Baseball's All-Time Team: Starting Rotation

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This slide show is a tribute to baseball's all-time team. The players have been selected due to their enduring accomplishments and achievements. I must note that no players who have been involved in a steroid scandal are included in this slide show. However, there are several players who endured off the field controversies. I chose to include these players because I felt that these off-field scandals neither increased nor hampered their performances.

5. Randy Johnson

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Randy Johnson was a six foot ten inch left-hander who was known for his blazing fastball. During his first few years in the majors, Johnson was extremely wild. But he began to work on his control and blossomed into a superstar who was practically unhittable. Johnson played for five different teams from 1988-2009, but was best known for his contributions to the 2001 World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Johnson is second all-time with 4,875 strikeouts, has 303 career wins and a 3.29 earned run average. He was the winner of five Cy Young Awards, and a ten-time all-star.

4. Nolan Ryan

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Before he became the team president and part owner of the Texas Rangers, Nolan Ryan was a dominant right-handed pitcher for 27 seasons. Ryan played for four teams from 1966-1993. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Ryan was known for his dominant fastball that reached speeds in the high-90s, even in his later years. Ryan was an eight-time all-star and holds the MLB record for career strikeouts with 5,714. His seven no-hitters are also the most in MLB history. He had 324 wins and a career ERA of 3.19.

3. Cy Young

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Cy Young pitched for five different teams in his major league career, but had arguably his best season with the Cleveland Spiders in 1892, winning 36 games, with an ERA of 1.93. Many of Young's records have stood for over 100 years, including 511 wins, 7,355 innings pitched, 815 games started, and 749 complete games. These records will, most likely, never be broken. Cy Young was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937. In 1956, MLB created the Cy Young award, given every year to the best pitcher from each league.

2. Christy Matthewson

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Christopher Mathewson, nicknamed "Christy", "The Christian Gentleman", and "Matty", was a right hander who pitched from 1900-1916. Matty was best known for his years with the New York Giants. Playing during the dead-ball era, Mathewson had 373 career wins, a 2.13 ERA, and 2,507 strikeouts. He was one of the "First Five" members of the Hall of Fame in 1936.

1. Walter Johnson

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Walter Johnson is arguably the best pitcher to ever pitch. Johnson pitched from 1907-1927. Johnson's record of 110 shutouts is still an unbroken record. He is second all-time with 417 wins, and ninth with 3,509 strikeouts. He also finished his career with a 2.17 ERA. Johnson won two MVP awards: 1913 and 1924. He played his entire 21 year career with the Washington Senators.