Bleacher Report - Articles by Jonathan Stilwell

MLB's Five Great Pitching Trios

Jonathan Stilwell — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:24:38 -0500

The Five Great Pitching Trios

It hasn’t occurred very often that three pitchers rise to the challenge and cause a team to ascend to great heights because of their efforts. The stars aligned for this to occur about once an era.

The formula would be something like this—you take a staff ace, a great pitcher, bring up a good rookie, and trade for a promising pitcher someone else might not value so much. Every once in a while everything clicked.

The trios I found sustained their excellence and success over at least three years. Each pitcher in the trio needed to make a significant contribution in order to be selected.

I rank the trios featured here for the greatness of their contribution and the success it brought the team.

5) The Philadelphia Athletics of Connie Mack’s Lefty Grove, George Earnshaw, and Rube Walberg—1929-’32; 260W-101L; 31 shutouts

At this point, Mack was no stranger to developing a dominating pitching staff. His staff of ’02-’15 is one of the greatest in pitching history, featuring Eddie Plank and Rube Waddell among others.

He bought Lefty Grove in ’25 for $100,000, and when Lefty hit his peak, nothing much stopped the Athletics.

Grove established one of the greatest peaks in baseball history. He was winning the ERA and strikeout title every year. Earnshaw chipped in with three consecutive 20-win seasons and a H/9 title in ’29. Walberg won 20 games once and led the league in IP in ’32.

The trio lifted the team to two World Series titles, an American League pennant in ’31, and a second place finish in ’32.

4) The Atlanta Braves' Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Greg Maddux—’95-’98; 204W-86L; 24 shutouts

This is our most recent and famous trio. All three are either retired or about to. Most expect all three to have a place reserved at Cooperstown.

The lowest ERA+ any of these three posted during this stretch was John Smoltz’ +134 in ’95. The best was Greg Maddux's historic +262 the same year.

Each of these three won a Cy Young award during these four years: Maddux ’95, Smoltz ’96, and Glavine ’98. In the only interruption in ’97, Braves pitchers were second and third in the voting.

Atlanta won the World Series in ’95, the NL pennant in ’96, and the divisional playoffs in ’97 and ’98. The three pitchers were seldom at their best during the same year. This could be one reason they only won one World Series title.

The Braves' great pitching really stretched from ’91-2000 for an entire decade. Other pitchers contributed. Steve Avery had two or three good years early on. Maddux arrived in ’93. In ’97 and ’98 Denny Neagle won 20 and 16 games respectively. Kevin Millwood added 17 and 18 wins in ’98 and ’99.

3) The Baltimore Orioles' Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, and Mike Cuellar—’69-’71; 188W-72L; 33 shutouts

This was certainly one of the great pitching staffs in the history of the game. In ’71 Pat Dobson joined the trio to make a fourth 20-game winner. This had not been done since the Black Sox of ’19!

Dave McNally was the first to establish himself with 22 wins in ’68. Then the Orioles traded for Mike Cuellar and brought up youngster Jim Palmer for the ’69 season. The rest is history.

Although the Orioles only won one World Series in ’70 against the first Big Red Machine, they competed in the Fall Classic all three years.

Cuellar was born in Cuba and was arguably the third great Latin pitcher of the era after Juan Marichal and Luis Tiant. He continued to pitch well through ’75.

McNally’s four 20-win seasons ended after ’71. He continued to pitch respectably for three more years.

Palmer went on to post one of the great and most consistent peaks in baseball history.

2) The Cleveland Indians' Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Mike Garcia—’51-’54; 245W-136L; 39 shutouts

The Indians also featured an aging Bob Feller, who added nifty seasons of 22-8 in ’51 and 13-3 in ’54. If you looked carefully in ’51, you could also find a fading Hal Newhouser, who added seven wins that year.

During the run, Garcia led the league in shutouts in ‘52 and ’54. His ’54 campaign included a WHIP title as well. Early Wynn led the league in wins (23) in ’54 and innings pitched twice. Bob Lemon also led the league in innings pitched, complete games twice, and wins and H/9 once each.

The Indians were up against a Yankee dynasty at its height of greatness these years. They finished second each year from ’51-’53 with 93, 93, and 92 wins. Then in ’54 they ran away with the pennant with a record 111 wins.

Although defeated in the World Series in ’54, this was an amazing collection of pitching talent. The cast included three Hall of Fame pitchers and a very fine Mike Garcia at his peak.

1) The Chicago Cubs' Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown, “Big Ed” Reulbach, and Orval Overall—1906-’09; 254W-86L; 78 shutouts

This is perhaps the most dominant trio in baseball history, with 78 shutouts over four years—an incredible total. The shutouts are supported by remarkable H/9 ratios of 5.3 by Reulbach in ’06, 6.2 by Brown in ’08, and not one of them topping 7.0 in all four years!

This was true domination. The Cubs set an all-time record for wins in ’06 with 116.

Their ERAs ranged from 1.03 (+253) by Brown in ’06 to a lavish 2.03 by Reulbach in ’08, when he won 27 games.

This trio featured three pitchers all at their considerable peaks.

During these years Reulbach had winning streaks of 14 and 17 games and a scoreless inning streak of 44.

At his best, Brown was as good as anybody in baseball. He often faced off against Christy Mathewson. He ranks among the top 15 pitchers of all time.

Orval Overall (has to be one of the neatest names in baseball history) threw in two 20-win seasons and 23 shutouts.

This trio lifted the Cubs to the World Series four of five years, with two titles in ’07 and ’08. The one year they missed the World Series, in ’09, they went 104-49!

The Future

Recent developments like free agency have made it more difficult for teams to develop and keep their best pitchers over a four- to five-year stretch. But the phenomenon is bound to happen again, once a generation.

The Best Pitchers NOT In the Hall of Fame: Who Got Overlooked

Jonathan Stilwell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:14:25 -0500

As faithful baseball fans, we depend on the Hall of Fame to show us who the truly great players are. The players who dominated, not just for a season or two, but for years.

The Hall of Fame began in 1936, inducting Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson in its first year. Next came Cy Young. Pete Alexander followed.

From 1939 to 1947, while only Rogers Hornsby was elected, the veteran's committee was busy reconstructing 60+ years of baseball history to find those who belonged in the HOF.

Studying the list of inductions, one has to wonder about the order in which some pitchers received their recognition.

The committee found Charles Radbourn early on in their process in '39, but where were Tim Keefe ('63) and John Clarkson ('64)? They were equally as important and masterful as Radbourn, but overlooked for 25 more years.

Why were pitchers like Pennock, Chesbro, and McGinnity going in before greats like Mordecai Brown and Kid Nichols?

The HOF process seemed uneven, and somewhat political.

For the most part, the best pitchers are in the HOF. But there are pitchers whose careers have fallen through the cracks. Pitchers who, for one reason or another, never got the votes or attention needed to make it in.

The pitchers on this list are every bit as skilled as their contemporaries already voted in. The top few on the list have a body of work and cases for the HOF so compelling, one wonders how they got missed.

My last article studied The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for History’s Bottom Line . It looked at pitchers in the HOF with the weakest resumes. Many of them were from the initial live ball era—1921-1945. This research should give us a framework to look within for our best pitchers not in the HOF.

To come up with this list I researched the best pitchers of each era. In addition, I cross-referenced all non-HOF pitchers by length of career, beginning with 2,800 IP, and made lists from each range of IP: 2,800-3,000, 3,000-3,500, 3,500-4,500, and 4,500-plus.

I looked at some pitchers with shorter careers as well, and included some whose careers I thought made the greatest statements.

Length of career has been a subject of debate among those setting the standards for inclusion. Some historians have labeled the shorter career effect as the “Smokey Joe Wood” effect, referring to HOF pitchers whose career lengths were shorter than required for HOF inclusion, but whose careers made a significant impact and thus we're inducted.

Four pitchers in the HOF fall into this category—Dizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, Sandy Koufax, and Addie Joss.

Their careers ranged from 1,900+ IP to 2,500 IP. This gives us a cut off of 2500 innings to use on the short end, while looking for candidates to make our list of best pitchers not in the HOF.

However, Smokey Joe Wood is not among those pitchers given a bye for the length of their careers. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the early teens but injury caused him to establish less than 1,500 career innings.

His non-inclusion to the HOF is a point of contention for some historians to this day.

Honorable Mention

Many more names came up on my lists than the 15 I will cover here. Many of their careers and cases are compelling. The pitchers of note among them are—Charles Buffington, David Cone, Paul Derringer, Orel Hershiser, Larry Jackson, Jim Kaat, Carl Mays, Dave Stieb, Hippo Vaughn, and Doc White.

Among these, my favorites are Charles Buffington, a pitcher of significant quality and accomplishment from the 1880s, and Doc White, who pitched alongside Ed Walsh on the White Sox and won 189 games while tossing 45 shutouts.

In order to be considered for this honor, a pitcher must be eligible for the HOF. This excludes any pitcher still on the mound today, and those like Greg Maddux who are retired but not yet eligble. It also includes "Black" Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte who is banned from baseball, and not eligible for the HOF.

The Best Pitchers NOT in the HOF

15) Ed Reulbach (1905-1917) —(182-106; 2.28 ERA; ERA+ 123; 40 SHO; 2,632 IP/ 2,117 H/ 7.2 H/9; 1,137 K/ 892 BB/ 1.27 ratio; 1.143 WHIP)

“Big Ed” broke in with the Chicago Cubs during their heyday in 1905, going 18-14 with a 1.42 ERA. He continued to dominate major league hitters for the next five years.

He pitched a one hit shutout in the '06 series, and on Sept, 26, 1908 he pitched back to back shutouts on the same day. His H/9 rate of 5.3 in 1906 is one of the best in history. In fact, from 1905 through 1909 his H/9 never reached 7.0. This is a truly dominant statistic for this era.

Pitching for the Cubs, Reulbach teamed up with Mordecai Brown to make one of the great pitching tandems in baseball history. Reulbach’s 97-39 record combined with Brown’s 114-42 for a 211-81 record over those five years. It’s no wonder the Cubs won the NL pennant four times behind these two—in 1906-1908, and 1910.

Reulbach used a high leg kick, a la Juan Marichal, to hide the delivery of the best curve ball of his generation. He had winning streaks of 14 and 17 games, and at one point held the NL record consecutive scoreless inning streak with 44.

During his later years, he was instrumental in organizing fellow players to join a baseball player’s fraternity, done before the first player’s union.

Ed Reulbach’s career somehow fell between the cracks by the time the veteran’s committee was reconstructing who should be in the HOF. He never received a vote. The committee missed his team mate, Mordecai Brown, until after his death in 1948.

Jack Chesbro (198), Rube Marquard (201), and Lefty Gomez (189) were all pitchers with low career win totals who made the HOF. They all pitched in New York. Reulbach had arguably a more impressive career than any of them.

14) Bucky Walters (1934-1948,’50) —(198-160; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 115; 42 SHO; 3,104 IP/ 2,990 H/ 8.7 H/9; 1,107 K/ 1,121 BB; 1.324 WHIP)

Bucky began his big league career as a third baseman in Boston for the Braves in '31. But by '35, after being sold to the Phillies and because of his great arm, the manager and coaches pushed him to pitch.

He featured a sinking fastball and a curve, later known as a slider. Walters spent his developing years struggling in Philadelphia’s bandbox of a stadium. The average run scoring in the period was some 20-25 percent more than the league average.

He led the league in shutouts in '36 and games started in '37. His career took off when he was traded to Cincinnati part way through the 1938 season.

By the next year in 1939 he was the best pitcher in the National League, going 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA and 31 complete games. He was voted the league MVP as the Reds won the pennant.

Bucky wasn’t done there. He won 22 games the next year, leading the Reds back to the World Series. Against Detroit, he pitched a five hitter to win Game Two, and a complete game shutout to win Game Five. The Reds finally won their second World Series.

He was the best pitcher in the NL during his era. From 1939-1946 Walter’s accumulated totals led the major leagues in wins, innings pitched; 2,030, complete games; 178, and ERA. He led the NL in fewest H/9 and was second in WHIP, shutouts, and winning percentage.

Despite being the top pitcher in the league at least three times, Walters has been overlooked for the HOF. Part of this is probably due to the distraction of the war years. He is among the top ten pitchers of the live ball era—1921-1945.

13)Wilbur Cooper (1912-1926) —(216-178; 2.89 ERA; ERA+ 116; 35 SHO; 3480 IP/ 3415 H/ H/9 8.8; 1252 K/ 853 BB; 1.47 ratio; 1.226 WHIP)

Cooper was born in West Virginia. He pitched the vast majority of his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Cooper teamed up with Babe Adams, another pitcher on this list, to make quite a pitching combination for the Pirates of this era.

Cooper was slender and had a remarkable smooth and graceful delivery. He featured a fastball, curve, and change-up with excellent control.

From 1918-1924 he won 19 or more games six times. After winning 20 games in '24, the Pirates traded him to the Cubs. The Pirates won the pennant the next year. Cooper struggled as a Cub and finished his career by '26.

Cooper may be the best pitcher in Pirates history. He was perhaps the best lefty in NL history to that date, however, not winning quite as many games as Eppa Rixey. He was as good as Rixey and Stan Coveleski, both in the HOF, and better than Marquard, Grimes, Pennock, and Hoyt—all from the same period.

The best reason I can come up with for Cooper being overlooked for the HOF is that he pitched in Pittsburgh, out of the spotlight of the sportswriters of the day.

12) Milt Pappas (1957-1973) —(209-164; 3.40 Era; ERA+ 110; 43 SHO; 3186 IP/ 3046 H/ H/9 8.6; 1728 K/ 858 BB/ 2.01 ratio; 1.225 WHIP)

Pappas, of Greek descent, was born in Detroit. He was scouted by Hal Newhowser, who encouraged him to sign with the Orioles.

By '59, Pappas was a mainstay of the Orioles staff. He was consistently excellent for the Orioles, winning 12 or more games and posting a winning record every year with the team.

Before the '66 season, Pappas was sent to Cincinnati for Frank Robinson in a very unpopular trade. He was never comfortable in Cincinnati, often being booed even though the trade was not his fault. Robinson went on to win the triple crown in '66 and the MVP award for the American League.

Although posting a fine season in '67, he was never accepted by the Reds faithful, and was sent to Atlanta during the '68 season. He found success again after arriving in Chicago with the Cubs during the '70 season, winning 17 games in both '71 and '72.

What if Pappas had never been traded to Cincinnati? He perhaps would have a few more wins, without his career being interrupted, and perhaps some postseason success, as the Orioles became one of the best teams of the era, going to the World Series in '66, '69, '70, and '71. He would have been part of the best pitching staffs in history—Pappas was still pitching great in '71 and '72.

As it is, Pappas has 209 wins, as many as Bob Lemon and Hal Newhowser, and a similar number to Don Drysdale and Catfish Hunter, all of whom are in the HOF and pitched between 1950 and 1975.

His K/BB ratio of 2.01 is historically strong. Perhaps his strongest career stat is his 43 shutouts, more than Hunter, Jim Bunning, Lemon, Newhowser, and Sandy Koufax.

Pappas deserves recognition for his accomplishments, even if it is just to clear his name from the fall out of a trade for which he was never responsible.

11) Lon Warneke (1930-1945) —(192-121; 3.18 ERA; ERA+ 119; 30 SHO; 2782 IP/ 2726 H/ H/9 8.8; 1140 K/ 739 BB/ 1.54 ratio; 1.245 WHIP)

The “Arkansas Hummingbird” pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals throughout his career.

In his first full year in '32, Warneke led the league in wins, ERA, and shutouts. He finished second in the MVP balloting.

Warneke continued his winning ways, winning 20 games three times and posting a winning record every year until '43, when he left to fight in the war. In '41 Lon pitched a no-hitter against the Reds. He pitched in both the Cubs’ World Series appearances in '32 and '35, going 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA.

Warneke’s career backed up into WWII. He easily lost enough time to give him credit for not having 200 wins. He sustained his excellence late into his career. He was a better pitcher than some of his contemporaries who made the HOF—Hoyt, Haines, and Ted Lyons.

Another contemporary who made the HOF is Lefty Gomez. They have similar winning records except Warneke won three more games. Warneke has more shutouts, a better K/BB ratio, and a better WHIP.

Gomez career was cut short because he blew out his arm, losing the zip on an exceptional fastball. Warneke’s career was cut short because he left to defend our country.

One pitched in New York, one pitched in the Midwest.

They have been treated very differently by baseball writers voting for the HOF.

