MLB Power Rankings: Bob Gibson and the Most Intimidating Pitcher from Each Team
Anyone who's a baseball fan remembers the greatest pitchers of all time. Beyond the clear elites such as Walter Johnson,Lefty Grove, and others, people remember the intimidators, those who had no problem throwing inside to throw you off your game.
I remember the beasts from the 80s and 90s, such as Randy Johnson, Dwight Gooden, and others. Just who are the most intimidating pitchers of all time? A flat list has been done time and time again. Instead, this slideshow will list every team's most intimidating pitcher and ranks them accordingly.
Which Dodgers great got the edge on this list, and which Yankees reliever found their way on, among others?
30. Tampa Bay Rays: David Price
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Price is a very good pitcher, and should be an ace for many years to come. He's not especially intimidating, though, so he lands on this end of the list. He's still young, though, and if he buckles down, continues to have seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA, and keeps hitters guessing, then he could become intimidating yet.
29. Arizona Diamondbacks: Brandon Webb
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If Brandon Webb can be healthy for the Rangers, then he should be able to climb back up this list. For a short time, though, he was a very intimidating pitcher. Not only did he have a Cy Young, a 22-win season, and no bad seasons on his resume, but he also led the league in wild pitches twice, while having a pretty big number of hit by pitches.
For those expecting Randy Johnson, he's on Seattle's slide, and obviously he's much further up on the ranks.
28. Colorado Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez
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Like Price, and to an extent Webb, it's a bit too soon to tell how intimidating Jimenez will be, but it's clear that he is the dominant pitcher in Rockies' history. This past season, he not only won 15 games before the All-Star break, but led the NL in wild pitches with 16.
A guy with great stuff who's also wild is certainly intimidating, even if he does pitch at Coors Field.
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27. Toronto Blue Jays: Juan Guzman
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Guzman was a flame-out after a few seasons with Toronto, but for a while he was dominant and very intimidating. Look at his stat-line in 1993: 14-3, 3.99 ERA, 110 walks, 194 K's, 26 wild pitches. That's just scary stuff no mater how you slice it.
He did not do much after the first few years, but alongside Jack Morris he was instrumental in the Blue Jays' World Series title wins.
26. Texas Rangers: Kenny Rogers
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Kenny Rogers may not have been overly intimidating on the mound until relatively late in his career, but the cameraman shoving incident showed that he had a mean streak. That added to his intimidation on the mound, since if he would do that to a cameraman, who knows what he would do to a batter.
He hit 127 batters in his career, so he didn't exactly avoid throwing at them.
25. San Diego Padres: Trevor Hoffman
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There are some teams that are more well-known for intimidating relievers than starters. The Padres are one of those teams, thanks to long-time closer Trevor Hoffman. You don't usually see a reliever post triple-digit strikeout totals, but Hoffman had no problem doing that in his prime.
When opponents saw him come in during the ninth inning, they knew the game was likely over.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates: Dock Ellis
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Ellis pitched a no-hitter on LSD. If that's not intimidating I'm not sure what is. His many consistently good years for Pittsburgh after the no-hitter helped as well.
23. Florida Marlins: Kevin Brown
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Brown is a pitcher who started off his career a bit late, but once he got going he was both great and intimidating. He did not play for the Marlins all that long, but the only other option here is Dontrelle Willis, whose intimidation disappeared as quickly as it arrived.
Besides, those two years in Florida were his most intimidating, leading the league in ERA once and HBP both times.
22. Baltimore Orioles: Jim Palmer
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Palmer is another pitcher on this list that might be more good than intimidating, but anybody who wins three Cy Young Awards is inherently going to be an intimidating pitcher. Factor in that there was no way to get rid of him off the mound (several seasons with 300+ IP), and he's a guy that was able to cause nightmares for hitters.
21. Kansas City Royals: Zack Greinke
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This was a very tough one to select, since the Royals have several good options. Bret Saberhagen was a dominating force for a couple years, and Dan Quisenberry is the most underrated reliever of all time. However, once you factor in on-the-field performance with off-the-field problems, the choice is clear.
Zach Greinke has great stuff, as evident by a Cy Young win. He also has had his emotional demons off the field. When you combine both, that makes for a very intimidating pitcher.
20. Chicago Cubs: Carlos Zambrano
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Zambrano is in almost the same situation as Greinke, except that his off-the-field issues are clubhouse-related. He has also been consistently good for a longer period, making him more intimidating to face. Hitting 20 batters in a year can make a guy seem more intimidating as well.
