The 100 Greatest MLB Pitchers of All Time (Nos. 25-1)

This list was made after extensive research into the stats I believed to be the most important when it came to pitchers. I took a list of close to 200 candidates and looked at their career totals in Wins, ERA, WHIP, Saves, and Strikeouts.

I then ranked each player in each of those categories. After that I looked at what they averaged in those stats per year. This ensures that we are looking at quality along with quantity.

Next I weighted each stat accordingly, because lets face it, a save isn't as important as a win. Finally I tweaked the list here and there based on my own personal opinion.

I hope you enjoy, I'd love to hear feedback.

25. Ed Walsh

Chicago White Sox: 1904-1916
Boston Braves: 1917

WINS: 195
ERA: 1.82
STRIKEOUTS: 1736

1x World Champion

Teams just couldn't score when Walsh was pitching. His 1.82 ERA is a career record. His WHIP of 1.00 is second in MLB history.

He led the AL in wins once, ERA twice, and innings pitched four times. He won 20+ games four different times, one of which was a 40-win season.

His ERA was below 2.00 on six different occasions.

24. Ferguson Jenkins

Philadelphia Phillies: 1965-1966
Chicago Cubs: 1966-1973, 1982-1983
Texas Rangers: 1974-1975, 1978-1981
Boston Red Sox: 1976-1977

WINS: 284
ERA: 3.34
STRIKEOUTS: 3192

1971 NL Cy Young Award Winner
1974 AL Comeback Player of the Year
3x All Star

Although he didn't reach 300 career wins, there is no denying Jenkins' talent. Fergie was the first Cubs pitcher to ever win a Cy Young award and was also the first Canadian to do so.

In 1971, Jenkins threw a complete game in 30 of his 39 starts, truly outstanding. He led the league in wins twice, complete games nine times, and fewest walks per nine innings five times.

He is one of four pitchers to have 3,000+ strikeouts and less than 1,000 walks.

23. Juan Marichal

San Francisco Giants: 1960-1973
Boston Red Sox: 1974
Los Angeles Dodgers: 1975

WINS: 243
ERA: 2.89
STRIKEOUTS: 2303

9x All Star

Marichal was known for his unusual high leg kick that would confuse batters so that they couldn't pick up on the ball. He also would try to intimidate hitters by brushing them off the plate and throwing balls at their head .

He had more wins than anyone in the 60s, yet he never received a vote for the Cy Young award. His strikeout to walk ratio was an outstanding 3.25 to 1.

22. Pud Galvin

St. Louis Brown Stockings: 1875, 1892
Buffalo Bisons: 1879-1885
Pittsburgh Alleghenys/Burghers/Pirates: 1885-1892

WINS: 364
ERA: 2.86
STRIKEOUTS: 1806

Galvin is second in career innings and career complete games. He is the only player to win 20 games in 10 seasons and not win a pennant.

He pitched two no-hitters during his career. He was the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter on the road.

An interesting note is that he is considered the first person to use performance enhancers, as he took monkey testosterone. He also holds the record for most games started in a season with 75.

21. Steve Carlton

St. Louis Cardinals: 1965-1971
Philadelphia Phillies: 1972-1986
San Francisco Giants: 1986
Chicago White Sox: 1986
Cleveland Indians: 1987
Minnesota Twins: 1987-1988

WINS: 329
ERA: 3.22
STRIKEOUTS: 4136

3x World Champion
4x NL Cy Young Award Winner
1 Gold Glove
10x All Star

Carlton pitched at a time when some of the greatest were around and can make a case that he was the best of his time. He is the second most strikeouts by a lefty (fourth overall) and second most wins by a lefty (11th overall).

In 1972, he accounted for nearly half of his teams wins with 27. He was also a very quick intelligent pitcher that has more pickoffs than anyone in history with 144.

Although he never pitched a no-hitter, he did pitch six one hitters. He is the last pitcher to throw at least 300 innings in a season.

20. Nolan Ryan

New York Mets: 1966, 1968-1971
California Angels: 1972-1979
Houston Astros: 1980-1988
Texas Rangers: 1989-1993

WINS: 324
ERA: 3.19
STRIKEOUTS: 5714

1x World Champion
8x All Star

Ryan was one of the most dominant pitchers of any era. He played 27 seasons, a MLB record, this is astonishing considering how hard he threw the ball.

He would throw the ball at 100 mph with regularity. He is the all time strikeouts leader and is almost 1000 ahead of second place.

He also has more no-hitters than anybody with seven which is three more than anyone else. He also is tied for the most one-hitters with 12. He has the MLB record for H/9IP with 6.56.

He had 15 or more strikeouts in a game 27 times which is second all-time. He is the only player to have his number retired with three different teams (besides Jackie Robinson).

