameshoran8]

When Steve was unsnimously inducted into the Hall in 1994, Steve said he was going to speak sbout the poor state of The nation with a lesbian as First Lady (Hillary). The MLB quickly got to him and ordered him to change the speech. He did and played nice during same. As a Philly fan, I would have loved to hear the oringinal speech Steve intended to give. It was all about patriotism.

[@jacquibourdeau441]

Being a lefty pitcher too. He was my hero.

[@BlackKaweah]

Bing Devine, what were you thinking?

[@vpimike2646]

Looks like the Cardinals GM would punish players by trading them to Philadelphia: Flood, McCarver, Carlton. Trading Carlton for Wise was not wise.

[@jamesrivera4947]

Philly was notorious for its hostility to black players, especially Ben Chapman's incessant verbal assault of Jackie Robinson. Even Mike Schmidt was jeered!

[@russboden5792]

great interview...

[@sp-lc1fy]

20 minutes! St. Louis would have had Gibby & Lefty, imagine that.

[@stevewinfree1828]

Can you explain that to me? I may have not understood the 20 mins part of the convo.

[@thegoose0m1]

@@stevewinfree1828 Carlton called back in 20 minutes to say he'd except whatever the Cardinals would offer him, but was told it's too late, your trade to Philly is a done deal....

[@nealrothchild3470]

Great pitcher

[@jerrystewart7594]

The nastiest sliders I've ever seen.. Lefty was a badass!!!

[@simpleagain1]

Would absolutely FREEZE hitters in their tracks at the plate. I loved how they’d always immediately walk away without ever trying to argue with the umpire

[@geoffmorse4366]

Did he say the 1968 championship team? Maybe of the NL, but the tigers won the series in 1968.

[@caveman3096]

Fuckin A right Geoff. Mickey Lolich made the Cards his BITCH in the 68 series. Did you know that Mickey when he retired owned his own bakery and probably ate half his profits? He was to baseball in the 60s and 70s what David Wells was in the 90s and 00s. Awesome lefthanded fat guy!

[@l.rongardner2150]

First time Carlton has spoken in decades.

[@user-ou3dm6th3x]

Gussie Busch screwed himself when he ordered Carlton traded over a few thousand dollars. If Carlton had still been with the Cardinals in the 70’s and 80’s, they would’ve gone to the World Series a few more times and probably won 2 or 3. What could’ve been they say.

[@josephgonnelli7990]

Carlton on the mound---as a fan, you just had a different feeling about the outcome. Lefty always seemed to have control of the game!

[@patrickgray5633]

Cardinals fans make fun of the Lou Brock trade, well Steve Carlton getting traded to the Phillies ranks up there as one of the worst trades ever it’s there with Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas.

[@monatoney3474]

OH yea

[@kevindearmond523]

Shoulda never let Carlton go

[@rhgamecock1]

It is a shame he has been so reclusive. He really is a good interview and seems like a good-natured guy.

[@bruceb2408]

The Tigers won in 1968.

[@joeleicht5764]

If the Cardinals had retained Carlton and Jerry Reuss in the 70s, they'd have dominated the era.

[@stevenh4797]

Norm McDonald looks and sounds like Steve Carlton

[@davidteller7681]

I'm still mad the Cardinals traded him!

[@yousejustabunchoffancypants]

Most Valuable Pitcher won 27 games on a team that only won 58. Most outstanding season ever. Guidry 25-3.

[@simpleagain1]

Guidry had a team full of stars behind him playing in a weak ass division. Carlton had ZERO support from the “players” surrounding him and did it himself.

[@hondaphan4172]

@@simpleagain1 I'd be willing to bet Lefty would've been something 33-4 if he had a good team behind him. I was 12 years old in '72 and as a South jersey kid I would often listen to the games on the radio...still clearly remember the night Lefty lost to Phil Neikro 1-0 which ended his winning streak at 16 games. Nothing like listening to Harry and Whitey on the radio.

