Reviewing The Brew
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Milwaukee Brewers: The Top 5 Left-Handed Starting Pitchers in Franchise History

By Tom Kurtz

MILWAUKEE, WI - MAY 23: Norichika Aoki's of the Milwaukee Brewers sunglasses, cap and glove sit on the steps on the Brewers dugout during during the sausage races in the game against the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park on May 23, 2012 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - MAY 23: Norichika Aoki's of the Milwaukee Brewers sunglasses, cap and glove sit on the steps on the Brewers dugout during during the sausage races in the game against the San Francisco Giants at Miller Park on May 23, 2012 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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22 Feb 1998: Mike Caldwell of the Milwaukee Brewers at Spring Training at the Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, Arizona.
22 Feb 1998: Mike Caldwell of the Milwaukee Brewers at Spring Training at the Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, Arizona. /

2. Mike Caldwell

Years as a Brewer: 1977-1984

The process got much easier for the top two LHP’s in team history. Mike Caldwell was a rock in the Brewers rotation for eight seasons after being traded from the Reds. As you can see by when he pitched in Milwaukee, he was a part of many great teams in their history.

Caldwell had his best season in 1978, his first full season with the Crew. He ended up finsihing 2nd to Ron Guidry for the AL Cy Young award. Caldwell went 22-9 with a minuscule 2.39 ERA and a league-leading 23 complete games in ’78. He went on to record 81 complete games with the Brewers, which is a team record that will never be broken.

The lefty from North Carolina did not stop there. He won 102 games for the Brewers, which is 2nd in team history. This included double-figure victories in 6 consecutive seasons. He logged over 200 innings in all but one of those campaigns, while keeping a low career ERA (3.74) and WHIP (1.284).

The Brewers won an average of 86.3 games during his best seasons, which again is part of the formula here too. He also won two games in the 1982 World Series against the Cardinals, that they obviously lost in seven games. In short, Caldwell was a tremendous pitcher for the Brewers and it would take somebody truly special to unseat him for the top spot…

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