Los Angeles Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser was one of the best pitchers of the late 1980s. He had one of the best two-month stretches a pitcher has ever had in 1988, when he did not allow a run in the regular season from the sixth inning on August 30 until the first inning of Opening Day the following season.
Even longer, he threw complete games in his final nine regular season starts of the year, including a 10-inning complete game in his final regular season start.
The Dodgers happened to make the postseason in 1988 as well and, while he allowed runs, he was dominant. Hershiser won both the NLCS and World Series MVP awards that year as well. He, nearly, single-handedly won the World Series for the Dodgers that year, despite the team being massive underdogs to the Oakland A’s.
While it was arguably the best two month stretch by an MLB pitcher, two months does not make a Baseball Hall of Famer.
However, Orel Hershiser has a good case for the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Los Angeles Dodgers legend Orel Hershiser has a case for the Baseball Hall of Fame
Orel Hershiser spent parts of 18 seasons in the majors from 1983 through 2000, spending parts of 13 of those seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Overall, in his career, he had a record of 204-150 with a 3.48 ERA, a 112 ERA+, and a 3.69 FIP. He was a three-time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner, the 1988 NL Cy Young Award winner, and he had three more seasons where he finished in the top four in Cy Young voting.
He was also a great postseason pitcher in his career and not just in 1988. In 22 playoff appearances (18 starts), he went 8-3 with a 2.58 ERA. In addition to winning the 1988 NLCS and World Series MVP awards, he also won the 1995 ALCS MVP award when he was with the Cleveland Indians. In that 1995 postseason overall, he had a 1.53 ERA in five starts.
However, throughout his career, he suffered numerous bouts of bad luck.