19. Atlanta Braves: John Smoltz
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One of the few people on major league history who was able to be intimidating as both a starter and reliever, John Smoltz was a key piece of the Braves' amazing 1990s starting rotation, and he actually seemed to get even better as he got older.
He needed Tommy John surgery in 2000, and while that would have hurt most players' careers, Smoltz became a reliever, and had four dominating seasons as the Braves' closer. A pitcher who can start or finish without a problem is intimidating for anyone to face.
18. Detroit Tigers: Jack Morris
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The Tigers have had their fair share of intimidating players over the years, but most have come on the hitting end (Ty Cobb). The most intimidating player the Tigers' pitching staff may have had is Jack Morris, whose mean streak on the mound helps to fuel the likely eternal Hall of Fame debate for him.
The longtime veteran finished his career with 206 wild pitches, as well as nearly 25 strikeouts. You had to keep on your toes against him, since there was no telling where the ball might go.
17. Cincinnati Reds: Ewell Blackwell
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At number 17, we have who is most likely the least known player on this list, Ewell Blackwell. As tough and intimidating as Rob Dibble may have been Blackwell has him beat.
For starters, he was nicknamed "the whip" for his strange sidearm delivery. Combine that with a blazing fastball and a high hit by pitch count, and it's a lot easier to see why he was one of the most feared pitchers in the 40s and early 50s. He was a guy who you could see nailing a guy should a curve not break.
If you're still not sure about him, here's a quite from Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner: "Ewell Blackwell was a scary pitcher. Your legs shook when you tried to dig in on him."
16. Milwaukee Brewers: CC Sabathia
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CC Sabathia has been an intimidating pitcher on all three teams he has been a part of. The Indians and Yankees have far more intimidating pitchers in their ranks, while the Brewers do not have much else.
Sabathia's giant frame combined with his fastball makes him an intimidating figure to watch. Going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in half a season for a team is quite nice as well.
15. Oakland Athletics: Dennis Eckersley
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The Oakland Athletics have had their share of intimidating pitchers. They had Rollie Fingers, Dave Stewart, and Barry Zito back when he was worth his contract. The most intimidating one of the cast has to be Dennis Eckersley though.
The man who began his career as a somewhat intimidating starter for Boston became one of the game's most feared closers once he joined the A's. In 1990 he finished the season with 48 saves and a 0.61 ERA, and in 1992 he won the Cy Young and the MVP, an extreme rarity for a reliever.
14. Chicago White Sox: Ed Walsh
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I was considering Mark Buehrle for this spot, but you can't tell me that that picture isn't intimidating. Add in his use of the spitball and the all-time lowest ERA and you have Ed Walsh. This was also during an era where pitchers had no problem throwing at hitters to throw them off their game, which had to have made Walsh even more intimidating.
13. New York Mets: Dwight Gooden
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For a while, it seems like Dwight Gooden was destined to be a Hall of Famer. He had amazing stats with the Mets in the 1980s, and he was downright scary on the mound. Even when his strikeout numbers dipped under 200, he was still tough to get by.
He was a shell of his former self by the time he was 30, but those around in the 80s remember how great Gooden was.
12. Philadelphia Phillies: Jim Bunning
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It was very tough to decide between Steve Carlton and Jim Bunning. Bunning spent more time with Detroit, but Philly is where his mean streak came to light, and where he was at his most intimidating. Carlton, meanwhile, is a Philadelphia legend who won the Cy Young four times while usually having wild pitch totals in the double digits.
In the end though, Carlton won because he was dominant, and Bunning won because he was intimidating. That gets him the nod narrowly, since you did not want to dig in on a guy like him.
11. San Francisco Giants: Sal Maglie
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Juan Marichal is one of the most intimidating pitchers in Giants' history, and he was a guy to watch out for. As great as he was though, he has nothing on the man known as "the barber", Sal Maglie, a name which is far scarier than it might sound at first listen.
He made his debut for the Giants in 1945, but did not become a key part of the team until 1950. He must have wanted to make up for lost time, because he was dominant for a good part of the 50s. He had no problem throwing near batters as he racked up wins for the Giants, as well as helping to bring them a World Series title in 1950.
10. New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera
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Mariano Rivera is not intimidating because he throws at people's heads, or because he has a certain death stare. Rather, he's intimidating because he's such a dominant closer. Once he comes in the game, that changes the mentality of the upcoming hitters.