19. John Clarkson

Worcester Ruby Legs: 1892
Chicago White Stockings: 1884-1887
Boston Beaneaters: 1888-1892
Cleveland Spiders: 1892-1894

WINS: 328
ERA: 2.81
STRIKEOUTS: 1978

Clarkson once won 53 games in a season, which is the second most ever. He led the NL in ERA once, wins three times, and strikeouts three times.

He achieved the Triple Crown in 1889, and at the time of his retirement, was the winningest pitcher in the NL.

18. Randy Johnson

Montreal Expos: 1988-1989
Seattle Mariners: 1990-1998
Houston Astros: 1998
Arizona Diamondbacks: 1999-2004, 2007-2008
New York Yankees: 2005-2006
San Francisco Giants: 2009-present

WINS: 295
ERA: 3.26
STRIKEOUTS: 4789

1x World Champion
2001 World Series MVP
5x Cy Young Award Winner
10x All Star

The Big Unit is one of the most intimidating players to ever take the mound. He towers over batters at 6'10". Pair that with his blazing fastball, and it's no wonder batters are afraid to face him.

He holds the record for K/9IP with 10.67. He is second all time in strikeouts (most of any lefty), 10th in H/9IP.

He is the active leader in career shutouts with 37. He led the AL in ERA once and strikeouts four times. He led the NL in ERA three times, wins once, and strikeouts five times. He pitched a perfect game in 2004, and he is the oldest player to accomplish this feat.

17. Jim Palmer

Baltimore Orioles: 1965-1984

WINS: 268
ERA: 2.86
STRIKEOUTS: 2212

3x World Champion
3x AL Cy Young Award Winner
4 Gold Gloves
6x All Star

Palmer was not only a great pitcher in the regular season but in the postseason as well. He had a 8-3 record with an ERA of 2.61 and 90 strikeouts.

He is the only pitcher to win World Series games in three different decades. Over his long career he never gave up a grand slam. He won 20 or more games on eight different occasions.

He was the star pitcher for what some consider the best rotation ever in the 1971 Orioles. He led the AL in wins 3 times and ERA twice.

16. Charley "Old Hoss" Radbourn

Boston Bisons: 1880
Providence Grays: 1881-1885
Boston Beaneaters: 1886-1889
Boston Reds: 1890
Cincinnati Reds: 1891

WINS: 309
ERA: 2.67
STRIKEOUTS: 1830

Radbourn had a short career but he made the most of it. He has the most wins ever in a single season with 59 although some credit him with 60.

He led the NL in ERA once, and wins and strikeouts twice. He had nine 20 win seasons in his career. In 1884 he achieved the Triple Crown of pitching.

15. Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown

St. Louis Cardinals: 1903
Chicago Cubs: 1904-1912, 1916
Cincinnati Reds: 1913
St. Louis Terriers: 1914
Brooklyn Tip-Tops: 1914
Chicago Whales: 1915

WINS: 239
ERA: 2.06
STRIKEOUTS: 1375

2x World Champion

Although Brown only had three fingers (hence the nickname) he took advantage of it and became a very effective pitcher. Having only three fingers gave him a unique grip on the ball which gave if an unusual spin and curve that batters had difficulty picking up.

Brown was also one of the few switch hitting pitchers around. His career ERA is the third best of all time. He also led the league in saves four consecutive seasons.

14. Pedro Martinez

Los Angeles Dodgers: 1992-1993
Montreal Expos: 1994-1997
Boston Red Sox: 1998-2004
New York Mets: 2005-2008

WINS: 214
ERA: 2.91
STRIKEOUTS: 3117

1x World Champion
3x Cy Young Award Winner
8x All Star

For a span of about 5-6 years Pedro was the most dominant pitcher in the league, and it may have been the best 5-6 years of any pitcher ever. He led the AL in wins once, ERA 5 consecutive years, and strikeouts 3 times.

He led the NL in ERA once. One of the things that made Pedro spectacular was that he didn't have just one dominant pitch, he had three.

In 1999, he achieved the Triple Cown of pitching. In a game in 1995 Pedro pitched nine perfect innings but the score was still 0-0 so it went into extra innings, he gave up a hit in the 10th.

This meant that he technically didn't pitch a perfect game but 9 innings of perfection is impressive nonetheless.

13. Don Sutton

Los Angeles Dodgers: 1966-1980, 1988
Houston Astros: 1981-1982
Milwaukee Brewers: 1982-1984
Oakland Athletics: 1985
California Angels: 1985-1987

WINS: 324
ERA: 3.26
STRIKEOUTS: 3574

4x All Star

Although Sutton was never a dominant pitcher he always was consistent. At the time of his retirement, he had the most career victories by a right-hander since the 1920s.

He is the Dodgers all-time leader in wins, strikeouts, games started, games pitched, innings pitched and shutouts.

