Steve Carlton Becomes Baseball's Highest-Paid Pitcher

On March 3, 1983, Steve Carlton signed a four-year, $4.15 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, making him the highest-paid pitcher in major league history. The 38-year-old left-hander had just completed a season in which he went 23-11, led the National League in strikeouts, complete games, shutouts, and innings pitched, and claimed his fourth Cy Young Award, a record at the time.

Carlton's deal called for $1.15 million in 1983 and $1 million annually for the following three seasons. The numbers seem quaint by today's standards, but they reflected the accelerating salary escalation of the free-agency era. Just six years earlier, the first wave of free agents had pushed salaries past the $1 million mark. Now a single pitcher commanded more than $4 million over the life of a contract.

"Lefty" was famously silent with the press. He stopped giving interviews after the 1973 season and maintained that policy for most of his career. His pitching did the talking. Between 1971 and 1982, Carlton won 20 or more games six times, threw over 250 innings in 11 of 12 seasons, and accumulated four Cy Young Awards with a Phillies franchise that spent much of that stretch in the middle of the pack.

The 1983 season proved to be a strong encore. Carlton went 15-16 with a 3.11 ERA, and the Phillies reached the World Series behind a veteran roster known as the "Wheeze Kids." Philadelphia lost to Baltimore in five games, but Carlton's contract had already secured his place in the financial history of the sport.