The Top 10 Starting Pitchers in Baseball's Hall of Fame

Warren Spahn had 13 seasons in which he won 20 or more games. How impressive is that? His ERA wasn’t the best in town, and that did hold him back, as well as his strikeout stats.

His 363 career wins put him fifth on this list. Warren played for 21 seasons, all with the Braves. He was inducted into the HOF in 1973.

Here are his figures:

363/17/13/.546/3.09/118/63/1.195/0.7/1.8/4.4/0/32

Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourn won more games in a season than any other pitcher in history. In 1884 he won 59 games, started 73, and completed every one of them. He actually won 48 games the season before that one.

Radbourn was inducted into the HOF by the Veterans Committee in 1939.

Here are his figures:

309/20/9/.614/2.67/119/35/1.149/0.2/2.09/3.6/1/9

Charles “Kid” Nichols doesn’t get a lot of love when it comes to talk about “greatest ever” and subjects of that nature.

The man was a great pitcher. From 1891-1898 he averaged 31 wins a season. He won 30 games seven out of eight seasons. His 21-game average per 162 games is highest on our list.

He was inducted into the HOF by the Veterans Committee in 1949.

Here are his figures:

361/21/11/.643/2.95/140/48/1.222/0.3/1.47/3.3/0/9

Clarkson was a 53-game winner in 1885 and a 49-game winner in '89, when he won the “unofficial” triple crown. He pitched over 600 innings in two different seasons during his 12-year career.

From 1885-1889 John averaged 543 innings a year, averaging 41 wins and a 2.54 ERA. It makes your arm sore just thinking about it.

John was inducted into the HOF in 1963 by the Veterans Committee.

Here are his figures:

328/21/8/.633/2.81/134/37/1.209/0.3/1.66/3.9/1/17

Some people have placed Sandy so high on a pedestal that it is difficult for them to imagine he wasn’t the greatest pitcher of all time. It’s a fact!

From 1963-66 Sandy averaged a 24-6 season with an ERA of 1.86, 307 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.909, and notched three CYA and one MVP.

But four seasons do not a career make. He wasn’t even good when the Bums were still in Brooklyn. I guess he needed the glitz of LA to revive him.

Koufax was inducted into the HOF in 1972.

Here are his figures:

165/16/3/.525/2.76/111/40/1.06/0.8/2.93/9.3/3/23

Lefty had the highest ERA+ of all these candidates. He led the American League in wins four times, in ERA nine times, and in strikeouts seven consecutive years.

He was the Most Valuable Player in the American League in 1931, when he won 31 and lost only four with an ERA of 2.06, four shutouts, and 175 strikeouts, all league bests.

He posted the highest ERA+ of 148 of everyone on this list.

Grove was inducted into the HOF in 1947.

Here are his figures:

300/19/8/.656/3.06/148/35/1.278/0.4/1.91/5.2/2/35

Young is probably the first "old-time" pitcher kids usually hear about when they start playing baseball. His 511 career wins are surely safe

Cy had more 20-win seasons than anybody on this list. He was nothing if not consistent. The most wins he ever recorded was 36 in 1892. He went over the 30-win mark five times.

He was inducted into the HOF in 1937.

Here are his figures:

511/20/15/.627/2.63/138/76/1.13/0.2/2.3/3.4/1/21

Alexander led the National League in wins six times, four consecutively. He won four ERA titles and led the league six times in complete games, seven times in shutouts, and six times in strikeouts.

His 90 career shutouts put him second on this list.

From 1922-17 he averaged 27 wins, an ERA of 2.12, eight shutouts, and 200 strikeouts along with 31 complete games.

In 1915 and 1916 Grover won back-to-back Triple Crowns, winning three altogether in his 20 seasons.

He was inducted into the HOF in 1938.

Here are his figures:

373/20/9/.623/2.56/135/90/1.121/0.3/2.31/3.8/3/40

Christy had 12 consecutive 20-win seasons! He led the league in wins four times, ERA five times, complete games twice, shutouts four times, and in strikeouts five times.

He won the Triple Crown in the National League in 1908, winning 37 and posting an ERA of 1.43 with 11 shutouts and 259 strikeouts.

He had the best career ERA on this list, as well as the best wins/start pct. of .667. He also had the best K/W ratio and WHIP.

Christy was inducted into the HOF in 1936.

Here are his figures:

373/21/13/.667/2.13/135/79/1.059/0.2/2.96/4.7/2/26

And the winner is “Big Train” Johnson—a surprise to some, but it really shouldn’t be.

The man had it all. His 417 wins are second to Cy Young, and it won’t be bested ever.

Walter won over 20 games 10 straight times, leading the league in six of them. He has an ERA of -2 in 11 of his 21 seasons, leading the league five times. He won three Triple Crowns and collected 12 strikeout titles. He also led the league in shutouts on seven occasions.

His 110 career shutouts are the most in history, beating out Alexander by 20 shutouts.

During the seasons of 1910-16 Johnson averaged 28 wins with a sparkling ERA of 1.56, seven shutouts, 34 complete games, 246 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.946.

He may not be the biggest name and wasn’t the flashiest person, but I do believe the statistics bear out that the “Big Train” was the best ever.

He was inducted into the HOF in 1936.

Here are his figures:

417/19/11/.626/2.17/147/110/1.061/0.1/2.57/5.3/3/47

Here are the leaders in the various categories used in making these determinations:

CATEGORY WINNER STATISTIC
Total Wins Cy Young 511
Wins (162 game avg.) Nichols, Mathewson, Clarkson 21
20-Win Seasons Cy Young 15
Wins/Starts % Christy Mathewson .667
ERA Christy Mathewson 2.13
ERA+ Lefty Grove 148
Shutouts Walter Johnson 110
WHIP Christy Mathewson 1.059
HR/9 innings Walter Johnson. Jack Chesbro 0.1
K/W Christy Mathewson 2.96
K/ 9 innings Sandy Koufax 9.3
Triple Crowns Johnson, Alexander, Koufax 3
Career Titles Walter Johnson 47