Mark Buehrle and the Best Pitchers That Never Threw Hard

Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver and Randy Johnson. These three men are among the hardest throwers in the history of baseball. However, nobody mentions guys like Greg Maddux and Mark Buehrle (pictured above), men who have had good careers despite not being flamethrowers. In order to compensate for their lack of speed, these men used deception and accuracy to get hitters out. This list covers the best soft tossers in the history of baseball.

5. Jamie Moyer

Moyer will be nearing 50 years old when he attempts to make a comeback in 2012. Considering he has played in four different decades, I wouldn't be surprised if Moyer pitched until his arm fell off. But no matter what decade he played in, Moyer never threw hard. He always used the slow speed of his pitches to befuddle hitters into making outs. Moyer has over 4,000 innings pitched and over 250 wins. He is also the oldest pitcher in the history of the MLB to throw a complete game shutout. Not bad for a guy who threw 82 miles an hour the last time he pitched.

4. Mark Buehrle

Buehrle has thrown two no-hitters, one of which was a perfect game. Buehrle is not a power pitcher, though, he relies on pitching to contact to get guys out. This allows Buehrle to keep his pitch count low and pitch deeper into games. He also pitches quickly in order to speed up the game. So far, he has won over a 150 games and has won two consecutive Gold Gloves for his defensive skills. He also has 200 innings pitched in every season with the exception of his rookie year. 

3. Curt Schilling

While he was with the Diamondbacks, Schilling was one half of one of the greatest pitching duos of all time with Randy Johnson. During this time, Schilling solidified his reputation as a feared power pitcher, and he struck out 300 batters three times.

However, as Schilling aged, the speed on his fastball declined. Schilling, unlike so many other pitchers who lost the zip on their fastballs, adjusted his approach to pitching and won 20 games for the third time at the age of 37. He finished his career with 3,116 strikeouts.

2. Tom Glavine

Glavine was one of the most durable pitchers of his generation as well as one of the best. He did not go on the DL for 20 years and was 42 years old when that finally happened. Glavine was successful because he was able to switch speeds and pitches in order to get outs. He is a 300 game winner, has struck out over 2,500 batters, is a two time Cy Young Award winner and is the 1995 World Series MVP.

1. Greg Maddux

Maddux did not appear to be much on the on the mound, he was only six feet tall. Maddux made up for his lack of size however with an intelligent approach to pitching. When he got in a jam, he would throw softer instead of harder, unlike most other pitchers. Despite winning 20 games only two times, Maddux won over 350 games in his career. He won four consecutive Cy Young Awards and has over 3,000 strikeouts. He also won at least 15 games for 17 consecutive seasons.