12. Gaylord Perry

San Francisco Giants: 1962-1971
Cleveland Indians: 1972-1975
Texas Rangers: 1975-1977, 1980
San Diego Padres: 1978-1979
New York Yankees: 1980
Atlanta Braves: 1981
Seattle Mariners: 1982-1983
Kansas City Royals: 1983

WINS: 314
ERA: 3.11
STRIKEOUTS: 3534

2x Cy Young Award winner
5x All Star

Although he is known for being a somewhat controversial pitcher because of his throwing the spitball when it was illegal, Perry's skill was never in doubt.

He was the first pitcher ever to win the Cy Young award in both leagues. He won 15 or more games 13 years in a row, the third most ever.

11. Roger Clemens

Boston Red Sox: 1984-1996
Toronto Blue Jays: 1997-1998
New York Yankees: 1999-2003, 2007
Houston Astros: 2004-2006

WINS: 354
ERA: 3.12
STRIKEOUTS: 4672

2x World Champion
1986 AL MVP
7x Cy Young Award winner
11x All Star

Clemens is one of the more controversial pitchers on the list but there is no denying the talent he has. He has won more Cy Young awards than any other pitcher.

He won the Triple Crown of pitching twice. He is only one of four players to have 4000+ strikeouts. He is only the fourth pitcher to ever win the Cy Young in both leagues.

He was the oldest pitcher to ever win the Cy Young. He is only one of nine players to have 1000 strikeouts with two different teams.

10. Bob Gibson

St. Louis Cardinals: 1959-1975

WINS: 251
ERA: 2.91
STRIKEOUTS: 3117

2x World Champion
2x World Series MVP
1968 NL MVP
2x NL Cy Young Award winner
9 Gold Gloves
8x All Star

Gibson was not only one of the greatest pitchers in history, but some say he is the greatest pitcher in World Series history. He holds the record for total strikeouts in the World Series with 35 and also holds the record for most in a World Series game with 17.

In 1968 his ERA was 1.12, which was amazing for the live ball era and was the lowest season ERA in 54 years. He also had 13 shutouts that year which is second most ever in a season.

Gibson was so dominant that season that many believe that is why they lowered the mound five inches the next year.

Gibson still did great after the mound was lowered though, winning 20 games with a 2.18 ERA. Fox Sports named him the most intimidating pitcher of all time.

9. Warren Spahn

Boston/Milwaukee Braves: 1942, 1946-1964
New York Mets: 1965
San Francisco Giants: 1965

WINS: 363
ERA: 3.09
STRIKEOUTS: 2583

1x World Champion
1957 Cy Young Award Winner
14x All Star

Spahn was considered one of the smartest pitchers around, someone who could out-think a batter. He had 20 or more wins in 13 different seasons. He has the most wins ever by a left handed pitcher in the live ball era.

He has the sixth most wins of all time. He threw two no-hitters and led the league in ERA three times. He appeared in more All Star games than any other pitcher in the 20th century.

He led the NL in wins four consecutive years. Many believe he would be second all time in wins had it not been for his three-year stint in the military. At the time of his retirement, he had the third most career strikeouts in history.

8. Tim Keefe

Troy Trojans: 1880-1882
New York Metropolitans: 1883-1884
New York Giants: 1885-1891
Philadelphia Phillies: 1891-1893

WINS: 342
ERA: 2.62
STRIKEOUTS: 2562

Keefe immediately established himself as one the greats, pitching a 0.86 ERA in his first season. At the time of his retirement he had more strikeouts than anyone in history.

He was the first pitcher to ever achieve three 300-strikeout seasons. He holds the record for having a win in the most ballparks with 47.

He had seven 20-win season, six of which were 30-win seasons, and two of which were 40-win seasons. He had six 200 strikeout seasons.

He achieved the Triple Crown of pitching in 1888. He led the NL in ERA 3 times, wins twice, and strikeouts once.

7. Eddie Plank

Philadelphia Athletics: 1901-1914
St. Louis Terriers: 1915
St. Louis Browns: 1916-1917

WINS: 326
ERA: 2.35
STRIKEOUTS: 2246

2x World Champion

Plank was one the first great pitchers of the 1900's. He was the first left-handed pitcher to win 200 games and the first to win 300. He is still third all-time in wins among left-handers.

He had eight 20 win seasons over the span of this career. When he retired, he was the American League's winningest pitcher of all time. He led the AL in shutouts twice.

6. Greg Maddux

Chicago Cubs: 1986-1992, 2004-2006
Atlanta Braves: 1993-2003
Los Angeles Dodgers: 2006, 2008
San Diego Padres: 2007-2008

WINS: 355
ERA: 3.16
STRIKEOUTS: 3371

1x World Champion
4x NL Cy Young Award winner
18 Gold Gloves
8x All Star

Maddux was the first pitcher ever to win four consecutive Cy Young awards. During that span his ERA was 1.98. He is the only pitcher to win at least 15 games in 17 consecutive seasons.

