Making his mark

Only 7 starts into his major league career, #1 prospect Eury Perez has been every bit as good as advertised

Photo: AP

History tells us there’ll be bumps in the road. No one—especially no pitcher—rises to the major leagues, dazzles from day one, then just cruises for 15 or 20 years.

There will surely be bad nights, rough stretches and even sub-par seasons after the bar has been set at an outrageous level. There will likely be injuries.

Take a walk through the Plaque Gallery in Cooperstown. Even the careers enjoyed by the one percent of the men who have played the game who have been immortalized in bronze have a chip here and a ding there if you read between the carefully chiseled lines.

Pick an era. Pick a pitcher.

Cy Young…Christy Mathewson…Walter Johnson…Lefty Grove…Bob Feller…Robin Roberts…Don Drysdale…Sandy Koufax…Juan Marichal…Bob Gibson…Tom Seaver…Jim Palmer…Greg Maddux…Randy Johnson…Pedro Martinez…Roy Halladay…