10) Mickey Lolich (1963-1979) —(217-191; 3.44 ERA; ERA+ 105; 41 SHO; 3,638 IP/ 3,366 H/ 8.3 H/9; 2,832 K/ 1,099 BB/ 2.58 K/BB ratio; 1.227 WHIP)

Lolich had a splendid career with the Detroit Tigers from ’63—‘75. He was consistently good, winning 14 or more games 11 consecutive years, ’64—’74.

He featured a low three-quarters delivery that made it hard for left-handed batters to pick up the ball. His fastball had lots of movement and a darting action.

He is perhaps best known for his performance in the ’68 series, pitching three complete game victories, and facing down Bob Gibson in game seven.

He has the requisite 200 wins, over 40 shutouts, and his 2,832 Ks are still third among left-handed pitchers all-time.

His career records match up well with Catfish Hunter and Don Drysdale.

9) Will White (1877-1886) —(229-166; 2.28 ERA; ERA+ 120; 36 SHO; 3,542 IP/ 3,440 H/ H/9 8.7; 1041 K/ 496 BB; 2.10 ratio; 1.111 WHIP)

Will White played the majority of his career in Cincinnati for the Reds of the National League and Red Stockings of the American Association.

He was the first player to wear glasses while he played. Will pitched a very respectable 3500 innings, but crammed most of it into eight years of pitching.

He holds the record for the most innings pitched in one season—680. and the most games started—75. This was accomplished in one season—1879. He pitched over 400 innings six times, and won over 30 games five times (three times he won 40 games or more).

Nothing in his pitching resume says he doesn’t belong in the HOF. His ERA is outstanding, his K/BB ratio is excellent, and he has enough wins and shutouts. Everything is in line, but he’s been overlooked by the veteran’s committee.

If Jack Chesbro can parlay winning 40 games into the HOF, then Will White should be an automatic selection.

8) Tommy John (1963-1989) —(288-231; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 110; 46 SHO; 4710 IP/ 4783 H/ H/9 9.1; 2245 K/ 1259 BB/ 1.78 ratio; 1.283 WHIP)

After breaking in with the Cleveland Indians, Tommy John spent significant time with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees, as well as a shorter stint with the California Angels.

His name is best known for the elbow surgery named after him that, not only prolonged his career, but many after him. His initial surgery came after the 1974 season. By ’76 he was pitching again and all three of his 20-win seasons came post-surgery.

John's pitching exploits began in Chicago where he was part of the stingiest pitching staffs ever compiled. With the aid of Comiskey Park, Gary Peters, Tommy John, and Joe Horlen, they were backed up by the likes of Bob Locker, Eddie fisher, Don McMahon and none other than Hoyt Wilhelm at his peak.

This was a formula we have only recently seen again with the deep bullpens of many championship teams.

John then went to LA to join Don Sutton on another team with a pitching rich tradition.

His post season work began in ’77 with the Dodgers, after his return from surgery. Tommy was pitching in October for six consecutive seasons, posting a 6-3 mark with a 2.65 ERA over 88 innings. He had one shutout. This included work for the Dodgers, Yankees and the Angels.

His stamina and effectiveness began to wane in the early '80s. His last year of allowing fewer hits than innings pitched was ’81. Tommy John is perhaps guilty of hanging on longer than the normal impact of his career allowed.

2009 was his last on the HOF ballot. He failed to garner enough votes to make on the 15th try.

I think the voting has become somewhat skewed in recent years in regards to starting pitching; too many of the voters expect no less than 300 wins.

Tommy John’s 288 wins are his strongest calling card. It is a significant total. Historically, pitchers like Red Ruffing, Red Faber, Ted Lyons, Eppa Rixey, and Burleigh Grimes are in the HOF mostly because of their win totals.

Tommy John has more wins than any of these pitchers.

Supporting evidence also shows that John was an effective pitcher. His 46 shutouts are HOF worthy, and his postseason resume shows he was still good against the best competition of the era.

7) Tommy Bridges (1930-1946) —(194-138; 3.57 ERA; ERA+ 126; 33 SHO; 2,826 IP/ 2,675 H/ 8.5 H/9; 1,674 K/ 1,192 BB/ 1.40 ratio; 1.368 WHIP)

Tommy Bridges began and finished his career with the Detroit Tigers.

He pitched at the height of the live ball era on and against some of the greatest offensive teams ever gathered. In the '30s he pitched with Schoolboy Rowe, and later with Bobo Newsome. In the '40s he pitched with young pitchers Hal Newhowser, Virgil Trucks and Dizzy Trout.

Bridges had the most awesome drop off the table curve ball of his era. He struck out a healthy 1,674 batters. His devastating curve also made him one of hardest pitchers to hit of his generation.

He won 20 games three consecutive years right at the Tigers heyday in the mid-30s. He led the league in wins in ’36 with 23, but also led the league in strikeouts and games started twice.

Bridges was gutsy and tough in the postseason. He represented the Tigers in three World Series against the Cardinals, Cubs and Reds in ’34, ’35 and ’40. In ’34 he out-dueled Dizzy Dean to win 3-1. In ’35 he won two games against the Cubs, and in ’40 he won his only appearance against the Reds.

Although the Tigers walked away losing two of the three World Series, Bridges record stands at 4-1. While he walked his share of batters during the regular season, in postseason play, he walked only nine batters in 46 innings, while striking out 27 batters.

Bridges was still an effective pitcher after his peak. In ’43, his last year before joining the war effort, he went 12-7 with a 2.39 ERA (ERA+ 147), with three shutouts and only 159 hits allowed in 191 innings. This was not a pitcher on his last legs!

However, after a year and a half out of military service, the Tigers were impatient for him to regain his form. By 1946 they told him he was washed up-finished. The Tigers were focused on a youth movement after the war. They chose not to have time for their pitching hero from the last generation.

Bridges continued pitching in the Pacific Coast League—winning the ERA title in ’47. Guess there was still some gas in this Tiger’s tank!

(The Tiger’s ownership and coaching staff were not shy of making mistakes in evaluating personnel. In ’48 they discarded Billy Pierce to the White Sox!)

Bridges is only six wins shy of the requisite 200 to be considered for the HOF. Certainly he can be given credit for his time in the service, as he would have easily made 200 wins without giving up the season and a half to the war, plus the recovery time.

His ERA+, curve ball, postseason record and H/9 all speak of a pitcher who was one of the best of his era.

6) Babe Adams (1906-1926) —(194-140; 2.76 ERA; ERA+ 117; 2,995 IP/ 2,841 H/ 8.5 H/9; 1,036 K/ 4,30 BB/ 2.41 ratio; 1.092 WHIP)

Babe Adams had brief looks at the major leagues in ’06 with the St. Louis Cardinals and ’07 for the Pirates. But his rookie year really came in ’09 for Pirates at age 27. He broke in going 12—3 with an exceptional 1.11 ERA on a staff that included Vic Willis at the end of his career.

That year, facing Ty Cobb and the Tigers in the postseason, the Pirates manager went on a hunch and started Adams in game one of the series. He won three complete games including a shutout against the Tigers.

Babe went on to pitch the rest of his career for Pittsburgh. He was a 20 game winner in ’11 and ’13 but he didn’t get to pitch in the World Series again until ’25 at the age of 43.

After an off year in 1916 he was sent to the minor leagues to work out his problems. He went 35—17 in the minors. Incredibly, the Pirate management left him there until the end of the ‘18 season. (I can’t imagine that happening today—leaving the potential ace of your staff in the minors for 50-plus decisions after he had shown his form had returned?)

Adams was perhaps the most extreme control pitcher in the history of the game. His control record surpasses even Christy Mathewson, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez at their peaks. In 1920, Adams gave up only 18 BB in 263 innings. For his career he gave up only 430 BB in 2,995 innings.

His WHIP of 1.09 is remarkable, as are his 44 shutouts. His 2.41 K/BB ratio is exceptional as well. Babe Adams was a great pitcher who was overlooked by the veteran’s committee.

He isn’t the first Pittsburgh pitcher on this list.

5) Billy Pierce (1945-1964) —(3.27 ERA; ERA+ 119; 38 SHO; 3,306 IP/ 2,989 H/ 8.1 H/9; 1,999 K/ 1178 BB/ 1.70 ratio; 1.260 WHIP)

"Billy the Kid” was part of the Tigers post-war youth movement, getting a look with the club at age 18 in ’45.

But by ’48 the Tigers gave up on Pierce, shipping him off to the White Sox.

Billy Pierce was slight of build at 5’ 10” and a whopping 160 lbs. Despite his size, he had quite a delivery, with a high leg kick and dropping his back shoulder. He had ample zip on his fastball.

After improving his control in ’51, and developing a slider, he began a series of impressive years for the White Sox. He was the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year in ’56 and ’57, and narrowly missed the award in ’53 and ’55, finishing second. His ERA of 1.97 in ’55 gave him an ERA less than half that of the league (ERA+ 201).

The “Go-Go White Sox” of the period scored few runs. Pierce was often the recipient of scant run support. In over 130 of his 390 starts for the team, they scored two or fewer runs.

Pierce was known for his battles against the White Sox nemesis, the New York Yankees, and in particular against Whitey Ford. Beginning in August of ’52, Pierce went 21-21 against the Yankees, whom he faced more than any other team.

By the late '50s Pierce had come out on top, beating Ford more often than losing, and in '59 winning the game against Ford that put the White Sox ahead for good in the pennant race.

Sportswriters and players wondered how Pierce could go toe-to-toe with the firepower of the Yankees, coming armed with slap hitters Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, and Minnie Minoso.

Al Lopez, the White Sox manager, refused to start Pierce in the ’59 World Series. It is a decision many believe cost the Sox the title. Pierce pitched four scoreless innings in relief.

Pierce got his chance to test his grit in postseason action in ’62 for the Giants. During the season he went 12-0 for the team at Candlestick Park.

After tying the Dodgers for the pennant, it was determined they would play a three game playoff to determine the pennant. Pierce threw a three-hit shutout to beat Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers in Game One. In Game Three he came in to save the game, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

Against the Yankees in the series, he pitched well in game two, but took a 3-2 loss. He then came back in game six to beat his often faced foe, pitching a three hit gem against none other than Whitey Ford.

He faced Ford 15 times in his career and went 7-7.

When he finished his career, his 1,999 strikeouts were fifth most for a left-handed pitcher.

The problem with Pierce’ HOF candidacy is that his career backed up into the raised mound era. He was a product of the more relaxed "Golden Years". When Pierce retired, sportswriters were distracted with the manic accomplishments of Koufax, Marichal and Gibson.

The strikeout record was being broken. There were new lows for ERA in a season. Pitchers were regularly winning 24-27 games.

Pierce’ accomplishments, although very worthy, were overlooked because of the change of era. His career stands up nicely against contemporary HOF pitchers Bob Lemon and Hal Newhowser.

He was arguably as good a pitcher as Whitey Ford. He proved it often enough. He would have had more wins if he hadn’t been held back to face the Yankees, or had been given better run support .

Billy Pierce should be in the HOF.

4) Jim McCormick (1878-1887) —(265-214; 2.43 ERA; ERA+ 118; 33 SHO; 4,275 IP/4,092 H/ 8.6 H/9; 1704 K/ 749 BB/ 2.28 ratio; 1.132 WHIP)

Jim McCormick was the first Scottish born major league player.

He pitched with six different teams, but most significantly with the Cleveland Blues and Chicago White Stockings. In Cleveland he won 25 or more games four times, and 40 games twice. In Chicago he helped them to two championships, mostly as a second pitcher.

Al Spalding took a disliking to the off-field activities of several of the players during the '86 campaign. King Kelly, McCormick, and others were known to go out and celebrate after games.

With quick succession he sold or traded them to other teams. Mccormick ended up in Pittsburgh where he ended his career the next year.

McCormick was a pitcher of high quality who won 265 games. Every supporting evidence points to him being a HOF pitcher.

He has been overlooked by the veteran’s committee.

3) Tony Mullane (1881-1894) —(284-220; 3.05 ERA; ERA+ 118; 30 SHO; 4,531 IP/ 4,195 H/ 8.3 H/9; 1,803 K/ 1,408 BB/ 1.28 ratio; 1.237 WHIP)

Tony Mullane was an Irish born major league player known for pitching with both hands—sometimes in the same game. He would hold the ball with both hands and then surprise the hitter.

The reserve clause was so restrictive in his era that once you signed with a team, unless they traded or sold you, you belonged to them. After playing for the St. Louis Browns, he chose to try to sign with Cincinnati, but was blocked. He relented, signed with St. Louis, but they then shipped him off to the expansion Toledo Blue Stockings.

The Blue Stockings folded after one year, and he then signed with Cincinnati. But for some reason, he was not free of the reserve clause which stated he had to re-sign with St. Louis after Toledo folded. This time he refused and was forced to sit out a season in order to play for Cincinnati, which he did.

He had won 30 games three consecutive seasons before his exile, and won 30 games two more years after he played for the Red Stockings. It is not a stretch to believe he would have won thirty games the year he was forced to sit out in protest of the reserve clause.

The players had withstood enough abuse by 1890 and formed their own league. Mullane was ahead of his time.

His 1,804 Ks were a high number for the era. He was a significant figure from his era, and should not be punished for his stand against the reserve clause. Tony Mullane was just inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF earlier this year.

It’s time the veteran’s committee woke up and realized he should also be in baseball’s HOF, good looks aside.

2) Luis Tiant (1964-1982) —(229-172; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 114; 49 SHO; 3,486 IP/ 3,075 H/ 7.9 H/9; 2416 K/ 1104 BB/ 2.19 ratio; 1.199 WHIP)

Luis Tiant was born in Cuba and his father was a famous pitcher for the Cuban national team.

He began his career with the Cleveland Indians in '64, and established himself as an effective pitcher with lots of stuff. In '68 his career took off. He won 21 games with an ERA of 1.60 and led the league in shutouts with nine.

After a down year and a couple of years dealing with injury, he ended up in Boston where he re-invented himself in '72. Seven successful years followed, including three more 20-win seasons, and some World Series heroics in '76.

Tiant was known for his unusual delivery, turning away from the batter during the wind up. He was a great situation pitcher, and knew how to get out of a jam with his guile and assortment of breaking pitches.

He was the second great Latin pitcher, following Juan Marichal.

His resume for the HOF is strong. He displayed consistent excellence throughout his career.

His 49 career shutouts are just about automatic HOF criteria. Drysdale, Ferguson Jenkins, and Early Wynn are the other pitchers with 49 shutouts, and all are in the HOF.

The voting body has become skewed in their view of starting pitching in recent decades. All of his indicators are strong, especially his strikeouts, shutouts, and big game performances.

Luis Tiant belongs in the HOF.

1) Bert Blyleven (1970-1992) —(287-250; 3.31 ERA; ERA+ 118; 60 SHO; 4970/ 4632 H/ 8.4 H/9; 3701 K/ 1322 BB/ 2.80 K/BB ratio; 1.198 WHIP)

Bert Blyleven was born in the Netherlands, but grew up in California.

As a teen he went to watch Sandy Koufax pitch and later learned how to throw a curve ball with a hold similar to Koufax. Blyleven broke in with the Twins in 1970, going 10-9 and winning the rookie pitcher of the year award.

Blyleven had tremendous stuff on the ball: fastball, curve and change-up. He had exceptionally large hands which helped with gripping and releasing the ball with greater spinning revolutions on its way to the plate.

Players said they could hear the ball spinning as it approached and went by.

Blyleven toiled long and hard for the Twins in the 70s. He was consistently excellent, winning between 15-20 games five consecutive years, and striking out between 219-258 batters for six consecutive years.

He led the league in ERA+ and shutouts (nine) in '73, but didn’t get the attention he deserved for the Cy Young award.

During the '76 season he was traded to Texas, where he joined a strong staff and put in some outstanding work. He pitched his no-hitter in '77, as well as leading the league that year in WHIP.

After being traded to the Pirates in the National League, he helped the team to a World Series title. He shut down the powerful Reds lineup in the playoffs. He pitched Game Two of the Series, but was taken out with the score tied 2-2 in the 7th inning. The Pirates went on to win the game.

Then with the Pirates down three games to one, he entered Game Five with the score tied in the 5th inning, and shut down the Orioles for the rest of the game, securing himself, and the Pirates, the win.

Blyleven continued his career in Cleveland, working through injury to re-invent his delivery and now legendary curve ball. He re-surfaced with incredible campaigns in '84 and '85. He led the league in innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts in '85.

He ended up nostalgically back in Minnesota for the '86 season, and helped the team to the World Series title in '87.

His career postseason record shows a heightened excellence when the games really counted against the best competition. He is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA, 36 Ks against only 8 BB, and a WHIP of 1.077.

Blyleven had one more significant season in ’89 for the California Angels, winning 17 games and Comeback Player of the Year award.