He had the most wins of any pitchers in the 1990's. He has the second most career wins of anyone who's entire career was played post dead ball era.

Many believe that Maddux was the smartest pitcher ever to play the game. He never over powered batters but his ability to locate a pitch and know a hitter's tendencies allowed him to strikeout a large amount of players.

Over his career, Maddux averaged an outstanding two walks per game. In 2001 he set an NL record by recording 72 1/3 innings without giving up a walk.

He was probably the greatest fielding pitcher of all time as well, His 18 Gold Gloves is the most ever at any position.

He holds the record for leading his league in games started with seven. He also holds the record for most season finishing in the top ten in wins with 18.

5. Tom Seaver

New York Mets: 1967-1977, 1983
Cincinnati Reds: 1977-1982
Chicago White Sox: 1984-1986
Boston Red Sox: 1986

WINS: 311
ERA: 2.86
STRIKEOUTS: 3640

1x World Champion
1967 NL Rookie of the Year
3x NL Cy Young Award winner
12x All Star

Seaver was the leader of the "Miracle Mets" season, and one the greatest pitchers to ever take the mound. Seaver once struck out 19 batters in a game, which at the time was tied for the most ever.

Seaver is the only player in the Hall of Fame with a Mets cap on his plaque. Hank Aaron once said that Seaver was the best pitcher he ever faced. Seaver pitched 200 or more strikeouts in nine consecutive seasons.

He had six 20- win season in his career. He led the league in strikeouts five times and ERA three times.

4. Grover Alexander

Philadelphia Phillies: 1911-1917, 1930
Chicago Cubs: 1918-1926
St. Louis Cardinals: 1926-1929

WINS: 373
ERA: 2.56
STRIKEOUTS: 2198

1x World Champion

Alexander came into the the league with a splash, his 28 wins is a modern day rookie record. After that he never slowed down. He holds the single season record for shutouts with 16.

He won the Triple Crown five times. He is third all time in wins and second in shutouts. He won 20 or more games nine times, three of which were 30.

He led the league in wins six times, ERA five times, innings seven times, strikeouts six times, compete games five times, and shutouts six times.

3. Cy Young

Cleveland Spiders: 1890-1898
St. Louis Perfectos: 1899-1900
Boston Americans/Red Sox: 1901-1908
Cleveland Naps: 1909-1911
Boston Rustlers: 1911

WINS: 511
ERA: 2.63
STRIKEOUTS: 2803

1x World Champion

The man who the award is named after was truly phenomenal. His 511 wins is the most ever and will almost certainly never be broken.

He also holds the record for games started with 815, most complete games with 749 and also losses with 316.

Young also had 76 career shutouts which is good for 4th all time. He had fifteen 20-win seasons, five of which were 30-win seasons. He had three no-hitters, one of which was the first perfect game of the "modern era."

He led the league in wins five different times. He led the league in ERA and strikeouts twice.

His career spanned over both the pre-modern and modern era. He was successful in both and his career is considered a bridge between the two.

His legacy will endure forever, as the award for best pitcher in each league holds his name.

2. Christy Mathewson

New York Giants: 1900-1916
Cincinnati Reds: 1916

WINS: 373
ERA: 2.13
STRIKEOUTS: 2502

Mathewson was one of the inaugural members of the Hall of Fame and some argue he is the greatest pitcher ever. He is among the all time leaders in some of the most important pitching stats.

He is third all time in wins, fifth in WHIP (1.059), eighth in ERA, and third in shutouts (79). He won 20 or more games 13 times in his career, four of which were 30-win seasons. He won the triple crown twice in his career.

He led the league in ERA and strikeouts on five different occasions.

ESPN elected his 1905 World Series as the greatest playoff performance of all-time. During the series he pitched three complete game shutouts and only allowed 14 hits.

1. Walter Johnson

Washington Senators: 1907-1927

WINS: 417
ERA: 2.17
STRIKEOUTS: 3509

1x World Champion
2x AL MVP

"The Big Train" was the first true power pitcher, he threw the ball 99 mph, which was unheard of at the time. He dominated almost everyone he faced. When Johnson retired, he had the most career strikeouts; it stood for 55 years. He is now ninth all time.

During his time, there were only two pitchers who were even within 1,000 strikeouts of Walter. He has the second most career wins ever and most likely will stay second on that list forever.

He had a dozen 20-win seasons, including 10 in a row. He has the most shutouts in baseball history, with 110. He won the Triple Crown three times in his career.

He is one of only three pitchers to win the MVP twice. His 1913 ERA of 1.14 is sixth all time. The Sporting News named Johnson the greatest pitcher of all time and the fourth best player ever.