Bruce Kison--1978
The other day on the road, I was sitting
around the table for breakfast in the
concierge lounge and the scout talk was
about pitchers who have been clutch
when it came time at the end of the
regular season.
C.C. Sabathia's run for the Brewers in
'08 was mentioned. Randy Johnson's
superlative 10-1 close for the '98 Astros
after being obtained from the Mariners
included a 5-0, 1.41 mark in September.
Johnson would also go 3-0, 2.93 in
helping lead the D-Backs to the 2001
World Championship. The towering lefty
would be even better in 2002, when he
went 5-0, 0.66 in September for Arizona.
Then the name of Bruce Kison was
mentioned as the lanky right-hander was
a fierce competitor during the Pirates
glory days of the 1970s. Coincidentally,
Kison was sitting at the table.
While I knew Kison had a wonderful
career, I never realized the extent of his
success down the stretch. Sure enough,
Kison went 115-88 for a career winning
percentage of .567 over 15 seasons.
When looking at his Septembers, the
righty went 31-12 for a .721 winning
percentage.
Come playoff time, Kison went 5-1, 1.98
in ten post-season outings.
Talk about dialing it up when needed.
(9/16/10)
around the table for breakfast in the
concierge lounge and the scout talk was
about pitchers who have been clutch
when it came time at the end of the
regular season.
C.C. Sabathia's run for the Brewers in
'08 was mentioned. Randy Johnson's
superlative 10-1 close for the '98 Astros
after being obtained from the Mariners
included a 5-0, 1.41 mark in September.
Johnson would also go 3-0, 2.93 in
helping lead the D-Backs to the 2001
World Championship. The towering lefty
would be even better in 2002, when he
went 5-0, 0.66 in September for Arizona.
Then the name of Bruce Kison was
mentioned as the lanky right-hander was
a fierce competitor during the Pirates
glory days of the 1970s. Coincidentally,
Kison was sitting at the table.
While I knew Kison had a wonderful
career, I never realized the extent of his
success down the stretch. Sure enough,
Kison went 115-88 for a career winning
percentage of .567 over 15 seasons.
When looking at his Septembers, the
righty went 31-12 for a .721 winning
percentage.
Come playoff time, Kison went 5-1, 1.98
in ten post-season outings.
Talk about dialing it up when needed.
(9/16/10)