His 3,701 Ks make Blyleven fifth all-time. I guess his curve ball fooled a few batters.

His 60 shutouts—ninth all time—are automatic HOF material. Since the advent of the live ball in 1921, only four pitchers have 60 shutouts: Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Bert Blyleven.

His 287 wins are certainly HOF material with any historical perspective.

His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 is also a mark of historical significance. Among the 65 pitchers with the longest careers, his 2.80 K/BB ranks fifth.

Blyleven is arguably among the top 20-25 pitchers in baseball history. He is one of our all-time greats.

He is the one pitcher on this list that is still on the HOF ballot. Voters have three years of his eligibility left to get it right.

Conclusions

The process of selection and voting for the HOF has been uneven at best. Several players careers have been overlooked instead of championed.

Not every pitcher on this list should necessarily be in the HOF, but all of them could have been selected and voted in with the proper attention and support without any change in the historical standards that have been set.

What did it take to be ignored by the HOF voters and veteran’s committee? One naturally asks this question when compiling a list like this.

I found some interesting threads that could be followed up.

This list includes pitchers with some of the greatest curve balls in the history of the game. Ed Reulbach, Tommy Bridges and Bert Blyleven all fall in this category.

Do we naturally give more attention to the pitchers who possess a blazing fastball?

The top four candidates were all foreign born. Is there any validity here? Perhaps the resistance against the Latin American players carried over into Tiant’s HOF candidacy?

There were numerous circumstances that held player’s careers back. "What if" and "would have” become prevalent bylines for the pitchers on this list.

What if Bucky Walters had started his career in Cincinnati rather than struggling in Philadelphia? What if Milt Pappas had not been traded to Cincinnati? Or what if the fans in Cincinnati had accepted his efforts for the team?

What if Lon Warneke’s and Tommy Bridges’ careers had not been interrupted by WWII? What if Babe Adams hadn’t been left to toil in the minor leagues for most of two seasons?

What if Tony Mullane had been allowed to pitch for Cincinnati in 1885?

What if Billy Pierce and Bert Blyleven had received league average run support though the peak of their careers?

The most significant threads arose as I looked at these pitchers one at a time and then together as a group.

The vast majority of these pitcher's careers were focused in places other than New York, Philadelphia, or Boston. Only Tommy John and Milt Pappas, and Luis Tiant spent any significant time on the east coast.

Until the late 50s over half the teams were based on the East Coast. The players on those teams were the players the sportswriters saw most.

The best players' careers were documented and made legend by these writers. The best players in New York just simply did not get missed by the HOF voters.

Particularly blighted were the pitchers in Pittsburgh. It took the veteran’s committee some 90 years to find and induct Vic Willis. Wilbur Cooper and Babe Adams have likewise been missed.

Cincinnati pitchers on this list include Will White, Mullane and Walters. Detroit lists Bridges and Lolich.

It isn’t hard to see the pattern.

There have been historical events that have influenced voting.

There have been historical influences in the game itself that have effected how voters view candidacy for the HOF.

I challenge the veteran’s committee to take a good look at the pitchers whose careers have been bypassed for the honor of induction to the HOF. Perhaps some oversights can be corrected.

Also, let’s take a good look at our current candidate on this list and give him his due before it is too late, before the HOF voting body truly looks out of touch with what it takes to be in the Hall of Fame.

The Worst Pitchers in the HOF: Searching for History's Bottom Line

Jonathan Stilwell — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:55:53 -0400

What qualifies a pitcher for the Hall of Fame?

Today, we have set the bar quite high, demanding 300 wins, and ignoring a pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts and 60 shutouts year after year on the HOF ballot.

Do they have to win the World Series in the largest media markets? History shows it doesn’t hurt!

Is there some standard that history has set that marks a pitcher for the HOF?

The aim of this study is to examine honestly where history has set the cut off for Hall of Fame consideration.

The criteria to look at fall under three categories: dominance, endurance, and excellence.

The pitching statistics to examine are wins, ERA, ERA+, shutouts, IP, hits allowed/nine innings, strikeouts, strikeout/bases on balls ratio, and WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched).

A good look at these indicators will demonstrate a pitcher’s effectiveness. There are historic standards of excellence in each of the indicating categories.

We will also take a look at how a pitcher’s career fits with the flow of baseball history.

A Look at Our Candidates

There are 67 lines filled with names when the register of pitchers in the Hall of Fame is summoned.

We are looking for pitchers who are members of the HOF primarily for their pitching who have the weakest records.

First, there are some names on the list that need to be excluded from our search. Their names are here more because of other primary contributions to the game than strictly their pitching careers.

The first name we can give a pass to is Babe Ruth. Although a very good pitcher, he is not in the HOF because of his pitching.

The next pass is for Satchell Paige. Although he finally made it to the major leagues late in his career, he had already pitched an entire career in the Negro leagues. Some say he may have been one of the greatest pitchers ever. His major league stats do not need to be examined.

There are three names who are associated with pioneering the game, and the art of pitching—Albert Spalding, Candy Cummings, and John Ward.

Standards for pitching were constantly changing in the early years, as well as the level of competition. Pitchers threw from 45 feet, under-handed, or side-arm. Before the National League was established in around 1876, there were no set standards of how many games were played.

Spalding had a very high win percentage, but little else points to his pitching as a reason for HOF induction. (He struck out a whopping 142 batters throughout his career.) He went on to team ownership and to establish the company that made the baseball.

Some of his actions could be seen as more notorious to the game than anything else. (He was instrumental in undermining the Players' League. He also dismantled a double-championship team because he disapproved of many of the players' off-the-field habits of going out and socializing together.)

Cummings is often credited with developing the curveball. However, there are accounts of demonstrations showing how a ball could be thrown to curve before Cumming’s career began at the major league level. His 145 wins over six years don’t really qualify him for the HOF.

John Ward was instrumental in developing the first players unions. He pioneered the Players' League in 1890, which included over 50 percent of the players in the National League the year before. As well as pitching for a few seasons (164 wins), he played SS for the NY Giants for several years (2,104 hits). He is in the HOF for his combined contributions to the game.

So these three pitchers are in the HOF primarily for their role as pioneers of the game. With varying degrees of legitimacy, they get passes.

Hall of Fame voters are still getting a reading on what standards are to be set for the inclusion of relief pitchers. For the time being Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, and Rich Gossage will get passes for the sake of this study.

That leaves 57 pitchers on the list.

There is one more pass to be given. Clark Griffith finds his way on the HOF pitchers list. While he had a fine pitching career with 237 victories, he pitched during a time of great turmoil in the game when the pitching talent pool was very low. He posted a WHIP over 1.300, a K/BB ratio of 1.23 and allowed 9.8 H/9 innings.

These stats would have placed him on the worst list, but his other contributions to the game far outweigh his pitching career. He became manager of the Washington Senators and turned the team around. He later established a long venerated career as owner. Mr. Griffith gets a pass from appearing on the list.

There are some passes the HOF voters have issued. These are to pitchers who had extreme impact on the game over a short time. Their career stats don’t really meet the endurance requirements for HOF induction, but they were given a pass because of how influential they were over a shorter period.

I find four pitchers in this category: Addie Joss, Dizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez, and Sandy Koufax. Because they are already in an accepted category, and approved by HOF voters for that reason, they will get a pass from this list for now, with the right to revisit their status during evaluation.

Obviously, some pitchers just missed the list and deserve an “honorable mention”. Some pitchers will never be mistaken for Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, or Nolan Ryan. So congratulations to Red Faber, Stan Coveleski, Pud Galvin, Hal Newhowser, Red Ruffing, Jim Bunning, and more who escaped the list and are in the HOF.

I will encourage the reader to investigate the merits of their careers more fully when we evaluate a legitimate cut off after we meet the pitchers who made the list.

There are 52 pitchers left to consider. Now we can look at:

The 10 Worst Pitchers in the Hall of Fame

10) Catfish Hunter—(1965-1979)—(224-166; 3.26 ERA; ERA+ 104; 42 SHO; 3449 IP/ 2958 H/ 7.7 H/9; 2.11 ratio; WHIP 1.134) Hunter is here because of his relatively low win total of 224 and the second lowest ERA+ of 104—only 4 percent better than league average for his career. (We’ll take another look at Hunter when we do the evaluation.)

9) Amos Rusie—(1889-1901)—(245-174; 3.07 ERA; ERA+ 129; 30 shutouts; 3769 IP/ 33894 H/ 8.1 H/9; 1934 K/ 1704 BB; 1.14 ratio; WHIP 1.350) Rusie makes his way onto the list for his 1,704 BB, yielding a poor K/BB ratio of 1.14 and a burgeoning WHIP of 1.350. Thirty shutouts is also a low total for the HOF.

On top of this Rusie was almost single-handedly responsible for the early termination of many pitchers' careers because of his beaning incident with Hugh Jennings in 1892. The incident spurred the rule change to move the distance from rubber to plate to 60 feet 6 inches.

What was left was a depleted pool of pitching, leading to high variance between reasonable pitching ERAs and the league average. This made Rusie’s ERA+ of 129 a bloated figure, as well as the ERA+ of every other decent pitcher of the 1890s.

Rusie then self-imploded, sitting out a year for wrangling with his owner over a salary issue because of pride and stubbornness. During the public exchanges with the owner, he thumbed his nose at his employer. His skills eroded during his protest.

8) Jack Chesbro—(1889-1909)—(198-132; 2.68 ERA; ERA+ 110; 35 SHO; 2896 IP/ 2642 H/ 8.2 H/9; 1265 K/ 690 BB/ 1.83 ratio; 1.150 WHIP) Although a very good pitcher in his time, nothing screams HOF about this pitching line, except that he is the last pitcher to win 41 games and he did it in NY. His IP total under 3,000 is suspect, and he is probably not among the top ten pitchers of his era, 1901–1921.

7) Burleigh Grimes—(1916-1934)—(270-212; 3.53 ERA; ERA+ 107; 35 SHO; 4180 IP/ 4412 H/ 9.5 H/9; 1512 K/ 1295 BB/ 1.17 ratio; 1.365 WHIP) “Ol’ Stubblebeard” pitched through the change over to the live ball era. He was one of 19 pitchers allowed to continue to throw the spitball after it was outlawed.

Known for his stubble beard and surly nature, he must have made a colorful foil for Dazzy Vance, also on the Brooklyn "Bums."

It makes for quite a story—"surly Grimes, the last of the spitball pitchers slugged out a career of 270 wins." But a career ERA+ of 107, a WHIP of 1.365, a K/BB ratio of 1.17, and a H/9 mark of 9.5 put him squarely on this list!

6) Bob Lemon—(1946-1958)—(207-128; 3.23 ERA; ERA+ 119; 31 SHO; 2850 IP/ 2559 BB/ 8.1 H/9; 1277 K/ 1251 BB/ 1.02 ratio; 1.337 WHIP) Lemon was a sinkerball pitcher for the Cleveland Indians during the Golden Years of the late '40s and '50s. He was very successful, winning 20 games seven times.

He was part of a successful staff which led Cleveland to a record breaking year in '54.

The next best part of his record is the H/9 at 8.1 and the ERA+ at 119. These marks are good, but not great for a shorter career—under 3,000 innings.

What gets Bob Lemon on this list is his low shutout total (31), his high WHIP (1.337), and the second lowest K/BB ratio I know of in the HOF (1.02).

Considering that winning games is what Lemon did best, his total of 207 is barely HOF eligible.

Lemon’s career continued as a manager and executive. Perhaps those roles add some weight to his HOF credentials. His pitching credentials seem very borderline.

5) Ted Lyons—(1923-1942, ’46)—(260-230; 3.67 ERA; ERA+ 118; 27 SHO; 4161 IP/ 4489 H/ 9.7 H/9; 1073 K/ 1121 BB/ 0.96 ratio; 1.348 WHIP) Lyons pitched his entire career with the Chicago White Sox. He became legendary with the White Sox faithful, pitching only once a week later in his career, always on Sunday. He enjoyed quite a bit of relative success late in his career.

Lyons was one of the veteran survivors of the live ball era, coming out the back end smelling almost as good as he went in. Perhaps for that he deserves HOF recognition.

His best features are his longevity and a relatively fine ERA+ of 118. However, ERA+ totals, especially in the AL during the live ball era can be slightly exaggerated.

What isn’t pretty is the lowest K/BB ratio in the HOF—0.96. He is the only pitcher to walk more batters than he struck out.

A low shutout total (27), a high WHIP (1.348), and a very high H/9 average of 9.7 leave Mr. Lyons very fortunate for the support of the fans and sportswriters of his day, being voted into the HOF in ’55.

4) Waite Hoyt—(1918-1938)—(237-182; 3.59 ERA; ERA+ 111; 26 shutouts; 3762 IP/ 4037 H/ 9.7 H/9; 1206 K/ 1003 BB; 1.20 ratio; 1.340 WHIP) Hoyt gained fame as the ace of the Yankees championship teams of the '20s. He bounced around with other teams beginning in ’30, enjoying one moderately good season with the Pirates in ’34.

Hoyt has one of the lowest shutout totals among HOF pitchers—26. The rest of his resume is lackluster, giving up 9.7 H/9, with a high WHIP, an unimpressive ERA+ of 111, and a K/BB ratio of 1.20. Nothing about this resume says HOF.

Hoyt became a famed broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds. His work gave him a beloved status nationally among fans. Perhaps a combination of careers was enough to put him over the line. His pitching career is not enough.

3) Herb Pennock – (1912-1934) – (240-162; 3.60 ERA; ERA+ 106; 35 SHO; 3571 IP/ 3900 H/ 9.8 H/9; 1227 K/ 916 BB/ 1.34 ratio; 1.348 WHIP) Pennock teamed up with Hoyt to front the Yankees teams of the '20s. He continued on with the team after Hoyt left and pitched for the Yankees through ’34.

Pennock posted a 5-0 record in World Series appearances.

Nothing else points to Pennock as an HOF pitcher, 240 wins is not as compelling as 300, or even Grimes’ 270. His ERA+ of 106 is one of the lowest in the HOF. Thirty-five shutouts are run of the mill and 9.8 H/9 is the highest mark I have found among HOF pitchers!

Did his role with the Yankees improve his HOF chances? It appears so.

2) Rube Marquard—(1908-1925)—(201-177; 3.08 ERA; ERA+ 103; 30 SHO; 3306 IP/ 3233 H/ 8.8 H/9; 1593 K/ 858 BB/ 1.86 ratio; 1.237 WHIP) Rube Marquard was a lefty, and leading pitcher for John McGraw’s championship teams of 1911-'13.

Altogether he pitched in five World Series, including two for Brooklyn in ’16 and ’20.

Marquard’s ERA+ of 103 is the lowest in the HOF. That and his low win total earn him this place on the list.

His K/BB ratio and H/9 are better than some others on the list, but there really is nothing that compelling that demonstrates HOF worthiness.

1) Jesse Haines—(1918, 1920-1937)—(210-158; 3.64 ERA; ERA+ 108; 24 SHO; 3208 IP/ 3460 H/ 9.7 H/9; 981 K/ 871 BB/ 1.13 ratio; 1.350 WHIP) After a short look with the Reds in ’18, Haines pitched the remainder of his career for the St. Louis Cardinals.

He was one of the better pitchers of the '20s, winning 20 games three times. His output tailed off around 1930.

He appeared in the World Series four times with the Cardinals—’26, ’28, ’30, ’34.

His total of 24 shutouts is one of the lowest among HOF pitchers. His H/9 of 9.7 is high, his ERA+ of 108 is low, his WHIP of 1.350 is high and his K/BB ratio of 1.13 is very low.

The rest of his resume is one of a pitcher who survived the live ball era on a good team. But nothing speaks of HOF quality, endurance or dominance.

Evaluation

The purpose here is not to poke fun at or ridicule any of these pitchers. They were all at least good pitchers in their day and time. This is just an honest look at the HOF as it already stands.

This seems to me to be homework 101 for any HOF voter—to find out where history has set the bar in order to determine how to vote on current candidates.

Has the voting committee made mistakes? Probably. I think you could make the argument that a few of these pitchers on the list might not belong in the HOF.

Why did this happen? The voters at that time didn’t have the perspective we do today. They were going through history as it happened. I think that many of the live ball era careers looked better to the voters then than they do to us today.

There is also the “fame” quotient. The effect of pitching in large markets and winning World Series was of greater impact to the voters then than it is looking back coolly at the stats today. Marquard, Pennock, and Hoyt were definitely helped by this, as was Hunter, generations later.

This fame factor also played a big role in the induction of Dizzy Dean and Lefty Gomez. Sandy Koufax and Addie Joss have legitimate claims to the HOF. However, there may be more questions about the cases for Dean and Gomez.

