Steve Carlton’s amazing 1972 season climaxed with a Triple Crown as he led the National League in wins (27), ERA (1.97) and strikeouts (310). He was only the second left-hander at the time to do so in league history, following Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965, 1966). Grover Alexander did it twice in Phillies history (1915-16).

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Lefty won the ERA title in impressive style, allowing only four earned runs in his last five starts. The last Phillies pitcher to lead the league in this category? Alexander, with a 1.83 ERA in 1917.

Sept. 3: Start No. 34
(22-8, 2.12 ERA)

An 8-0 win in Atlanta. The shutout was his eighth, the most in the NL. Lefty’s single started an eight-run second inning. Greg Luzinski and Joe Lis homered. Game was played in two hours. Nine innings, five hits, three walks, four strikeouts.

Sept. 7: Start No. 35
(23-8, 2.09)

A 2-1 win over St. Louis in one hour and 49 minutes on a Thursday night at The Vet. It was the 100th win of Lefty’s career. The winning run scored on a Luzinski homer in the sixth inning. Nine innings, nine hits, one run, two walks, nine strikeouts. A seventh-inning strikeout broke Jim Bunning’s club record of 268. Carlton’s 23rd win set a club record for a left-handed pitcher (passing Eppa Rixey, 1916).

Chance of winning 30 games?

“A lot of things will have to happen,” Carlton said in The Daily News. “It’s a pretty tough schedule, and I don’t want to get greedy. I don’t throw at all between starts, so it would be tough for me to pitch in relief. I prefer to stay in the rotation and see what happens.”

Sept. 11: Start No. 36
(23-9, 2.14)

A 4-2 loss to the Mets at The Vet. He surpassed 300 innings pitched with the complete game. Jerry Koosman allowed two runs in the first inning. Tug McGraw pitched the final two innings for the save. Nine innings, eight hits, four runs, four walks, five strikeouts.

“I felt great. When I feel as good as tonight, I should pitch better. I’m upset. Bases on balls and losing upset me,” said Carlton.

Sept. 15: Start No. 37
(24-9, 2.11)

A 5-3 win over the Expos at The Vet with another game under two hours (1:58). Luzinski’s sixth-inning home run broke a 3-3 tie. Nine innings, 10 hits, three runs (one earned), three walks, four strikeouts. The Friday night crowd of 20,115 fans was biggest home crowd of the month, with 14,000 more than the following night.

Sept. 20: Start No. 38
(25-9, 2.08)

A 2-1 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis in a matchup against Rick Wise before only 5,569 fans. Nine innings, six hits, one run (allowed in the first inning), two walks, two strikeouts. Carlton finished 4-0 vs. St. Louis for the season with a shocking 0.50 ERA (two runs in 36 innings).

“Beating the Cardinals four times without a loss is fine, but I don’t feel any surge of accomplishment,” he said. “I regard each win as an accomplishment.”

Sept. 24: Start No. 39
(25-10, 2.06)

A 2-1 loss to the Mets and Tom Seaver on an unearned eighth-inning run in New York, clocking in at one hour, 53 minutes. Carlton tossed eight innings, seven hits, two runs (one earned), nine strikeouts.

Sept. 28: Start No. 40
(26-10, 2.00)

A 2-1 win over the Pirates in the Phillies final home game. Lefty doubled in the first run of a two-run fifth inning. Nine innings, six hits, one run (zero earned), 11 strikeouts. The 11 strikeouts pushed him over 300 to make him only the second left-handed pitcher to do that. Koufax was the first and he did it three times. Roberto Clemente’s fourth-inning single was his 2,999th career hit.

Oct. 3: Start No. 41
(27-10, 1.97)

An 11-1 win over the Cubs in Chicago in front of 2,264 fans. Nine innings, nine hits, one run, one walk, seven strikeouts.

Chances are huge that we will never see a similar season.