Several pitchers have begun seasons with poor results and reversed their performance to finish the season strong. Sometimes the difference came after a mid-season trade (See Rick Sutcliffe, 1984 N.L. Cy Young Award winner). For John Tudor, it came thanks to a former teammate watching Tudor pitch on TV and noticing a problem with his delivery.
Tudor was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1985 season. Through May, he was 1-7 with a 3.74 ERA. His former Cape Cod League teammate Dave Bettencourt shared the tip about his delivery and sparked arguably the greatest mid-season turnaround in history.
Over the final four months of the season, Tudor went 20-1 with a 1.37 ERA. In that stretch he recorded 10 shutouts. He remains the only MLB pitcher with 10 shutouts in a season since 1975 (Jim Palmer). The most single-season shutouts since then is eight, by Orel Hershiser and Roger Clemens in 1988 and Tim Belcher in 1989.
Tudor finished 1985 with a 21-8 record, 1.93 ERA, league-leading 0.938 WHIP and 8.1 WAR. If not for New York Mets 20-year-old ace Dwight Gooden recording one of the greatest pitching seasons of all-time, Tudor would have won the Cy Young Award. Gooden was unanimous but Tudor finished second.
In September, Tudor pitched two 10-inning shutouts against the Mets, helping the Cards reach the playoffs and ultimately, the World Series. On September 11, 1985, Tudor and Gooden matched up 0-0 for nine innings. Jesse Orosco allowed a home run by Cesar Cedeno and Tudor finished off the shutout, 1-0.
Tudor went 117-72 over 12 seasons but 1985 was the only season he received votes for the Cy Young Award. He placed 8th in National League Most Valuable Player voting in 1985 but would have preferred to pitch better in Game 7 of the World Series instead, losing to the Kansas City Royals.