I’ll list their pitching lines, and let the reader decide concerning their claim to the HOF:

Dizzy Dean—(1930, 1932-1941, ’47)—(150-83; 3.02 ERA; ERA+ 130; 26 SHO, 1967 IP/ 1919 H/ 8.8 H/9 ; 1163 K/ 453 BB/ 2.57 ratio; 1.206 WHIP)

Less than 2,000 innings is a very low total, even for this category. While the work he did was of good quality for the period, it doesn’t stand out across baseball history as exceptional.

Lefty Gomez—(1930-1943)—(189-102; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 125; 28 shutouts; 2503 IP/ 2290 H/ 8.2 H/9; 1468 K/ 1095 BB/ 1.34 ratio; 1.352 WHIP)

Gomez’ World Series record of 6-0 gave him and the Yankees kind of an invincible aura. His career K/BB ratio of 1.34 and his WHIP of 1.352 were not exceptional in his or any era.

For a shorter career to be considered for the HOF, there really can’t be any holes in the resume.

In retrospect, we can see that pitching was going through one of its weakest eras from 1921-1942. They didn’t have the perspective to know that there were some incredible careers on the horizon.

There may really have been only four HOF pitching careers in the live ball era—Grove, Hubbell, Vance, and Ruffing. It certainly is debatable. That would leave Hoyt, Pennock, Grimes, Coveleski, Faber, Rixey, Gomez, Dean, Haines, and Lyons on the outside looking in.

Rixey may get a pass for his role as one of the first great left-handed pitchers.

But while they were busy voting in some of these pitchers, they were overlooking pitchers like Mordecai Brown, who got left for the veterans committee, and that only after his death in 1948 sparked his induction!

Where do we want to set the bar? The answer to this is what we are looking for.

I suggest we study pitchers already in the HOF that we feel are legitimate candidates, discover what makes them so, and develop a plan for judging pitchers of today.

The Real Entry Level HOF Pitchers

It is now that I would like to go back and take another look at Catfish Hunter.

I have flipped on my opinion of his HOF credentials while doing this study. Yes, his ERA+ 104 is extremely low, but he makes up for it in every other category.

His 224 wins are not convincing, but are within allowable parameters for inclusion. The rest of his resume suggests excellence, even at the HOF level—his 42 shutouts are HOF worthy, if not a slam-dunk total.

His 7.7 H/9 is exceptional as is his 1.134 WHIP. The K/BB ratio of 2.11 is well within historical standards of excellence.

So even though Hunter comes in with a low ERA+, the other categories make up the lag in quality. Add in the World Series heroics, and you have a nice entry level HOF pitcher, even though his stats don’t really compare with his contemporary HOF pitchers.

Let’s go back to the live ball era, and look at a pitcher who I believe earned his way into the HOF, even if it was entry level and on the back of championship teams in New York.

Red Ruffing pitched for the Yankee dynasty of the 1930s. He and lefty Gomez made a great 1-2 pitching combination for several years. Throughout his career he amassed 273 wins, 1987 strikeouts, and 45 shutouts.

He kept his H/9 below 9 when many of his contemporaries were giving up more than a hit per inning.

He was second in his era in wins and first in shutouts. Put these factors together and you have a nice legitimate HOF candidate.

I encourage the reader to go back and study a few more of the pitchers already in the HOF, and see where their indicating criteria place them.

Let’s look at a modern candidate, not yet on the ballot—Curt Schilling.

Curt Schilling—(216-146; 3.46 ERA; ERA+ 127; 20 SHO; 3261 IP/ 2998 H/ 8.3 H/9; 3116 K/ 711 BB/ 4.38 ratio; 1.137 WHIP) At first glance, with only 216 wins and an ERA in the mid range between 3.00 and 4.00, it doesn’t look like Schilling is that compelling of a candidate for the HOF.

But keep looking at his stat line. His ERA+ is strong, but his strikeout total and K/BB ratio are exceptional.

He is one of 16 pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts. Also, his K/BB ratio of 4.38 is the highest of the modern era.

I feel these stat lines along with his World Series resume makes him a nice entry-level HOF pitcher.

By studying these pitchers, and deciding what makes them HOF worthy, we can get a clear idea of what to look for when judging modern candidates.

Let’s look at one more candidate—Jack Morris.

Jack Morris—(254-186; 3.90 ERA; ERA+ 105; 28 shutouts; 3824 IP/ 3567 H/ 8.4 H/9; 2478 K/ 1390 BB; 1.78 ratio; 1.296 WHIP)

Morris is known for being a power pitcher and for having won the most games during the '80s.

His 254 wins are nice, but not automatic induction nice. What’s behind the wins?

Well, we’ve got a very weak ERA+ of 105. This alone could be enough to exclude him in some circles. But let’s keep looking.

The 28 shutouts are relatively weak. He’s known as an endurance power pitcher, but didn’t close out that many games when not giving up any runs. Tommy John had 45 shutouts, Luis Tiant had 49, and Bert Blyleven had 60.

His IP total and strikeout total and H/9 average are good, but not good enough to forgive other weak categories. His K/BB ratio is within historical norms, but his WHIP is quite high.

Jack Morris is a borderline candidate, a bit weaker than Red Ruffing, who could end up on this list of the worst pitchers in the HOF if voted in.

Conclusions

The standards for what make a HOF pitcher have been evolving since the founding of the HOF. It is important to look beyond wins and ERA to gain a complete picture of a pitcher’s HOF credentials.

We have discovered what makes an entry level HOF pitcher. They don’t have to have 300 wins, but they do need to show excellence in multiple indicating categories. This process of examining pitchers should help give us a good feel for developing a cut off line in HOF voting.

We probably have higher standards today because of the generation of pitchers that came after Sandy Koufax. They delivered high quality HOF standards of dominance, endurance and excellence.

I hope this study will give the reader the tools to examine modern pitchers in the historic context of what is HOF worthy.

William "Dummy" Hoy; Proving It Could Be Done!

Jonathan Stilwell — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:53:14 -0400

William "Dummy" Hoy, baseball's third deaf major league player, left a legacy worth knowing.

He was born May 23, 1862 in Houcktown, Ohio. He graduated valedictorian of his class from the Ohio School for the Deaf.

His first love was baseball, leaving home and his shoe repair store to pursue a professional career.

Odds were against him. He was small, 5' 4". His deafness prevented him from hearing the crack of the bat, or any verbal communication by umpires or teammates. But he was determined to prove he could succeed.

He landed his first professional contract with a team in Oshkosh, Wisc., in 1886. By 1887, he had worked out a system for his third base coach to give him hand signals to show balls and strikes; right hand for a strike, left hand for a ball.

It is widely believed this initiated through their popularity, wider use of hand signals for umpires, coaching staffs and players.

Hoy readily taught his teammates sign language to facilitate communication.

After implementing signs, Hoy hit .367 in '87, prompting the Washington Senators to sign him for the '88 season. He led the National league in stolen bases his rookie season with 82.

Hoy is one of only 29 players to play in four of the five acknowledged major leagues - the National League, the Player's League, the American Association, and the American League.

Throughout his career he played for the Washington Senators, the St. Louis Browns, the Cincinnati Reds, the Buffalo Bisons, Louisville Colonels, and the Chicago White Stockings.

In Louisville, his teammates included Fred Clarke, Honus Wagner, Connie Mack, Rube Waddell, and Charlie Comiskey.

Charlie Comiskey would have a particularly large influence in Hoy's career. As a player/manager he was instrumental in hiring him in St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chicago.

Hoy possessed unusual speed. He stole close to 600 bases throughout his career. (records vary).

He used his speed and cunning in the outfield to great advantage, becoming one of the great "fly-hawks" of the early game.

It was reported that he could throw strike after strike to home plate from center field. He consistently was among league leaders in assists.

In one game, he threw out three runners at home plate. The record, tied twice, has not been broken. His catcher that day was Connie Mack.

Hoy was well-liked by teammates and was popular with fans. After a brilliant catch, fans would stand en masse and wave their arms and hats wildly, knowing Hoy couldn't hear their cheering.

At the plate he was one of the original "spark-plugs". Hoy batted close to .300 (recorded at .288-.292) for his career, but also had a great eye. He led his league in walks more than once. He established an impressive career on base percentage of .386.

In 1900 he played for Charlie Comiskey's Chicago White Stockings the last year before they were included in the American League.

Although the stats don't count on the official records, in 134 games played, Hoy led the league with 45 assists, over 300 put outs and a .977 fielding percentage.

In 1901, he hit the second grand slam in the history of the newly formed American League. He went on to lead the league in walks (86) that year, as well as help lead his team to the pennant.

He had settled in Cincinnati, where he was married in 1898. He returned to Cincinnati for his last major league season in 1902.

His love for the game led him to keep playing in 1903 for the Los Angeles Looloos of the Pacific Coast League.

There he played all 211 games of the schedule, (at age 41), scored 156 runs, recorded 419 putouts, and stole 46 bases while the team won the Pacific League pennant.

Upon retirement in 1902, he was second only to Billy Hamilton in bases on balls, with 1,004. Hoy held the major league record for most games played in center field (1726)until 1920—his record eventually broken by Tris Speaker.

He also set career records for putouts (3,958), and total chances (4625). Upon his retirement, he was second in games played in the outfield (1795), seventh in assists (273), and third in double plays (72).

He scored over 100 runs nine times.

He was a success everywhere and every season he played.

Hoy remained active both in the deaf community, and in early player's organizations. He was active in deaf, youth and adult baseball and softball organizations, coaching and playing.

A reunion in 1939 with former teammates, Clark Griffith and Connie Mack garnered media attention, with a published snapshot of the trio communicating in sign language.

Before his death, and at age 99, he was invited to throw out the first pitch at the third game of the World Series in Cincinnati in 1961. He was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2003.

William Hoy never campaigned for his inclusion in baseball's Hall of Fame. Several of his teammates did though—Connie Mack, Honus Wagner, Clark Griffith and Sam Crawford all thought Hoy should be in the Hall.

They all played with him, and certainly had seen enough baseball between them to know a Hall of Fame player when they saw one!

William "Dummy" Hoy started out as the small deaf boy with big dreams, going off to play professional baseball against all odds. Along the way, he proved it could be done.

He became one of baseball's original "spark-plugs" and finest "fly-hawks". His determination, honesty, character, and energy left a lasting impression on all he met.

He became a hero to the deaf community and to all handicapped people to aspire to reach for their dreams.

He was unanimously voted as the first person in the American Athletic Association of the Deaf's Hall of Fame in 1951.

Dummy Hoy proved it could be done. He is one of our great pioneers of baseball.

The Greatest Pitching Careers Of The Modern Era

Jonathan Stilwell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:01:10 -0400

This is part two of this continued article. Here is a link to part one -

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/239223-ranking-the-top-pitching-careers-of-the-modern-era

Although not every pitcher on this list is equal, they are the 36 greatest starting pitchers of the modern era.

With this column I hope to appreciate and admire each of these pitchers for their accomplishments and unique contributions to pitching greatness.

Awards and accolades such as Cy Young awards, TSN Pitcher of the Year awards, MVP awards, All-Star appearances, and HOF inductions were excluded from consideration and not a factor in the assessments and rankings.

I do believe there is a natural cutoff here. The level of dominance, endurance, and quality displayed by these top pitchers puts them ahead of their competition.

I found many of these rankings to be very close. I also found groups of pitchers for each section of the chart. Adjusting a ranking or two within a grouping would certainly be understandable.

Rather than discuss these pitchers from the beginning, I focus on the salient details of their career that helped them accomplish this ranking.

Nos.36-29

The 3000K, 300 wins, and 49 shutouts club! Each pitcher in this group has one or more of these accomplishments to hang their hat on.

36) Luis Tiant

(1964-1982)–(229W – 172L; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 114; 187 CG/ 49 SHO; 3486 IP/ 3075 H/ 7.9 H/9; 2416 K/ 1104 BB/ 2.19 ratio; 1.199 WHIP); (postseason – 3W – 0L; 2.86 ERA; 34 IP/ 29H; 20 K/ 11 BB; 1.154 WHIP)

Luis Tiant left his home and family in Cuba to play baseball in the USA. He is the second great Latin pitcher in the major leagues.

After several good years for Cleveland, Tiant worked through an injury in the ’70-’71 seasons to re-emerge as an ace for the Red Sox for the remainder of the 70s. He became known as a big game pitcher.

His 49 shutouts are a borderline automatic HOF stat. He should probably be in the HOF.

35) Early Wynn

(1939-1963)–(300W – 244L; 3.54 ERA; ERA+ 107; 290 CG/ 49 SHO; 4564 IP/ 4291 H/ 8.5 H/9; 2334 K/ 1775 BB; 1.31 ratio; 1.329 WHIP); (postseason – 1 – 2; 4.95 ERA; 20 IP/ 23 H; 15 K/ 6 BB; 1.450 WHIP)

Early Wynn was a battler on the mound. He won 300 games using extraordinary skills. He helped lead both the ’54 Indians and the ’59 White Sox to the World Series.

He was a product of his era, doing whatever it took to win. He often won with guts and guile more than sheer domination of his opponent. He led pitchers in the 50s in strikeouts with 1,544.

34) Curt Schilling

(1988-2007) – (216W – 146L; 3.46 ERA; ERA+127; 83 CG/ 20 SHO; 3261 IP/ 2998 H/ 8.3 H/9; 3116 K/ 711 BB/ 4.38 ratio; 1.137 WHIP); (postseason – 11W – 2L; 2.23 ERA; 133 IP/ 104 H; 125 K/ 25 BB; 0.968 WHIP)

Curt Schilling was a power pitcher who was also very stingy with walks. His K/BB ratio of 4.38 is the highest of the modern era. His career arc is somewhat unusual, having had his best years in his 30s (1997–2004).

He helped both the Diamondbacks (2001) and the Red Sox (2004) to World Series victories.

33) John Smoltz

(1988-2009, current) – (212W – 151L; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 126; 53 CG/ 16 SHO; 3431 IP/ 3029 H/ 7.9 H/9; 3041 K/ 997 BB; 3.05 ratio; 1.173 WHIP); (15-4; 2.65 ERA; 207 IP/ 168 H; 194 K/ 67 BB; 1.135 WHIP)

John Smoltz established himself as a dominating power pitcher in the 90s. Along with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, he made up one of the great starting pitching rotations in the history of the game.

Several elbow injuries led his team to request he work as the Braves’ closer. He closed in dominating fashion for over three years, saving 154 games. He then returned to the starting position and brought high quality work.

He holds the record for postseason wins with 15. Whether starting or closing, Smoltz brought his devastating slider and fearless demeanor to every outing.

32) Vic Willis

(1898-1910) – (249W – 205L; 2.63 ERA; ERA+ 118; 388 CG/ 50 SHO; 3996 IP/ 3621 H/ 8.2 H/9; 1651 K/ 1212 BB/ 1.36 ratio; 1.209 WHIP); (postseason - 0 – 1; 4.76 ERA; 11 IP/ 10 H; 3 K/ 8 BB)

Willis’ accomplishments are often overlooked. He pitched for the Boston Beaneaters and the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League.

He won 20 games eight times. His 50 shutouts are his biggest HOF calling card.

31) Tom Glavine

(1987-2009) – (305W – 203L; 3.54 ERA; ERA+ 118; 56 CG/ 25 SHO; 4413 IP/ 4298 H/ 8.8 H/9; 2607 K/ 1500 BB/ 1.74 ratio; 1.314 WHIP); (postseason – 14-16; 3.42 ERA; 218 IP/ 191 H; 143 K/ 87 BB; 1.273 WHIP)

Tom Glavine was a tough-minded competitor who worked with pitch location and change of speed more than pitch movement to get batters out. Glavine is a 300-game winner, and one of the all-time ten best left-handed starters. His 25 SHO are third from his era.

30) Phil Neikro

(1964-1987) – (318W – 274L; 3.35 ERA; ERA+ 115; 245 CG/ 45 SHO; 5404 IP/ 5044 H/ 8.4 H/9; 3342 K/ 1809 BB/ 1.85 ratio; 1.268 WHIP); (postseason- 0 – 1; 3.86 ERA; 14 IP/15 H; 9 K/ 8 BB; 1.643 WHIP)

Phil Neikro pitched the first 20 years of his career for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves.

His 5,404 IP are fourth all-time and the most in the live ball era since 1921.

He is also third all-time with 1,809 BB and 5th with 274 losses. The losses can be explained by the many losing teams he pitched for, twice losing 20 games. The unpredictability of the knuckleball could help explain the walks.

