Goodbye in South Philly

An era in Philadelphia ends 38 years ago today as the Phillies release pitcher Steve Carlton, who begins the 1986 season losing eight of 12 decisions with a 6.18 earned-run average over 16 starts.

In the 14-plus seasons after he was acquired from St. Louis for pitcher Rick Wise, Carlton wins 241 games for the Phillies with a 3.09 ERA over 499 starts.

Along the way with the Phillies, Carlton is a key to Philadelphia’s 1980 World Series winner, a seven-time All-Star selection and a four-time Cy Young Award winner.

The Phillies replace the future first-ballot Hall of Famer on the roster with another left-hander, Bruce Ruffin.

Fresh up from Class AA Reading, the 22-year-old Ruffin goes 9-4 with a 2.46 ERA in 21 starts after taking Carlton’s spot in the rotation.

Ruffin pitches another five seasons in Philadelphia, but never duplicates the success he has in the weeks after replacing Carlton.

As for Carlton, who is 41 at the time of his release, he begins a final tour around the major leagues – spending the next two-plus seasons drifting from the San Francisco Giants to the Chicago White Sox to the Cleveland Indians to, finally, the Minnesota Twins, who release him less than a month into the 1988 season.

In those two-plus seasons, Carlton goes 11-21 with a 5.58 ERA.

“Lefty was a craftsman, an artist,” longtime Phillies center fielder, broadcaster and Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn once says of Carlton. “He was a perfectionist. He painted a ballgame. Stroke, stroke, stroke, and when he got through, it was a masterpiece.”