| Mike Scott (baseball) |
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Mike Scott was traded to the Houston Astros by the New York Mets for Danny Heep on December 11, 1982. By 1982 Scott had compiled a 14-27 major league record and was happy to be traded away from the poorly-managed Mets that featured a four man starting pitching rotation. In 1985, Scott became a student of all-time great pitching coach Roger Craig. Craig taught Scott the split-finger fastball, a pitch he had made legend in his days coaching the pitchers of the 1984 World Series Champions Detroit Tigers. This proved to be the pitch that turned Scott's career around. Scott became an 18-game winner in 1985 and was rewarded with a new three-year deal with the Astros, valued at around two-million dollars. Shortly after this, in the 1986 season, rumors began to float around the league that Scott had been cheating by marking his baseballs with sandpaper. Accusations came from everywhere, including former mentor Roger Craig. While everyone, including the Mets, tried their best to catch him (including videotaping and ball confiscating), no concrete proof has ever surfaced that Scott had been cheating. Mike Scott won the National League Cy Young Award in 1986 and went on to an 18-10 record with a 2.22 ERA. He led the Astros to the 1986 NLCS against the New York Mets, where the Astros were famously defeated in an intense six games, culminating with a 16-inning, one run victory for the Mets in Game 6 . Some say the Mets were terrified to face him in a game 7. In 1989, "The Great Equalizer" won 20 games. However, injuries beckoned his career. Scott retired after the 1991 season. EXTERNAL LINK |
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