29) Don Sutton

(1966-1988) – (324W – 256L; 3.26 ERA; ERA+ 108; 178 CG/ 58 SHO; 5282 IP/ 4692 H/ 8.0 H/9; 3574 K/ 1343 BB; 2.66 ratio; 1.142 WHIP); (6 – 4; 3.68 ERA; 100 IP/ 92 H; 61 K/ 16 BB; 1.076 WHIP)

Don Sutton broke in at the end of the Dodgers’ heyday in 1966. He carried on the tradition of fine pitching for the team through the 1980 season. Sutton continued pitching effectively until his very last year.

Not only did Sutton win 324 games, he also struck out over 3,500 batters and tossed 58 shutouts. He would fit nicely with the “great endurance pitchers of the second half of the century” group at No. 16-20 if it weren’t for his lagging ERA+ of 108.

Nos. 28-21

This next group represents the top pitchers with shorter careers (less than 3000 IP). These pitchers showed dominance in one or more areas of pitching.

28) Dazzy Vance

(1915, 1918, 1922-1935) – 197W – 140L; 3.24 ERA; ERA+ 125; 216 CG; 29 SHO; 2966 IP/ 2809 H/ 8.5 H/9; 2045 K/ 840 BB/ 2.43 ratio; 1.230 WHIP); (0 – 0; 0.00; 1 IP/2 H; 3 K/ 1 BB)

Dazzy Vance was the most dominant pitcher of the 1920s. He won the NL strikeout title seven years in a row after he broke in as a rookie at age 31!

His K/BB ratio of 2.43 leads the entire live-ball era (1921-1945). His fiery personality was the face of the Brooklyn “Bums” for over a decade.

27) Addie Joss

(1902-1910) – (160W – 97L; 1.89 ERA; ERA+ 142; 234 CG; 45 SHO; 2327 IP; 1888 H/ 7.3 H/9; 920 K/ 364 BB/ 2.53 ratio; 0.968 WHIP)

Albeit over a shorter career, Joss’ career ERA of 1.89 is second all-time to Ed Walsh, and his 0.968 WHIP is the lowest ratio on record. He pitched for the Cleveland Naps of the American League.

He died tragically in 1911 of tubercular meningitis at age 31.

Many of the game's greats played in the “first all-star game” to raise money for his family in spite of threats of banishment from the AL president, Ban Johnson!

26) Rube Waddell

(1897-1910) – (193W – 143L; 2.16 ERA; ERA+ 135; 261 CG; 50 SHO; 2961 IP/ 2460 H/ 7.5 H/9; 2316 K/ 803 BB/ 2.88 ratio; 1.102 WHIP)

Waddell was a strapping farm kid with a childlike nature. He was easily distracted, but when he was on the mound, he was dynamite! Fans flocked to the stadium to see him pitch.

His fastball was one of the fastest to date, and he threw a devastating curve as well. After joining Mack’s Athletics in 1902, he began breaking strikeout records. In 1903, he posted 302K for the season. In 1904 he set the single season mark of 349, which wasn’t broken for 61 years!

No one else threw two 300K seasons until Sandy Koufax in ’65 and ’66. His K/BB ratio of 2.88 is second in his era.

25) Sandy Koufax

(1955-1966) – (165W – 82L; 2.76 ERA; ERA+ 131; 137 CG/ 40 SHO; 2324 IP/ 1754 H/ 6.8 H/9; 2396 K/ 817 BB/ 2.93 ratio; 1.106 WHIP); (post-season – 4 – 3; 0.95 ERA; 57 IP/36 H; 61 K/ 11 BB; 0.857 WHIP)

The legend of Sandy Koufax’ career really begins during spring training of ’61, when his bullpen catcher urged him to relax on the mound. Sandy parlayed this advice into better control and game management and produced two above average years in '61 and '62.

In '63 when the mound was raised and the strike zone made larger, his career took off! He led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts in both '63 and '65. He broke the long-standing single season strikeout record of 349 in ’65 with a total of 382!

His pitching in the World Series in '63 and '65 was heroic. He brought his already dominating game to a new level.

However, painful arthritis forced him to retire after the '66 season.

The next two pitchers are really an extension of the quality pitchers with mid-length careers (Nos. 12-15). (Ford almost fits with the shorter career pitchers with 3170 innings.) However, I felt they best fit in here. They are both unique pitchers to their era and baseball history.

24) Whitey Ford

(1950-1967) – (236W – 106L; 2.75 ERA; ERA+ 133; 156 CG/ 45 SHO; 3170 IP; 2766 H; 7.9 H/9; 1956 K/ 1086 BB/ 1.80 ratio; 1.215 WHIP); (post-season – 10 – 8; 2.71; 146 IP/ 132 H; 94 K/ 34 BB; 1.137 WHIP)

Whitey Ford was the ace of the Yankee championship teams from ’53-’64. Ford was often held back for important series during the season. His career ERA of 2.75 is the lowest of the live-ball era.

His 156 CG total is low for his era. His K/BB ratio is within an acceptable range, but not close to the era-leading mark of 2.61 set by Robin Roberts.

Ford later admitted to doctoring baseballs with the help of his catcher, Elston Howard.

23) Bob Feller

(1936-1956) – (266W – 162L; 3.25 ERA; ERA+ 122; 279 CG; 44 SHO; 3827 IP/ 3271 H/ 7.7 H/9; 2581 K/ 1764 BB/ 1.46 ratio; 1.316 WHIP); postseason – 0 – 2; 5.02 ERA; 14 IP/ 10H; 7 K/ 5 BB; 1.047 WHIP)

“Rapid Robert” and his blazing fastball splashed onto the scene in the late 30's. By the time he went to serve our country, he had already established himself as the best young pitcher in the game. When he came back from the war, he returned to pitch for the Cleveland Indians.

In 1946 he completed one of the great peaks in baseball history, striking out 348 batters with 10 shutouts. However, that was his last dominant strikeout year. He found other ways to keep winning, but he was a different pitcher after 1946.

Bob Feller is the highest ranked pitcher with a WHIP over 1.300.

22) Pedro Martinez

(1992–present) – (215W-99L; 2.92 ERA; ERA+154; 46 CG/ 17 SHO; 2787 IP/ 2180 H/ 7.0 H/9; 3122 K/ 753 BB/ 4.14 K/BB; 1.052 WHIP); (postseason – 6-2; 3.40 ERA; 79 IP/ 63 H; 80 K/ 26 BB; 1.12 WHIP)

Pedro Martinez fits right in with these pitchers with shorter careers, but terrific quality stats. He had one of the most dominant peaks of quality from ’98–00 and ‘02. Since his peak, he has really had only three after-glow years.

Pedro Martinez's greatest stats are his ERA+ of 154, his K/BB ratio of 4.14, his career WHIP of 1.052, and his 3,122 strikeouts. These are remarkable, short career or not!

Missing are the endurance stats to really round out his career accomplishments.

21) Ed Walsh

(1904-1917) – (195W – 126L; 1.82 ERA; ERA+ 146; 250 CG/ 57 SHO; 2964 IP/ 2346 H/ 7.1 H/9; 1736 K/ 617 BB/ 2.81 ratio; 1.000 WHIP); (postseason – 2-0; 0.60 ERA; 15 IP/ 7 H; 17 K/ 6 BB; 0.857 WHIP)

Ed Walsh really packed his impact into seven incredible seasons, 1906-1912. After helping design Comiskey Park, which was to be his home stadium, he established the lowest career ERA on record.

Everything about his numbers indicates incredible quality. His K/BB ratio was third in his era. His ERA+ of 146 was earned in a high pitching era. His WHIP is one of the best in history. His 57 shutouts are fifth in his era, 11^th all-time.

Yet his arm was thrown out after the '12 season, and his efforts to resume his career failed. He didn’t make it to 200 wins.

Nos.20-16

This next group of pitchers is the incredible endurance pitchers of the second half of the 20^th century. There hadn’t been an epic career since Grover Alexander retired in 1930. These pitchers proved it was possible to pound out a long career with excellence in the live-ball era.

20) Robin Roberts

(1948-1966) – (286W – 245L; 3.41 ERA; ERA+ 113; 305 CG/ 45 SHO; 4688 IP/ 4582 H/ 8.8 H/9; 2357 K/ 902 BB/ 2.61 ratio; 1.170 WHIP); (post-season – 0-1; 1.64 ERA; 11 IP/ 11 H; 5 K/ 3 BB; 1.273 WHIP)

Robin Roberts was the epitome of the endurance pitcher!

During his peak, 1952-55, he led the league in wins, games started, complete games, innings pitched, and batters faced each year.

In addition, he also led the league in WHIP once, strikeouts twice, and K/BB ratio three times during the same four year span!

He won 20 games or more six consecutive years. At one point, he completed 27 games in a row! Since Robin Roberts retired in ’66, only Gaylord Perry has reached 300 complete games! His career K/BB ratio of 2.61 is the highest of his era.

19) Ferguson Jenkins

(1965-1983) – (284W – 226L; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 115; 267 CG/ 49 SHO; 4500 IP/ 4142 H/ 8.3 H/9; 3192 K/ 997 BB/ 3.10 ratio; 1.142 WHIP)

Ferguson Jenkins was a pitcher with tremendous control and a large body of work. His 3.10 K/BB ratio is one of the highest marks ever posted. Outside of the raised mound and current steroid eras, it is the highest!

Jenkins won 20 games seven of eight seasons from ’67-’74. He also had several good after-glow years filling out his career. He is one of 16 pitchers with 3000 strikeouts. His 49 shutouts, tied for 21st, are HOF material as well.

18) Gaylord Perry

(1962-1983) – (314W – 265L; 3.11 ERA; ERA+ 117; 303 CG; 53 SHO; 5350 IP/ 4938 H/ 8.3 H/9; 3534 K/ 1379 BB/ 2.56 ratio; 1.181 WHIP); (postseason – 1-1; 6.14 ERA; 14 IP/ 19 H; 11 K/ 3 BB; 1.500 WHIP)

Gaylord Perry spent the first part of his career establishing himself as a great pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. Before he was finished he had pitched for eight teams, and won 20 games four times, including 21 at age 40 for the San Diego Padres.

Along the way, he broke Walter Johnson’s long-time career strikeout mark of 3,508 and won 300 games. He is the last pitcher to throw 300 complete games.

He was notorious for the spit ball—applying foreign substances to the baseball. He wrote a book about it in '73, but was not caught until the '82 season in Seattle.

17) Bert Blyleven

(1970-1992) – (287W – 250L; 3.31 ERA; ERA+ 118; 242 CG/ 60 SHO; 4970 IP/ 4632 H/ 8.4 H/9; 3701 K/ 1322 BB/ 2.80 ratio; 1.19 WHIP); (postseason – 5-1; 2.47 ERA; 47 IP/ 43 H; 36 K/ 8 BB; 1.077 WHIP)

In the modern era, Blyleven’s 287 wins are 19th. His 3,701 strikeouts are fifth all-time. His 60 shutouts are 9th. Since the advent of the live-ball era in 1921, only four pitchers have reached 60 shutouts—Spahn, Seaver, Ryan, and Blyleven.

His 2.80 K/BB ratio was established over 4,970 innings! In fact, among the 65 longest careers in history (including the raised mound era and our current era, which is skewing ratios), he ranks fifth!

Bert Blyleven toiled in relative obscurity in Minnesota for the first part of his career. But before he was finished, he had helped two teams to World Series victories (Pittsburgh in '79 and Minnesota in '87). His postseason record is stellar.

His curve ball is said to be one of the best in history. It has become the curve against which others are measured.

16) Steve Carlton

(1965-1988) – (329W – 244L; 3.22 ERA; ERA+ 115; 255 CG/ 55 SHO; 5217 IP/ 4672 H/ 8.1 H/9; 4136 K/ 1833 BB/ 2.26 ratio; 1.247 WHIP); (postseason – 6-6; 3.26 ERA; 99 IP/ 96 H; 84 K/ 51 BB; 1.480 WHIP)

Steve Carlton was the dominant left-handed pitcher of his generation. He was a power pitcher, with a heavy fastball, and great slider. He is second among lefties in strikeouts with 4,136.

He won 20 games six times. His 1972 campaign is one of the great single seasons ever pitched. (27–10, 1.97 ERA, 310 K, 30 CG, 8 shutouts)

Carlton ranks second in career walks with 1,833. Year to year he could be erratic, twice leading the league in losses. His postseason record is a mixed bag.

Nos.15-12

The next small group of pitchers is the great control and quality pitchers with mid-length careers.

15) Carl Hubbell

(1928-1943) – (253W – 154L; 2.98 ERA; ERA+ 130; 260 CG/ 37 SHO; 3590 IP/ 3461 H/ 8.7 H/9; 1677 K/ 725 BB/ 2.31 ratio; 1.166 WHIP); (postseason – 4-2; 1.79 ERA; 50 IP/ 40 H; 32 K/ 12 BB; 1.033 WHIP)

Carl Hubbell threw a screwball he delivered slowly. He was a control pitcher in an era when only the flame throwers were surviving.

His 37 shutouts and 2.31 K/BB ratio are both second in his era. He pitched 20 innings of shutout baseball to help the Giants win the ’33 series. His 24-game winning streak is still the record.

He was the dominant pitcher in the NL in the 30s.

14) Jim Palmer

(1965-1984) – (268W – 152L; 2.86 ERA; ERA+126; 211 CG/ 53 SHO; 3948 IP/ 3349 H; 7.6 H/9; 2212 K/ 1311 BB; 1.69 ratio; 1.180 WHIP); (postseason – 8-3; 2.61 ERA; 124 IP/ 101 H; 90 K/ 50 BB; 1.214 WHIP)

Jim Palmer spearheaded one of the great pitching staffs in major league history for the Orioles. It was a great match; he was a sinker ball pitcher and he had a great defense behind him. He was one of the most consistent pitchers of his era.

Palmer won 20 games eight of nine seasons, 1970-’78. He was an important part of the Orioles postseason success in '66 and '70. His postseason record is one to be admired.

Not being a strikeout pitcher, his K/BB is somewhat low, but his lack of hits allowed helps make up for that. Palmer excelled at preventing runs from scoring.

13) Juan Marichal

(1960-1975) – (243W – 142L; 2.89 ERA; ERA+ 123; 244 CG/ 52 SHO; 3507 IP/ 3153 H/ 8.1 H/9; 2303 K/ 709 BB/ 3.25 ratio; 1.101 WHIP); (postseason – 0-1; 1.50 ERA; 12 IP/ 6 H; 10 K/ 2 BB; 0.667 WHIP)

Juan Marichal was the first great Latin pitcher. His high leg kick preceded any one of a number of pitches, all thrown with pin-point control.

He won 20 games six of seven years in the 60s. He was consistently outstanding. His career K/BB mark of 3.25 is the highest in the modern era up through his era (until 1992). His career WHIP is remarkably low.

Unfortunately, in 1970 he was given a shot of penicillin, to which he had an allergic reaction, causing crippling arthritis. Although he forged ahead, his body didn’t always respond, bringing the end of his career all too soon.

12) Mordecai “Three-Finger” Brown

(1903-1916) – (239W – 130L; 2.06 ERA; ERA+ 138; 271 CG/ 55 SHO; 3172 IP/ 2708 H/ 7.7 H/9; 1375 K/ 673 BB/ 2.04 ratio; 1.066 WHIP); (postseason – 5-4; 2.97 ERA; 57 IP/ 50 H; 35 K/ 13 BB; 1.09 WHIP)

Brown was a consummate control pitcher with a tremendous curve and change-up. He had lost most of his index finger in a farming accident. That coupled, with a very bent middle finger, allowed him to get unusual top-spin on the ball, causing it to sink.

Brown was exceptionally effective. He posted the third lowest career ERA–2.06. He won 20 games six consecutive years.

At his peak, he was as good as any pitcher in baseball. His duels with Christy Mathewson were legendary. He won the pennant for his team on the final day of the 1908 season against Mathewson and the Giants. He was 13-11 head-to-head with Mathewson.

Unfortunately, it took his death in 1948 to remind baseball writers of his exploits and put him in the HOF in 1949.

Nos.11-8

This next group of pitchers all put their mark on baseball in a unique way. They stood out from the texture of pitching history by what they accomplished.

11) Lefty Grove

(1925-1941) – (300W – 141L; 3.06 ERA; ERA+148; 298 CG/ 35 SHO; 3940 IP/ 3849 H/ 8.8 H/9; 2266 K/ 1187 BB; 1.91 ratio; 1.278 WHIP); (postseason – 4-2; 1.75 ERA; 51 IP/ 46 H; 36 K/ 6 BB; 1.013 WHIP)

Lefty Grove was the dominant pitcher of the AL in the live-ball era. His peak from 1927-32 was one of the greatest. He was a dominant pitcher in an era when pitching was struggling to keep up.

