That's right. No one is going to win 20 games this season, and Associated Press writer Mike Fitzpatrick pointed out in an article published Saturday that this is the first time in big league history that there won't be a 20-game winner in a full major league season. No one won 20 games in 1981, 1993 and 1994, but those were seasons shortened by labor disputes. Fitzpatrick reported that the last time there was a full season without a 20-game winner was 1871, when Albert Goodwill Spalding won 19 for the 20-10 Boston Red Stockings, but that predates the year recognized as the start of the major leagues -- 1876. It's pretty obvious why 20-win seasons have dwindled from eight in 1976 to three in 1996 to zero in 2006. The workload of starting pitchers has steadily declined with the specialization in relief work, and starters are less likely to be in the game when games are decided in the late innings. "It's a different era, a different time," said Twins ace Johan Santana, who is bypassing a chance for 20 wins Sunday to work Game 1 of the playoffs. "Teams pay good money for setup men. Teams pay good money for closers." Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone told Fitzpatrick that while 20 wins has been the marker in the past, "20 is going by the wayside and 15 is going to be the standard." Taking that notion a step further, how many more 300-game winners will we see? If the best pitchers are topping out at closer to 15 victories a year, a major leaguer would have to win 15 games for 20 seasons to reach that milestone, suggesting the 300 mark will soon be part of a bygone era. It's a trend that has been a long time in the making, and maybe the Hall of Fame voters should start looking more seriously at guys with 250-300 wins. Bert Blyleven comes to mind. He pitched for a fair share of subpar teams and still won 287 games. His only 20-win season came for a Twins club that went 81-81 in 1973. He was 19-7 in a 75-87 season with Cleveland in 1984. Perhaps a guy who was widely recognized as having the best curveball in the game while he was pitching deserves more attention from Hall voters. Currently there are only two candidates to win 300 games any time soon -- Randy Johnson (280) and Tom Glavine (289). If these guys were to retire with those win totals after the postseason, are they Hall of Famers?