Quick: Name the American League Pitcher of the Month in May 1980.
Steve Stone won the Cy Young award, though a legit argument could be made for Oakland’s Mike Norris. But neither of them were pitcher of the month in May. Stone won in June and Norris never won the honor, despite finishing the season with a 22-9 record and an ERA of just 2.53.
Only die-hard Red Sox fans will know that the AL Pitcher of the Month in May, 1980 was Chuck Rainey. Rainey was in his second year in the majors in 1980 and it did not get off to a good start. He entered May with a 0-0 record and a lofty 11.85 ERA. Then he was damn-near unhittable.
On May 3rd, he shut out the Royals 7-0, then proved it wasn’t a fluke by beating them again 5-2 on May 11th. He then beat Cleveland and Toronto in his next two starts to run his record for the month to 4-0. The Indians beat him 3-2 on May 25th and he closed out the month with a 5-3 win over a powerful Milwaukee Brewers lineup.
His numbers for the month were very impressive. After giving up 18 earned runs in 13 and two-thirds innings in April, Rainey went 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA with two complete games over six starts in May.
Unfortunately for Rainey and the Red Sox, his success wouldn’t last. In a July start against the Orioles, he injured his elbow after throwing only nine pitches and missed the rest of the season. He would win 33 games over the next five seasons before retiring after 1984, but he would never again have a month like he did in May of 1980.
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