His 300 wins and 2266 strikeouts led his era. He won his league ERA title nine times.

He led the Athletics to the World Series three times, winning in ’29 and ’30.

10) Nolan Ryan

(1966, ’68-’93) – (324W – 292L; 3.19 ERA; ERA+ 111; 222 CG/ 61 SHO; 5386 IP/ 3923 H/ 6.6 H/9; 5714 K/ 2795 BB/ 2.04 ratio; 1.247 WHIP); (postseason – 2-2; 3.07 ERA; 58 IP/ 39 H; 63 K/ 14 BB; 0.903 WHIP)

Nolan Ryan’s career strikeout record of 5,714 may never be approached. He also threw a record 7 no-hitters.

Ryan featured a rising fastball and a looping 12–6 curveball. He was also the hardest pitcher to hit in history. The differential of 1,463 between his IP and hits allowed is remarkable.

Obviously, Ryan could be as dominant as any pitcher had ever been. On the detracting side is the huge number of BB, 2,795 is a total that may never be approached.

9) Bob Gibson

(1959-1975) – (251W – 174L; 2.91 ERA; ERA+ 127; 255 CG/ 56 SHO; 3884 IP/ 3279 H/ 7.6 H/9; 3117 K/ 1336 BB; 2.33 ratio; 1.188 WHIP); (postseason – 7-2; 1.89 ERA; 81 IP/ 55 H; 92 K/ 17 BB; 0.889 WHIP)

Bob Gibson was the first great black pitcher in the major leagues. His pitching feats in the '64, '67 and 68 World Series are stuff of legend. In Game One of the '68 Series against the Tigers, he struck out 17 batters.

His single season ERA of 1.12 in '68 is eye-popping. He accompanied that with 13 shutouts, and only allowed 198 hits in 304 innings!

Gibson was the second man to reach the 3,000 K plateau, long manned by Walter Johnson alone.

8) Eddie Plank

(1901-1917) – (326W – 194L; 2.35 ERA; ERA+122; 410 CG/ 69 SHO; 4495 IP/ 3958 H/ 7.9 H/9; 2246 K/ 1072 BB; 2.10 ratio; 1.119 WHIP); (postseason – 2-5; 1.32 ERA; 54 IP/ 37 H; 32 K/ 11 BB; 0.878 WHIP)

Eddie Plank was the first left-handed pitcher in the modern era to win 300 games. His 69 shutouts and 410 complete games both are fourth in the modern era.

He was consistently outstanding, leading Connie Mack’s Athletics to five World Series appearances. He finally beat his nemesis, Christy Mathewson, in the 1913 classic.

Nos. 7-1

The next group of pitchers is truly the cream of the crop. They are the best of the best, lacking in no area of measurable greatness.

7) Randy Johnson

(1988-2009) – (303W – 166L; 3.29 ERA; ERA+ 136; 100 CG; 37 SHO; 4131 IP/ 3339 H/ 7.3 H/9; 4869 K/ 1497 BB/ 3.25 ratio; 1.171 WHIP); (postseason – 7-9; 3.50 ERA; 121 IP/ 106 H; 132 K/ 32 BB; 1.14 WHIP)

“The Big Unit” has blazed his way onto this list with his incredible strikeout ratio, 300 wins, accompanied by a great H/9 ratio, K/BB ratio and WHIP. His endurance is proven by his IP total, 300 wins and 37 shutouts.

6) Greg Maddux

(1986-2008) – (355W – 227L; 3.16 ERA; ERA+ 132; 109 CG/ 35 SHO; 5008 IP/ 4726 H/ 8.5 H/9; 3371 K/ 999 BB/ 3.37 ratio; 1.143 WHIP); (postseason – 11-14; 3.27 Era; 198 IP/ 195 H; 125 K/ 51 BB; 1.242 WHIP)

Greg Maddux had a tremendous career any way you slice it. He led his era in wins, has over 3000 K, is second in the era in shutouts (35), and his WHIP of 1.14 is incredible for the length of his career. He is one of the greatest control pitchers on record.

5) Warren Spahn

(1942, ’46-’65) – (363W – 245L; 3.09 ERA; ERA+ 118; 382 CG/ 63 SHO; 5243 IP/ 4830 H/ 8.3 H/9; 2583 K/ 1434 BB/ 1.80 ratio; 1.195 WHIP); (postseason – 4-3; 3.06 Era; 56 IP/ 47 H; 32 K/ 13 BB; 1.07 WHIP)

Warren Spahn dominated his era. He won 20 games 13 times. His 363 wins and 63 shutouts are the most for any pitcher since 1921. His 382 CG are the most since Grover Alexander retired in 1930 with 437.

Spahn brought his tremendous stamina late into his career, leading the league in wins, ERA, complete games, shutouts and WHIP in ’61 at age 40.

4) Tom Seaver

(1967-1986) – (311W – 205L; 2.86 ERA; ERA+ 127; 231 CG/ 61 SHO; 4782 IP/ 3971 H/ 7.5 H/9; 3640 K/ 1390 BB/ 2.62 ratio; 1.121 WHIP); (postseason – 3-3; 2.77 ERA; 61 IP/ 51 H; 51 K/ 16 BB; 1.086 WHIP)

Tom Seaver was the best of his era. He was dominant (ERA+127, 61 SHO), he had endurance (231 CG, 311 wins, 4782 IP), and he had great quality (2.62 K/BB ratio, 1.121 WHIP).

3) Grover Alexander

(1911-1930) – (373W – 208L; 2.56 ERA; ERA+ 135; 437 CG/ 90 SHO; 5190 IP/ 4868 H/ 8.4 H/9; 2198 K/ 951 BB/ 2.31 ratio; 1.121 WHIP); (postseason – 3-2; 3.56 Era; 43 IP/ 36 H; 29 K/ 12 BB; 1.116 WHIP)

Alexander was the premier NL pitcher of the teens. What Walter Johnson was to the AL, he was to the NL. His career stretched into the live-ball era as well.

His 90 shutouts are second all-time. He is tied for second (373) in the modern era in wins. His 437 complete games are also second. His ERA+ 135 is astounding for the length of his career.

His peak from ’14-’17 is the second greatest in history.

2) Christy Mathewson

(1900-1916) – (373W – 188L; 2.13 ERA; ERA+ 135; 434 CG/ 79 SHO; 4780 IP/ 4218 H/ 7.9 H/9; 2502 K/ 844 BB/ 2.96 ratio; 1.059 WHIP); (postseason – 5-5; 0.97 ERA; 101 IP/ 76 H; 48 K/ 10 BB; 0.846 WHIP)

Christy Mathewson was the premier pitcher in baseball from 1905-1912. He was the quintessential control pitcher, establishing the highest K/BB mark (2.96) in the modern era until the 1960s. He is tied for second in wins (373). His 434 CG and 79 shutouts are third.

Mathewson was the hero of the ’05 World Series, pitching three complete game shutouts.

1)Walter Johnson

(1907-1927) – (417W – 279L; 2.17 ERA; ERA+ 147; 531 CG/ 110 SHO; 5914 IP/ 4913 H/ 7.5 H/9; 3509 K/ 1363 BB; 2.57 ratio; 1.061 WHIP); (postseason – 3-3; 2.16 ERA; 50 IP/ 56 H; 35 K/ 15 BB; 1.420 WHIP)

Walter Johnson is simply put, the greatest starting pitcher in the history of baseball. It isn’t close. He has the most wins in the modern era (417), the most shutouts (110), (a record I feel is safe), the most innings pitched (5914), and the most complete games (531).

His career record of 3509 strikeouts stood for 55 years until ’82. He pitched his entire career with the Washington Senators, and didn’t make the post-season until 1924-’25, when he was 37 years old.

His ERA+ 147 is remarkable for a career that spanned 21 years and the advent of the live-ball era!

Conclusions

I found that the best pitchers presented themselves naturally in groups. I felt after Walter Johnson, the following group from Nos. 2-7 is solid. The next four all have a historic uniqueness that holds them together.

The quality pitchers with mid-length careers and the endurance pitchers make up Nos. 12-20. I listed them within their groups, but a good historian might want to make this part of the list more fluid.

I feel quite strongly about placing the best of the short careers next at Nos. 21-28, but a blend into the next group could be possible.

I have appreciated the challenge this study has brought. I realize that a precise ranking is an endless project, and that because it is subjective, my own perceptions could likely change in the future.

Ranking The Top Pitching Careers Of The Modern Era

Jonathan Stilwell — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:54:59 -0400

Ranking the Top Pitchers of the Modern Era

This article is really the culmination of a series of studies looking at each era of the game and aspects of what makes a pitcher great.

I endeavored to find the best pitchers from the Modern Dead-ball Era (1901–1921), the initial Live-ball Era (1921–1945), the Golden Years and the Raised Mound Era (1946– 1968), the Post-Raised Mound and Divisional Era (1969–1991), and the Wild Card, or Steroid, Era (1992 – 2009).

On the way, I discovered many of the salient characteristics of what pitching was about in each era. Different eras emphasized different aspects of pitching greatness.

In addition, in order to gain a complete perspective, great individual seasons and peaks of dominance were studied and acknowledged.

I studied pitching and the great pitchers from the pre-modern era as well as identifying and ranking the great left-handed pitchers in the game.

What makes a pitcher great?

This is the question that must be answered in order to rank pitchers from across over 100 years of pitching history.

I broke my assessments of pitching greatness into three essential categories: Dominance, Endurance, and Excellence or Quality. The greatest pitching careers display some combination of these ingredients that makes them stand out from pitchers of their own era and across eras.

Dominance –

Dominance conjures up visions of Nolan Ryan’s seven no-hitters, Sandy Koufax’s pitching over the last four years of his career, or Bob Gibson’s performance in the ’67 series and his 1.12 ERA in the ’68 season. Baseball writers and fans have been drawn to displays of pitching dominance throughout the history of the game!

Dominance can be expressed in relation to one’s competition. This is exemplified by wins, ERA+, and League Leading Categories (LLCs). Most often we see dominance during a peak in a pitcher’s career. This is a naturally occurring period of three to four years when a pitcher is at their absolute best.

Dominance can also be expressed by dominating the individual match-ups that occur along the way to a great career. This type of dominance we see in strikeouts, shutouts, and command of the strike zone over the batter, expressed by the strikeout- to-walk ratio. (K/BBr).

The Win - Traditionally, wins have been the No. 1 measuring stick for pitching greatness. On the positive side, large numbers of career wins suggest some sustained success by the pitcher, and perhaps a good team behind him. It means the pitcher and his team were good at getting to the fifth inning or beyond ahead of their opponents. So this pitcher probably has some good game skills, can escape jams, and has a competitive nature.

Focusing on career wins, one gets an overall feel for the career success of the pitcher at his best.

But there are drawbacks to focusing on wins as a primary measuring stick to pitching greatness.

The win itself has a nebulous meaning. It means your opponent scored less than your team, you pitched at least five innings, and no subsequent pitcher for your team allowed the opposition to tie the score or relinquish the lead, (even if you eventually won the game).

So much is out of the pitcher’s control! The win is subject to your run support, the whims of your manager, and the quality of the pitching that follows your efforts.

One win does not equal the quality of another. It is an inexact science when measuring pitching greatness.

So it becomes imperative to look past the win to gain a more exact and complete look at a pitcher’s body of work.

The Peak – Great pitchers often display a peak level of performance when they are at their very best. This usually occurs after a few learning years, but still in the first half of a pitcher’s career. Pitching dominance is usually expressed by the peak over a course of three to five years. These years identify the nature of a pitcher’s greatness.

The following is a link to a study on the greatest pitching peaks of the modern era. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/213490-peak-performance-the-top-20-pitching-peaks-of-the-modern-era

The dominance of a peak can be checked by seeing how often a pitcher finished in the top in important pitching categories. (Baeballreference.com lists LLCs with bold type on a pitcher’s career record. They also list top ten finishes in categories farther down the player page.)

The Strikeout – a pitcher’s dominance over individual batters is expressed best by the strikeout. The strikeout represents a complete failure by the batter. He was unable to put the ball in play, and no runners advanced.

The meaning of a strikeout has changed through the eras.

From 1901–1963, strikeouts were the by-product of effective pitching. The greatest strikeout totals were held by great pitchers:

1) Walter Johnson – 3508

2) Warren Spahn – 2583

3) Bob Feller - 2581

4) Christy Mathewson - 2502

5) Robin Roberts - 2357

6) Early Wynn - 2354

7) Rube Waddell - 2316

8) Lefty Grove - 2266

9) Eddie Plank - 2246

10) Grover Alexander - 2198

There were no flukes who made this list!

The raised mound brought the strikeout into prominence. Seasonal strikeout totals soared. The single season mark, held for 61 years by Rube Waddell (349 in ’04), fell in ’65 to Sandy Koufax (382). “Sudden Sam" McDowell pumped out 1652 strikeouts in six years – more than any pitcher had totaled for the entire decade of the 50s. (Early Wynn led the decade with 1544).

By the end of the raised mound era, the significance of the strikeout had changed. It was now viewed as an important expression of pitching excellence. It had become a goal to strive after of itself.

Walter Johnson’s mark of 3508 Ks had stood since the late 20s. Nobody else had approached this career total. Bob Gibson broke the 3000K plateau in 1974. In the next 10 years, Gaylord Perry, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver were to follow.

Today, we are two generations removed from Bob Gibson’s feat. There are 16 pitchers with over 3000K. This is quickly becoming a pitching milestone, like 300 wins.

ERA+ - is a stat that has been developed to show how a pitcher performed in allowing earned runs in relation to the league average. There is also an adjustment for the park(s) in which a pitcher performed. A high ERA+ is an expression of dominance by showing how much better a pitcher performed than the average of the league.

Some of the greatest single season marks for ERA+ start at +160 or so and go up from there. Pedro Martinez’ mark of +291 in the 2000 season set a record for ERA+.

I will discuss career ERA+ as a quality stat further on in this study.

The Shutout – No other single pitching accomplishment exemplifies mastery and dominance like the shutout.

From 1901–1985 or 1990 the shutout was an important part of the pitching landscape. It perhaps gets overlooked historically because you don’t see the totals so much on a yearly basis. Some of the greatest single-season totals were tallied by Grover Alexander in 1916 (16), Bob Feller in ’46 (10), and Bob Gibson in ’68 (13)!

Just like a single shutout is not a fluke, but an expression of pitching excellence and endurance, so the career shutout list contains no flukes. It is virtually a Who’s Who of the most dominant pitchers in history.

1) Walter Johnson 110

2) Grover Alexander 90

3) Christy Mathewson 79

4) Cy Young* 76

5) Eddie Plank 69

6) Warren Spahn 63

7) Nolan Ryan 61

8) Tom Seaver 61

9) Bert Blyleven 60

10) Don Sutton 58

11) James Galvin* 57

12) Ed Walsh 57

13) Bob Gibson 56

14) Mordecai Brown 55

15) Steve Carlton 55

16) Jim Palmer 53

17) Gaylord Perry 53

18) Juan Marichal 52

19) Rube Waddell 50

20) Vic Willis 50

21) Don Drysdale 49

22) Ferguson Jenkins 49

23) Luis Tiant 49

24) Early Wynn 49

* These pitchers were part of the pre-modern era.

Just as the shutout is the single greatest expression of pitching dominance, so the career shutout total is the single greatest expression of career greatness.

Shutouts were somewhat easier to come by in the dead-ball era. There was less scoring. Another era of suppressed scoring is the raised mound era.

Endurance –

Endurance itself is an expression of dominance. It is expressed by the ability to win battle after battle with opposing hitters. A complete game is the ability to win 27 individual battles without giving up significant scoring damage by the other team. It is based on the mental resolve to win each battle as you go along.

Endurance is this ability to win individual and opponent match-ups game after game and season after season. It is an expression of pitching success.

Career stats that show endurance are found in the complete game (CG), total innings pitched (IP), the shutout (SHO), and to a lesser degree, the win (W).

Throughout baseball history, many of the greatest pitchers have had great endurance. The best were able not just to show this quality at their peak, but also bring it with prominence late into their careers.

The Complete Game – Today the complete game is certainly more the aberration than the norm. Relief specialists take over in the sixth-eighth innings. The starter is truly no longer responsible for finishing the game.

This was not always the case! In the pre-modern era, it was embarrassing not to finish a game you started. The starting pitcher was called on to start 45 – 60 games. For example, John Clarkson, one of the greats of the era, started 518 games and completed 485!

In the dead-ball era, 1901 – 1921, the starting pitcher was still expected to finish the game. The greats of the era completed the vast majority of their games. Ed Walsh completed 250 of 315 games started, and Eddie Plank completed 410 of 529 games he started.

