St. Louis Cardinals: Jack Flaherty – meet Jack Stivetts

On Saturday, Jack Flaherty became the youngest pitcher in St. Louis Cardinals history to record 200 strikeouts in a season since the 19th century.

Saturday was a milestone day for Jack Flaherty. The St. Louis Cardinals pitcher struck out Cory Spangenberg in the top of the third inning, giving him 200 strikeouts on the season. Flaherty would eventually take the loss, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks over his six innings, striking out ten.

With that strikeout of Spangenberg, Flaherty also became the youngest pitcher in Cardinals history to reach the 200 strikeout mark since the 19th century. Only 22 year old Jack Stivetts was younger than Flaherty, as he struck out 289 batters in 1890.

Stivetts set that mark back when the Cardinals were called the St. Louis Browns. Unlike the American League Browns, which were known for their ineptitude before moving to Baltimore, the franchise was the class of the American Association for most of the 1880s and into the early 1890s.

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The young Stivetts was a key part of that. He won the 1889 Pitching Title as a rookie, leading the league in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings. He spent three years with the Browns before moving on to the Beaneaters (Braves), and finished up his career as part of the infamous 1899 Cleveland Spiders franchise. Overall, he finished his 11 year career with a 203-132 record, with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.406 WHiP, striking out 1223 batters with 1155 walks over his 2887.2 innings.

Obviously, Flaherty has a long way to go before putting together the type of career that Stivetts did. He is, however, off to a strong start, with this season showing that he could be a top of the rotation arm for the Cardinals for years to come. Thus far, he has posted a 10-8 record, along with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.033 WHiP, striking out 206 batters with only 51 walks in his 174.1 innings. His emergence has been a key factor in the Cardinals ascension to the top of the NL Central this season.

On Saturday, Jack Flaherty put his name in the St. Louis Cardinals record books. This may not be the only time that happens.