Steve Carlton played 24 seasons (1965–1988) for STL, PHI, SF and 3 other clubs. Career regular-season line: a 329–244 record, 4,136 strikeouts and a 3.22 ERA. Late Developer career, peaking in 1980. Led the league in a statistical category 6 times. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. Honors: 10× All-Star Selections and 4× Cy Young Awards.
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Rate Steve Carlton — All-Time
Sport-specific career totals from the active profile tables, with VAL shown whenever the sport has a value file.
22 seasons · peak 14.7 in 1980
VAL (Value Above League) measures each MLB season against that season's league; the dashed line is zero — a season that added nothing above the league's fringe. ● peak · ○ league-best season.
49.0 career wins over 22 seasons · 1 win = 2.61 VAL
Best season · 1980 · +5.6 wins
Latest season · 1987 · −0.9 wins
VAL 3.0 measures each part of a MLB player's game in his sport's own currency against what that season's fringe players produced, converted to team wins with rates fitted from every team-season in the encyclopedia.
How often Steve Carlton led or placed top-ten on a MLB season board, and the shape of the career — computed from the same per-season boards the year pages publish, so every number is checkable.
Black ink
6
league-leading seasons · 18 top-ten finishes
Career arc
Late Developer
Peaked in the back half of their career — got better with age. Peak 1980, 22 rated seasons.
Season boards
18
top-ten finishes across the MLB season boards
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Career boards only, within MLB
On the MLB Career Dominance board — top-25 in more than one all-time category at once.
Cross-sport prominence: 98.8th percentile among MLB careers — a within-sport percentile, because career value is not comparable across sports.
Wore 6 distinct franchise crests across 24 seasons (1965–1988) — a true nomad. The crest trail:
MLB Advanced — ERA+ & OPS+ LeadersMLB Age Milestones — Youngest to 1,000 Hits, 100 HR, 100 Wins and 1,000 KMLB Breakout Seasons — Biggest Career-High LeapsMLB Career Arc TypesMLB Career Dominance — top-25 in multiple all-time categoriesMLB Clutch Delta — Who Rises in OctoberMLB Compilers vs Comets — Career ShapeMLB Consistency Index — Mr. Reliable vs Boom-BustMLB Era-Adjusted Careers — Greatest Careers on One ScaleMLB Era-Adjusted Seasons — Greatest Seasons in Modern TermsMLB Franchise Mt. Rushmores — Four Faces of Every TeamMLB Greatest Single Seasons by VAL (Hitters and Pitchers)MLB Hall of Very Good — Great Careers on Cooperstown's DoorstepMLB JourneymenMLB League Leader Marks — Most League-Leading SeasonsMLB LoyaltyMLB Only Club — Statistical ExclusivityMLB Rarest Seasons — Statistical RarityMLB Statistical Snubs — Eligible Careers Cooperstown Has Not TakenMLB VAL Leaders — Value Above LeagueWho Was the Best MLB Player Each Year?Career Twins — Equally Dominant Careers Across Different SportsCross-Sport Era-Adjusted Careers — The Greatest Careers, One AxisCross-Sport Era-Adjusted Seasons — The Greatest Years, One Axis
Players whose careers had the same shape — total value, peak, best three-season stretch, length and when the value came — measured with VAL against their own leagues.
Bio, rosters, and year-by-year/career stat splits come directly from MLB's own official public StatsAPI.