After the live ball era began in 1921, pitchers were forced to pitch with more intensity from the beginning of the game. Many arms burned out trying to keep up with the increased scoring. Pitchers didn’t always make it to the end of the game. Sometimes other starters were brought in to finish up games.

Lefty Grove picked up 55 saves finishing games for others. (The development of the relief pitcher will have to be saved for another article!)

As the Golden Years moved into the raised mound era, teams were developing relief specialists. By the end of the era, most teams employed a pitcher who specialized in finishing games.

Beginning around 1970, pitchers were expected to pitch at their top level of effort throughout a game. The complete game became more an expression of option by the manager, rather than an expectation. So the complete game for the next generation was an expression of dominance by the pitchers with the greatest endurance.

Total Innings – the total number of innings a pitcher throws represents how many outs that pitcher generated throughout their career. In a way, it is a record of how many individual battles a pitcher won.

Throughout baseball history there were only 27 pitchers who reached what I label as an “epic” career of 4500 innings. 39 pitchers made it to 4000 innings. Seventy pitchers made it to 3500 innings pitched, and 129 have pitched 3000 innings or more.

In judging across eras, I have used this number of 3000 innings to establish an expected level of endurance for a pitcher to be ranked in the very top echelons of the game.

The long career – It is my firm belief that there should be some natural respect for the pitcher that has won so many individual battles as to have made it to 4500 innings. No pitcher hangs around too long if they can’t get the job done. On a pitcher’s career chart, you can notice decline setting in when you see reduced numbers of innings, higher ERAs, a higher WHIP, and more hits than innings pitched.

This is common to see at the end of a great career. Only if a pitcher tries to stretch this period out for more than two or three years should they be accused of hanging on too long.

There are some pitchers of note who never made it to 3000 innings. The very best of these made it into the top 30.

These factors of endurance are one aspect of pitching greatness.

Quality Stats or Excellence –

While the tell-tale signs of decline show up in ERA, ERA+, K/BB, H/9, and WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched), high quality pitching also shows itself in these same stats.

Earned Run Average – This is the number of earned runs a pitcher averages for every nine innings pitched. Historically, the best ERAs have varied somewhat from era to era.

The dead-ball era produced ERAs from 2.00 to 2.50 as the top marks for the best careers.

The live-ball era, beginning in 1921, witnessed a rise in scoring production, and the best ERAs were around 3.00.

This level stayed until the raised mound era pushed the mean ERA down about .50/ run per game.

Since 1969, when the mound was lowered and the strike zone made smaller, the best career ERAs have shown a range of 2.90 – 3.40.

ERA+ - ERA+ shows the percentage of variance a pitcher demonstrates from the league average - the average being 100. It allows also for the park(s) in which a pitcher performed.

A pitcher with an ERA+ of 125 allowed ¼ fewer runs than the league average. This would be a very good season. If the league average ERA was 4.00, this pitcher’s ERA would be 3.00.

It is a tool that is designed to help judge pitching effectiveness across eras. It is a very helpful tool in this regard. It is best used comparing individual seasons, or careers of similar length.

There are a couple of periods of time that make the ERA+ stat a little hyper-sensitive as well.

As a tool for ranking pitchers’ careers across eras, it has its limitations. ERA+ is sensitive to longevity.

The marks for excellence in ERA+ for a shorter career (<3000 IP) are from +125 and up.

For an epic career of 4500+ innings, sustained excellence is accompanied by an ERA+ of +113 or better.

H/9 – The number of hits allowed for every nine innings pitched is another indication of the quality of pitching. Historically, allowing fewer than a hit per inning pitched is good work. The greatest single seasons are marked by displays of dominance in this category.

In 1913 Walter Johnson allowed only 232 hits in 346 innings for a ratio of 6.0. In 1910, Ed Walsh allowed 242 hits in 369 innings for a 5.9 H/9 ratio. In 2000 Pedro Martinez allowed only 128 hits in 217 innings for an incredible ratio of 5.3.

The initial live-ball era (1921 – 1945) pitchers had a tough go with this stat. The best pitchers for H/9 in the era were Lefty Gomez’ 8.2, and Dazzy Vance’ 8.5 ratios for their careers.

Like ERA+, this stat is somewhat sensitive to longevity. The great short careers demonstrate a marked difference from the 9.0 H/9 standard. The great long careers maintain a rate under 9 for the career.

There is some variance here for the style of pitching. Control artists tend to give up a few more hits per nine innings over the career, but fewer walks.

WHIP –This concept of measuring how many base-runners a pitcher allows per inning is known as WHIP. This stands for walks plus hits divided by innings pitched.

This is a stat especially important for the control pitcher. It is much less sensitive to longevity, because allowing more than 1.350 runners per inning is leading to trouble in any season, era or part of a pitcher’s career!

Historically, the great careers line up like this: <3000 IP, 1.10; 3000 - 4000 innings, 1.15; and over 4000 IP, 1.20.

When judging the relative merits of great careers, WHIPs of 1.20 – 1.30 should be accompanied by another stat, like a high strikeout rate, or high win totals. (There are no pitchers on this list in the top 20 with a career WHIP over 1.300.)

K/BB ratio – This is a naturally occurring stat demonstrating dominance of the strike zone. Does the pitcher’s stuff and command give them the upper hand in the strike zone, or does the batter rule this area? It is also a stat of pitching quality.

Historically, only great pitchers have had the highest K/BB ratios.

In the dead-ball era, Christy Mathewson (2.96) and Rube Waddell (2.88) led the way.

The best of the live-ball era were Dazzy Vance (2.43) and Carl Hubbell (2.31).

The great command pitcher of the Golden Years is Robin Roberts (2.61).

The raised mound era broke the mold, pushing career rates higher. Not surprisingly, the best were Juan Marichal (3.25), and Sandy Koufax (2.93).

After that six-year aberration from normal rates, the next generation produced Ferguson Jenkins’ 3.09 ratio and Bert Blyleven’s 2.80.

From around 1985 and after, managers and pitching coaches abandoned the complete game as a normal game progression. Relief specialists began making their mark on the latter innings of games.

Pitchers were allowed to go all out from the beginning of the game, knowing they would be bailed out when they ran out of gas.

During this time we begin to see ratios breaking the standard norms set. Both K/BB and K/9 ratios were boosted by these pitching practices.

Another factor affecting these ratios is the prevalent use of PEDs during our most recent era. I have avoided ranking pitchers implicated with PED use. I expect more names to eventually be revealed.

HGH, currently undetectable by testing, enables the body to repair tissue damage more quickly. This is especially helpful for the pitcher between starts. He is able to pitch at a higher level, with greater strength in all of the supporting muscles for the pitching motion, creating greater torque.

Greater torque equals greater stuff, equals greater K/BB ratios and K/9 ratios.

We may never know the full breadth of PED use by pitchers from our era.

Therefore, the ratios established by the pitchers of our most recent era should be understood in the context in which they were accomplished.

Outside of the raised mound era and the most recent era, the norms for excellence in K/BB range around 2.00. Eddie Plank (2.10), Lefty Grove (1.91), and Warren Spahn (1.80) illustrate this range of excellence.

K/BB is mildly sensitive to longevity. Pitchers lose their “stuff" at different points in their careers. An epic career with an historically high K/BB mark is especially impressive. (Walter Johnson – 5914 IP and a 2.57 K/BB ratio, Greg Maddux – 5008 IP and a 3.37 K/BB ratio and Bert Blyleven – 4970 IP and a 2.80 K/BB are examples of this).

Historical Perspective –

Each aspect of measuring a pitcher’s career went through changes from era to era. It is important to understand these in order to accurately approach ranking careers over the course of 100+ years.

Here’s a quick review to get the feel for the flow of pitching from era to era:

1901-1921 – The Dead-Ball Era – Run production was low. Strikeouts were a by-product of effective pitching, not a goal to strive for. Complete games were expected. Shutouts were more common than other eras, but a significant symbol of pitching dominance.

1921-1945 – The Initial Live-Ball Era – Numbers of home runs and run production soared. Only the power pitchers excelled until Hubbell. H/9 ratios were high. The pitching level was relatively low, yielding high league average ERAs.

Shutouts were harder to come by. Red Ruffing (45) and Carl Hubbell (37) led the era.

Many pitchers blew out their arms early in their careers – Dizzy Dean and Lefty Gomez.

There were no epic careers from this period due to difficulty of pitching, level of talent, and the interruption of WWII.

1946-1962 – The Golden Years – The theme was to find a way to win. Pitchers knew how to “pitch”. They tried to out-think the hitter, and disrupt his timing. They saved their greatest effort for crucial game situations.

The shutout was again a symbol of dominance and endurance, if not as prevalent as during the dead-ball era.

The strikeout, (after Bob Feller blew out his arm striking out 348 batters in ’46), was again the by-product of effective pitching. The best pitchers of the era, Warren Spahn and Bob Feller, finished third and fourth on the all-time list at the time of their retirement, but never approached 3000K.

1963-1968 – the Raised Mound Era – the mound was raised from 10” to 15” and the strike zone was enlarged to stem a perceived offensive dominance. The result was an era of pitching dominance unseen before or since in the game.

Strikeout totals soared. ERAs plummeted. K/BB ratios reached new historic high marks.

Pitching records were skewed by the rule changes. New levels of pitching dominance were realized. Even after the rule changes were reversed, the expectation for these levels of dominance was passed on to the next generation.

1969-1991 – Post-Raised Mound, Divisional Era – The mound was lowered to 10”, and the strike zone was made smaller. (It seemed like anything over the belt was a ball.)

Pitchers were expected to perform at raised mound levels of dominance without the advantages. This was the era of all-around excellence. Pitchers broke the 3000K barrier, won 300 games, completed lots of games, threw plenty of shutouts, posted low ERAs, and established high levels of quality.

The use of a closer became standard for every team, but trusted pitchers were allowed to finish well-pitched games.

1992 – Present – The Wild Card (and Steroid) Era – Baseball expansion brought the number of major league starters up to over 150, supplying four new teams.

Use of relief specialists, set up relievers, and closers allowed starters to pitch at their peak levels for an average of five to seven innings. he complete game and the shutout completed by the starter became unexpected. Only the very best pitchers racked up decent totals.

Performance Enhancing Drug use was prevalent. Players looked to take advantage of physical training developments and aids, not realizing how it would affect the game and the established records. Some pitchers and hitters gained advantage.

Without the complete game to measure endurance, we have to look at total innings and a career of consistent winning totals (Greg Maddux) to establish levels of excellence.

Historic perspective of ERA+

In addition, baseball has been a product of its own rule changes and growth, and has responded to social, economic and world events.

There are three periods of time when the standard level of pitching for the league was depressed, allowing a greater variance from the league norm by the quality pitchers during those periods.

This would produce ERA+ marks slightly higher than at other times during the history of the game.

The first of these periods came before the modern era, but illustrates clearly how this phenomenon occurs.

In 1890, the players, tired of the abuse they perceived from the owners, started a league of their own. They left their NL teams, and pitched for newly formed player’s league teams. Most of the best pitchers went to the player’s league.

This naturally left a dearth of pitching for the teams in the National League. They were forced to hire new, and often inferior pitchers to fill out the vacated positions.

Some pitchers returned to their teams after the player's league folded the next year. Some did not.

In 1892 “the Hoosier Thunderbolt”, Amos Rusie, one of the new pitchers hired in 1890, threw and hit a HOF shortstop, Hugh Jennings, leaving him comatose for 4 days. He gradually recovered, but baseball owners changed the distance from which one pitched from 55’ to 60‘ 6”.

This rule change effectively ended the careers of almost all of the top pitchers from the previous era. The talent pool was devastated, and pitching was forced to start over.

The league scoring rose dramatically. ERAs skyrocketed, and consequently, ERA+ marks for the best pitchers rose as well. Cy Young, Kid Nichols and Amos Rusie were pitchers hired in 1890 whose ERA+ marks were the beneficiaries of this era.

The second period of a depressed talent pool was the 20s and 30s. World War I had an effect, as did the depression, creating greater stress on people’s lives.

During this time MLB rejected the possibility of allowing black players to join the major leagues, further limiting the player pool.

Baseball had not completely recovered when soldiers went off to WWII.

Pitchers were further stressed by the effects of the live ball. League scoring averages reached new highs during this time, aided by a depleted pool of pitching talent.

Quality pitching was able to reach a somewhat elevated variance from the league norms.

The third period witnessing a depleted pool of talent is the one we are just emerging from. The 1990s witnessed two successive stages of expansion. The Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Tampa Bay Rays were added to the major league total, making 30 teams.

Suddenly, 150+ starting pitchers were required to fill the rosters. Before 1960, this total was barely 64! League scoring rose accordingly, and quality pitching was able to maintain a relatively higher variance from the league average ERA.

I believe this most recent depletion of the talent pool is correcting itself.

(Conversely, the highest levels of pitching took place from 1904–1917, and 1965–1980 or so. The 1980s were a small step back in the level of pitching.)

In conclusion, the elevated ERA+ figures from these eras need to be understood in the context from which they were achieved. They still represent great quality pitching, but need to be somewhat tempered when comparing them to figures outside of their eras.

Post-Season pitching - For each pitcher, I included a look at their post-season record. This was not to discount pitchers with limited post-season opportunities, but mostly to see who brought their game to a new level when it counted most. It adds an interesting perspective to pitcher’s careers.

Conclusions –

In order to develop a system for ranking pitchers across eras, I believe you first have to gain a clear picture of what makes a great pitching career. You have to examine each aspect of dominance, endurance, and quality in a comprehensive manner, giving each category its due.

Pitching accomplishments need to be understood in the context of historical perspective.

Ultimately, assigning values to each category of accomplishment is subjective. How do you value Christy Mathewson’s 2503 Ks in the dead-ball era compared to Tom Seaver’s 3640? These tough questions are endless, and suggest there will never be one definitive ranking of these great careers.

My guiding light has been sustained excellence. I acknowledge every aspect of pitching discussed, but look especially for that pitcher who can bring good quality productive work well into the second decade of their career.

I would like to present two examples: At age 37 in ’24, Walter Johnson led the AL in wins, ERA, ERA+, games started, shutouts, strikeouts, WHIP, H/9 ratio, and K/BB ratio!

At age 40 in ’61, Warren Spahn led the NL in wins, complete games, shutouts, and WHIP!

Awards and accolades such as Cy Young awards, TSN pitcher of the year awards, MVP awards, all-star appearances, and HOF inductions were excluded from consideration and not a factor in the assessments and rankings.

Although not every pitcher on this list is equal, they are the greatest starting pitchers of the modern era. I endeavor to appreciate and admire each of these pitchers for their accomplishments and unique contributions to pitching greatness.

To Be Continued: Part Two: The Greatest Pitching Careers of the Modern Era

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/239230-the-greatest-pitching-careers-of-the-modern-era

Bert Blyleven, Waiting in the Wings: New Perspectives

Jonathan Stilwell — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:55:14 -0400

During the course of baseball history, from the very beginning in 1876 until now, only 29 major league pitchers have forged their way to what I call an epic career—one that has included 4500 or more innings of pitching. (This includes Eppa Rixey and Eddie Plank, whose careers only lacked five or so innings from making the milestone.)

These are the pitchers who have won the most games in history. These are also the pitchers who have lost the most games in history.

In general, these are not the pitchers with the highest winning percentages, but probably the pitchers with the most guts and determination.

On this list with 4970 innings pitched, 14th all-time, is Bert Blyleven. He was second in votes (62 percent) among players receiving less than the required 75 percent this past January. He is essentially waiting in the wings for his turn for induction.

A Hall of Fame career is one of dominance, endurance and quality. If a player has enough of those ingredients in some combination, they earn their way into the HOF.

For a pitcher, domination is really a term we have coined in modern times. It's what we witnessed in the raised mound era—the epitome of the term being expressed by the work of Sandy Koufax.

During the era, ERAs plummeted, strikeout totals reached new heights, and the K/BB ratio witnessed marks higher than any posted in history. Pitching dominated and the writers loved it!

The new levels of domination became the standard of what was considered great pitching even after the mound was lowered and the strike zone made smaller. The judges of greatness had become distracted by the recent events and spoiled.

Historically, dominance was displayed by the great pitching peaks of all-time; Walter Johnson's 1913 - '15; Christy Mathewson's 1905 - '08; Grover Alexander's 1915 season; Lefty Grove's peak - 1928 - '31; Sandy Koufax' 1963 - '66.

What statistics made these pitchers dominant? Win totals, low ERAs and high ERA+ marks, strikeout totals, and shutouts.