The only question to ask is not whether Rivera is dominant, but rather whether or not he is more so than Goose Gossage, who was an intimidating reliever in his own right. Can't go wrong with either of them closing in a tough situation.
9. Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators: Walter Johnson
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Perhaps the greatest pitcher of all time, Johnson had speed like nobody saw before during his time on the Nationals. His 417 wins and 205 hit batsmen are staggering numbers, and it shows the dominance he had despite playing for bad teams.
Ironically, he did not purposely try to hit batters, unlike most pitchers of that era. He just had no choice since they would always crowd the plate. His lack of desire for beaning keeps him from the top spot.
If you'd rather see a Twin on the list, then Johan Santana is a viable option after his dominance in the 2000s.
8. Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos: Pedro Martinez
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While his two most dominant seasons occurred when Pedro was in a Red Sox uniform, he was a force for the Montreal Expos during his first few seasons, winning his first Cy Young in the process.
In 1997, Martinez had 305 strikeouts, a 17-8 record, and a 1.90 ERA as the steroid era started up. Despite all the athletes juicing up, Martinez had such great numbers that he became very intimidating for a good chunk of his career.
7. Houston Astros: J.R. Richard
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The Houston Astros had one of the most underrated, fearsome pitchers in baseball in J.R. Richard during the 1970s. When a pitcher leads the league in strikeouts three times, walks twice, and wild pitches three times, that's a player that you need to keep your eye on.
Richard had both a great fastball and a dangerous slider, and had he not fallen to a stroke in 1980 he likely would have gotten to the Hall of Fame with how great and intimidating he was becoming.
6. Cleveland Indians: Bob Feller
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There are several good options to put here. Early Wynn was notoriously intimidating for most of his career, and Sam McDowell had a wild streak to go along with an amazing fastball. When you think of the truly intimidating, however, there is no one else to put here other than Bob Feller.
The Heater from Van Meter, who could have won 350 games had World War II not taken away four prime years, led the league in strikeouts seven times and had a fastball not seen since the days of Walter Johnson. Like Walter, he didn't intentionally hit people, he just made them strike out time and time again.
5. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Nolan Ryan
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Nolan Ryan was known for two things: playing the game for a really long time and striking out more batters than anyone by a mile. He was also not afraid to fight back when required; Robin Ventura can tell you all about that.
Beyond his 5000+ strikeouts, he also had 277 wild pitches. Some of it was due to his longevity, but some of it could have just as easily been to scare batters, though he was a dangerous enough force on the mound to begin with.
4. Los Angeles Dodgers: Don Drysdale/Sandy Koufax/Valenzuela
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have three great options here. There's Sandy Koufax, one of the most dominant lefties ever. There's Don Drysdale, whose name invoked fear in all who faced him. There's Fernando Valenzuela, who at his peak was unstoppable.
In the end, I go with the guy who had to hit pitchers rather than those who were simply dominant. That means Drysdale, the man who led the league in hit batsmen five times and strikeouts three times, wins out. All three pitchers could arguably fall in the top 10-15 intimidating players though.
3. Boston Red Sox: Roger Clemens
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Before Roger Clemens was this intimidating retired great accused of taking steroids, he was an intimidating youth that bust onto the scene with the Red Sox in the 1980s. He was a fierce opponent who did not have a problem throwing at someone, especially during his time at Boston.
It's a shame he had an anticlimactic career on top of the steroids, since in the late 80s and early 90s he was the dominant pitcher in the American League.
2. Seattle Mariners: Randy Johnson
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The Big Unit is somebody no man or bird would ever want to face. To start things off, he's 6'10, and with that raised mound he probably looked even taller to batters. He also had a wicked slider to go with a great fastball, and his 4,875 strikeouts didn't just happen.
The height, scowl, and speed of his fastball just made him a great player to watch pitch, just as long as you weren't the one at the plate. The best example of his intimidation was at the 1993 All-Star game, where Johnson purposely threw several feet over John Kruk's head.
Kruk went down like it was coming right at him, even though the ball was nowhere close. Who else would Kruk have jumped out of the way on that kind of pitch? I can think of maybe one other person...
1. St. Louis Cardinals: Bob Gibson
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There is no question in my mind that the most intimidating pitcher in baseball is Bob Gibson. Discounting the fact that he had an ERA in the basement and could pitch day after day, he would actually make batters fear him by continually pitching inside. He was the type of player who had no problems making you pay if he crowded the plate.
One has to wonder if he could even pitch today with how aggressive he was against batters.
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