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Jenkins
never received the fame his
accomplishments warrant. He racked
up 284 victories, had six
consecutive 20-win seasons paired
with 200-plus strikeouts, pitched
more than 300 innings five times,
and is high on the all-time
strikeout list with 3,192. He never
pitched on a pennant winner, though,
and was usually on teams that were
known more for hitting than
pitching...Book Fergie Jenkins for Your Event
After failing to win 20 games in
1973, and because of
Ron Santo's diminishing skills
at third base, the Cubs traded
Jenkins to the
Texas Rangers for
Bill Madlock. In his first start
in a Ranger uniform, he shut out the
World Champion A's on one hit. He
led the AL with a 25-12 record, the
seventh and last time he would win
20 games. He fell to 17-18 in 1975
and was traded to Boston. He was
going to
Fenway Park with high
expectations for 1976, joining a Red
Sox team that had come within one
win of a world title the previous
year. But the fire had gone out of
Jenkins's arm. He could not win more
games than he lost. By late 1977,
Red Sox manager
Don Zimmer was fed up with
Jenkins's inconsistency and banished
him to the bullpen. On September 18
in Baltimore, Brooks Robinson Night,
Jenkins supposedly fell asleep
(Jenkins said he simply had his feet
up in the cart) in the bullpen and
had to be woken up to warm up.
Zimmer was livid, and Jenkins didn't
pitch again in a Boston uniform. At
the end of the year, Jenkins headed
back to Texas, where he partially
regained his form and won 18 games.
Jenkins was reacquired by the Cubs
in 1982 and led the club in innings
pitched and ERA with a 14-15 record
at the age of 38.
>>> Book Fergie Jenkins for Your Event
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