Pitcher Perry has few peers
The Gaylord Perry watch is over, or is it? Perry recently became the first pitcher since Early Wynn in 1963 to notch 300 career victories, but where will he go from here? Fourteen other pitchers belong to the 300 club, but Seattle's ''Ancient Mariner'' probably will jump ahead of five of them before the season ends. Once he does pass Wynn and Lefty Grove (300 each), Eddie Plank (305), Mickey Welch (307) and Hoss Radbourn (308), however, he must catch John Clarkson at 327 to move any higher.
What makes Perry's feat so significant is that all but five 300-game winners pitched before 1920, including the king of them all, Cy Young, whose 511 wins are virtually an unbreakable record.
current pitchers given the best chance of next attaining the 300-win plateau are Philadelphia's Steve Carlton, with 266 wins, and Cincinnati's Tom Seaver, with 260.