[@WhiteyMcCracker]

@@simpleagain1 Huh? The AL East was easily the best division in 1978, with four teams winning at least 90. Guidry had an even lower ERA than Carlton did in 1972, which is amazing for a lefty given the short porch in right field in Yankee Stadium. However, if I had to choose I'd agree with you that Carlton had the better season.

[@tjstrong3607]

If George Constanza's Dad would have been a Cardinal Fan,, >> " How could you trade away STEVE CARLTON!!!!, you would have had CARLTON AND GIBSON!!! ARE YOU NUTS!!! "

[@jpsned]

😄

[@rogerbeshens7713]

I know how to throw the Carlton slider. You tube, football slider Roger Beshens.

[@kevinw8688]

LMAO. Yea, throwing a slider like Steve Carlton is really easy, just look it up on KZbin? You serious? Or you just fucking with us? I have not seen a slider that good EVER, although Big Unit was awful impressive too.

[@chrischapel9165]

The 68 champion cardinals...ummm no cardinals did win the choke artist award of 68 though...

[@Volunteersunrise]

They were National League Champs. The League Championship was much more important before devision play started. Competition was fierce with only one team in each league playing further.

[@Volunteersunrise]

The Cards did not choke. The Tigers came from behind and won it . Mickey Lolich happened. Flood slipped and misplayed a batted ball . That never happened and sure was not choking. The Cards have won more than any team not buying championships in NY. They don't choke. BTW The Yankees played about thirty years as the only real team in the Amer. League. The Cards always had the Dodgers and Giants to get to the Series.Red Sox sucked for all those years.

[@DavidBrown-nx8hh]

Carlton was certainly quirky. I can see now why he never spoke to the media

[@tommcconville4270]

Steve Carlton, Sandy Koufax and Warren Spahn are the greatest left handed pitchers of all time. No ifs, ands, or bits about it.

[@ericpantalone5229]

Have you ever heard of Randy Johnson? He played in the steroid era and his numbers during his peak were Koufax like, in a much more offensive era. He won 5 cy young awards.

[@tommcconville4270]

@@ericpantalone5229 You're right, I forgot to mention Randy and I was a big fan of his, my error. If the stinkin' New York press didn't hound him, he would have remained with the Yankees. And he had a good rapport with Joe Torre, not what the lousy New York press reported. So make that 4 of the greatest left handed pitchers of all time, with Randy and his 305 career wins.

[@ericpantalone5229]

@@tommcconville4270 But he wasn't near as dominant with the Yankees. His first year was good, but he had a 5.00 era his second year. Somehow he was still 17-11 that year. Must have gotten tons of run support. He was already in his 40s.

[@tommcconville4270]

@@ericpantalone5229 But who really cares about ERA when he won 34 games, 17 in each of the two seasons he pitched for the Yankees. ERA statistics are always higher in the American League and we know the reason for that. He still could have contributed more quality wins and starts if he had stay with the Yankees.

[@ericpantalone5229]

@@tommcconville4270 ERA matters because the record cant be replicated on a marginal team. The offense carried him. See Jacob deGrom- best pitcher in baseball, no run support, terrible record. You're not pitching well if your offense needs to bail you out of every start. I'd be curious to go thru his Yankee seasons start by start to see how many clunkers vs solid starts he had.

[@mookie449]

His agent stole all of his money.

[@pukulu]

Steve Carlton had a lot of ups and downs during his career. In between CY Young awards he had some mediocre seasons. He had great longevity and his fastball kept going well into his mid 30s.

[@danacoleman4007]

This is bizarre

[@tommcconville4270]

buts about it, another dumb typing error.

[@russboden5792]

...by the way, Thank you Cardinals for Edmundo Sosa !

[@russboden5792]

"Gussie Busch screwed himself"...yeS!, Go PhilS !. and loved Steve Carlton & those1980 Phils!

[@russboden5792]

as a Phillies fan back in 1970....I know the Cardinals screwed Curt Flood in trying to trade him here, , I was disappointed in not being able to see Curt Flood playing for the Phils.