Part of the equation for pitching greatness also comes with the endurance these pitchers displayed. They had high innings pitched totals and a high number of complete games. A third stat that shows evidence of endurance to a somewhat lesser degree is the win.

The quality stats show how a pitcher got to these totals. The modern statistician looks at H/9, K/BB ratio, WHIP, and other ratios to gauge the quality of work a pitcher produces.

Maintaining good quality stats over the course of an epic career is difficult. Arms wear down and fastballs lose their zip. Most careers show a natural decline in stats like K/BB, and ERA+ between 3000 and 4500 innings.

How do Bert Blylevens stats compare to the greats of the game that have set their standards to be measured against?

Well, we know some of the raw numbers: 287 wins, 3701 strikeouts, and 60 shutouts. That is part of the picture.

K/BB ratio is used to measure a pitcher's command and stuff. Are they the master of the strike zone, or do the hitters have control? It is a stat of dominance and quality.

Blyleven's career mark for K/BB ratio is 2.80 (3701 K/ 1322 BB). This is historically a high mark, especially considering he kept at it for 4970 innings.

Walter Johnson, the most dominant pitcher in history, has a career mark of 2.57 (3509K/ 1363 BB).

In fact, among the pitchers (13) who have a longer career than Blyleven, only Greg Maddux has a higher ratio (3.37).

(Pitchers from our most recent era (1990 - 2009) have posted K/BB ratios off the charts historically. Much of this is due to the pitcher being relieved of the responsibility to finish the game. They can pitch all out until the relief specialists are brought into the game.)

There is also the use of PEDs we cannot definitively gauge. (I leave Roger Clemens out of my accounting of epic careers even though his inning totals put him in this group.)

In fact, going all the way down to the top 65 pitchers in career length, the only pitchers with a better K/BB ratio than Bert Blyleven are Greg Maddux, Ferguson Jenkins, Christy Mathewson, and Randy Johnson.

Between 1921, the advent of the live ball era, and 1990 Blyleven is second in K/BB ratio among this group! This looks like he stacks up pretty well in this revealing stat among a group including almost 40 HOF pitchers!

Sometimes I hear the comment about Blyleven that he was never that dominant a pitcher. He was never the best of his era.

These detractors say that Blyleven was just a very good pitcher for a long time. That he just accrued his stats over a long, not so eventful career.

Forgetting what we just learned and know about how his total career numbers stack up in strikeouts, and shutouts, two important stats of domination, and the domination displayed by the K/BB ratio study we just did, let's force Blyleven to match up with one of the most dominant short careers on record, that of Sandy Koufax!

Let's take a look!

In Koufax career, he pitched 2324 innings generated by 314 games started. After Blyleven's first nine years, he had pitched 2387 innings generated by starting 313 games started.

Koufax early on had also pitched in relief. Blyleven had only pitched three games in relief at this point in his career, so Koufax total games (397) were more than Blyleven's (316).

So Blyleven had pitched in more innings but fewer games. I will use this cut off point in Blyleven's career to compare their stats.

First off we can see that Blyleven averaged more innings per start through his first nine years than Koufax did for his career.

Among those 313 games started, Blyleven had 141 complete games, and Koufax had 137. Among their complete games, Blyleven had 39 shutouts, and Koufax had 40. So far they are very comparable in these endurance and dominance stats.

Koufax had more total strikeouts: 2396 to Blyleven's 1910 (well over 200 per season). Now lets add the BBs and get the ratios - Koufax - 2396/ 817 = 2.93 ratio; Blyleven - 1910K/ 619 BB = 3.09 ratio. Blyleven's ratio is actually a little better at a similar career length!

OK, Let's look at WHIP. Koufax had an incredible career WHIP of 1.108. Blyleven's was close at 1.138. Not quite as good, but only .03 of a batter per inning different!

I'd like to do one last comparison using a category modern day statisticians love to use to point out dominance, ERA+. Sandy Koufax' career ERA+ was +131. It is one of the highest career marks of the live ball era. Cumulatively through a matching period of Blyleven's career his ERA+ was +132!

Now factor in the advantage the pitchers had with the raised mound and the larger strike zone! Blyleven was just a "very good" pitcher?

We have examined stats of dominance, endurance, and quality. It is clear that Bert Blyleven's 1970 - 1978 were at a level similar in dominance, stamina and quality to one of the greatest shorter careers pitching has ever produced!

How did the writers miss it? You know they did!!

Here's a theory.

There were lots of contributing factors—where he played—(the hub of baseball writers were on the east coast. They didn't have highlight reels or SportsCenter to watch the next day after Blyleven might have pitched into the ninth inning with a 1-1 tie in Anaheim or Oakland the night before! They were most likely asleep when all of that happened.)

Lack of spotlight on the big stage of the post-season and world series was another contributing factor, plus lots of other hall of fame pitchers were near the peak of their careers (Jim Palmer, Catfish Hunter, Gaylord Perry, Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Juan Marichal) to distract attention elsewhere.

But the No. 1 reason was his W - L records masked his excellence.

From his rookie season through his time with the Rangers in '76 and '77 his W - L records hovered near .500. Why? This is the time he was pitching lights out! His ERA+ was +132! How could they not see what he was accomplishing?

Here it is, game after game he had to leave when he pitched extremely well with the score tied or with his team behind. It's not that his teams were so bad, it's that they didn't score when he was pitching!

Here's information a fellow writer, Bill Gros, ferreted out from studying the box scores from those years:

In games where he pitched a quality start: 6 innings, 2 runs or less; 7, 8, 9 innings, 3 runs or less, and 9+ innings, 4 runs or less, but left with the score tied or his team behind - Blyleven, from his rookie season in 1970 through 1977, finished with a record of 0 - 53 and an ERA of 2.19!

Here's the pitching line from those games: 82 games, 658 IP, 583 H, 160 ER, 184 BB, 540 K, and an ERA of 2.19. Bill goes on to break it down season by season. This amounted to almost one third of his games! - an 0 - 53 record. What a weight to be carrying around for 8 years!

Can you imagine - in 1974 Blyleven went 17-9 in 27 of his games. In the other 10, while pitching with an ERA of 1.80, he goes 0 - 8 and winds up a .500 pitcher at 17-17. If you are a Cy Young voter, do you give a first, second or third place vote to a pitcher with a 17-17 record?

In 1971 Blyleven lost 15 games. The Twins scored a total of 18 runs in those 15 losses. Unless he pitched a shutout, it would have been hard to win any of those games with 1.2 runs of support per game.

The writers missed it then, and some are refusing to see past the W - L record today. If he had won even one third of those 82 games, it would have given him 27 more wins, he would have 314 for his career, and this HOF discussion would be a moot point!

Twenty-seven more wins scattered in the right places on his W - L records during those years could have yielded two or three more 20 game winning seasons, and a lot more of the attention he deserved.

It's all about perception.

Since the live ball era began in 1921 Bert Blyleven holds the record for most 1-0 shutouts - 15. He is one of four pitchers with 60 shutouts since 1921; Warren Spahn (63), Nolan Ryan (61), Tom Seaver (61), and Blyleven (60).

The next few on the list since 1921 aren't too shabby either! - Don Sutton (58), Bob Gibson (56), Steve Carlton (55), Jim Palmer (53), Gaylord Perry (53), Juan Marichal (52), Don Dysdale (49), and Ferguson Jenkins (49).

It doesn't look like being on this list is an accident, or fluke. Blyleven is surrounded by HOF pitchers. He's where he belongs on this list! (If you look at the full list, it's a virtual who's who of all the greatest starting pitchers throughout baseball history! Every other pitcher all the way down to 20th on the list from before 1921 is a HOF pitcher as well).

Fifty shutouts should be a HOF slam dunk!

We could study the list of pitchers with 3000 strikeouts, and draw the same conclusion. Blyleven's 3701 is 5th all-time. It's been two generations since Bob Gibson began to break the 3000 barrier and join Walter Johnson. Today we have a nice body of evidence.

From the second generation Randy Johnson, Maddux, Schilling, Martinez and Smoltz are in. Glavine and Mussina were left on the other side. Nobody else is close. There were no mistakes.

I challenge HOF voters to look at this material with an open mind, and put Bert Blyleven with his contemporary greats, and with so many of the pitchers throughout the history of the game who have pitched epic careers; in the Hall of Fame.

The Pioneers of Pitching: The Top Pitchers of the Pre-Modern Era

Jonathan Stilwell — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:05:51 -0400

The Pioneers of Pitching; the Top Hurlers of the Pre-Modern Era (1876 - 1901)

With my goal of ranking pitchers across eras, this is a period of baseball I put off to the side.

All of the Prime 9 ranking programs produced by MLB network specified players to be from the modern era. Every ranking list I had seen by other sportswriters had done the same.

So I focused my research on the periods of baseball that naturally presented from the modern era.

After I determined that Cy Young belonged to the pre-modern era because of the nature of his work, I knew I would eventually need to deal with the early years of baseball.

Facing the task of ranking pitchers from the modern era, it first seemed wise to first acknowledge the careers of Cy Young and his contemporaries who pioneered the art of pitching.

In addition, fellow writers here at Bleacher Report encouraged me to research and publish a report on the pitchers from baseball’s first era. I thought it would give me a good background on understanding the modern deadball era if I knew where pitching was coming from as the 19th century became the 20th.

What I found was a world of characters and stories that beg to be known and told!

The National League got its beginning in 1876. Before that there were associations and touring teams, but very little was standardized for any single level of competition. The years that followed were formative years.

Rules were in constant flux. The pitching box was 45 feet from home plate when the league began. Pitchers were forced to throw sidearm or underhand. In 1880 or so, it was moved to 50 feet.

After the ’86 season, pitchers were finally allowed unrestricted overhand deliveries. In another change that year, pitchers were asked to throw from the back of the box, which was 55 feet.

After a very unfortunate incident in 1892, officials changed the distance between the pitching rubber and home plate to 60 feet 6 inches.

Many of the great careers I found ended close to the time of this rule change. They were too advanced in their careers to make a successful change to the new distance. Pitching had to virtually start over.

The ranks of pitching corps everywhere had been depleted. Scoring across baseball went up as the level of pitching went down. This period beginning in 1893 was an adjustment period for pitchers.

The number of games played in a season also changed throughout this period. Early on, teams played fewer games (80 or so). After 1885, I read of teams playing seasons with over 120 games.

Each team seemed to have one lead pitcher, who often started the majority of the games. They would then have a secondary starting pitcher and maybe two or three more who could pitch mop-up innings.

This produced seasons with the lead pitcher starting 60+ games (out of 80), and occasionally winning over 40 games while pitching 400–600 innings! These numbers seem unreal to a student of modern baseball. But they were a product of the developing era.

As teams played more games in a season, they added additional pitchers to their staffs. This allowed the pitching load to be shared by more than one dominant pitcher.

By the late 1880s, leading win totals started moving towards the 30–40 games range, and inning totals came down as well.

Rules were not the only thing in flux. Several teams started up, only to fold within a few years. Teams in Indianapolis and Troy and Toledo were some I came across in my research. Players were transferred to other teams.

Owners traded and sold players as much or more than they do today. If a player was sold or traded to another team, they had only three choices: accept the trade or assignment, switch to a different association, where the major league reserve clause was not in effect (the equivalent of playing in an independent minor league), or not playing at all until their contract expired.

Most of the careers I studied showed a normal length of time on one team to be 4-5 years. Five years was a long time to pitch for one team. If a pitcher was having an off year, they were often traded, sold, or let go.

Many players became dissatisfied with these regulations, and the first player’s organizations were formed. John Ward was instrumental with this, actually forming a player’s league in 1890. Many of the top pitchers left their National league teams to play in the newly formed league, which lasted but one year.

This left National League teams scrambling to fill openings on their pitching staffs. They hired a new generation of pitchers like Amos Rusie, Cy Young, and Kid Nichols to take the place of their missing pitchers.

This rankling between players and owners was a major theme of the 1890s until the American League was formed, and the modern era began in 1901.

The Pitchers

Many of these careers began around 1880. Most lasted a decade or until the mound was moved in 1893. I found these players and their accomplishments to be the heart of the pre-modern era.

The most significant stat of the period was total number of wins. Owners put their lead pitchers out there to help the team win games. If they were not winning, the owner would likely find another pitcher!

So being a lead pitcher and keeping your job was half the battle for success, and it was the only way to amass large career win totals.

Most of the career ERAs were rather close to one another (2.40–3.00). There was some variation in ERA+, so I include that in the pitching evaluation.

Strikeout totals varied. There were seasons when pitchers totaled over 400 Ks! The leading career total for the era was Tim Keefe’s 2,564 Ks. Nobody else topped 2000 until Cy Young was already pitching into the modern era.

Most of the best pitchers wound up with 1,600–2,000 strikeouts for their career. Pitchers from earlier years often had fewer career Ks.

Because it was so prevalent to amass innings and wins each season, I looked for careers with over 3,000 innings, and to prove some level of dominance, 30 shutouts. I found 13 pitchers whose careers met these requirements and showed excellence in other categories as well.

Usually, I have presented the 10 top pitchers from each era. But these careers showed no natural cut off at the tenth ranking, the last five or so being very close.

They all seemed begging for inclusion based on career significance, quality level, and stamina displayed.

13) Charles Buffington – (1882 – 1892) - (233 – 152; ERA 2.96; ERA+ 115; 30 SHO; 3404 IP/ 3344 H; 1700K/ 856 BB; 1.234 WHIP) was a leading pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters from 1882-1886. He helped lead them to a pennant in ’83, combining with John Whitney for 62 of the team’s 63 wins that year.

His best year followed in ’84 when he pitched 587 innings, winning 48 games and striking out 417 batters! During this season he struck out 17 batters in one game, and won 13 straight games.

After an off year because of arm trouble in ’86, he was moved to the Philadelphia Quakers. He had five more excellent seasons for the Quakers before jumping to the Philadelphia Athletics of the newly formed Player’s league.

The next year he found work with the Boston Reds of the American Association, and won 29 games, the last of seven 20+ win seasons. He retired during the next season, 1892.

Buffington was known for his sinkerball.

He died from heart disease at age 46 in Fall River, Mass.

12) Tommy Bond – (1874 – 1884) - (234 – 163; 2.31 ERA; ERA+111; 42 SHO; 3628 IP/ 3765 H; 972K/ 193 BB; 1.093 WHIP) He was the first person born in Ireland to play major league baseball.

Tommy Bond was the first pitcher to win the Triple Crown: most wins, lowest ERA, and most strikeouts in one season in 1877.

In his career, he pitched 386 complete games out of 408 starts. His 42 shutouts are fourth from the period. He pitched over 400 innings six seasons, and won 40 games or more three times. His career K/BB ratio of 4.44 ranks first among pitchers throughout baseball history.

Twice his team won the National league pennant. In addition to pitching, he also played the outfield.

Bond died at age 84 in Boston. Bond was the last survivor of the National League’s first season (1876).

11) Will White – (1877-1886) – (229 – 166; 2.28 ERA; ERA+ 120; 36 SHO; 3542 IP/ 3440 H; 1041 K/ 496 BB; 1.111 WHIP) White was the first pitching star of the Cincinnati Reds (’78-’80), and the Cincinnati Redstockings of the American Association (’82–’86).

He was known for being the first player to wear glasses on the field.

He holds the record for most games started (75) and most innings pitched (680) in a season (’79). He won 40 games three times. His ERA+ of 120 and 36 career shutouts show a high quality level of pitching when he took the ball.

10) Amos Rusie – (1889 – 1901) – (246 – 174; 3.07 ERA; ERA+ 129; 30 SHO; 3778 IP/ 3389 H; 1950 K/ 1707 BB; 1.350 WHIP) He was known as the “Hoosier Thunderbolt” because of how hard he threw.

Rusie scared many a batter because of his wildness as well. He once led the league in strikeouts (341) and walks (266) the same year.

During the ’92 season he beaned future hall of famer Hughie Jennings, who laid comatose for four days before gradually recovering. This scare led league officials to change the distance to be pitched from 55’ to 60’ 6”.

Rusie began his career for the Indianapolis team in ’89. The team folded that year, and the players were transferred to the New York Giants team. He played for the Giants for the next eight seasons.

After the ’95 season he had a bitter contract dispute with Giants owner Andrew Freeman. Rusie was fined $200 for publicly thumbing his nose at his adversary. He refused to play until Freeman returned his money. Neither side gave in, and Rusie sat out the ’96 season!

Eventually, Rusie was awarded a settlement of $5,000. But not before there were protests and fans boycotting games.

Partway through the ’98 season Rusie was hit in the side of the head by a line drive. He lost part of his hearing, and sat out from playing the next two years.

In 1901 he was traded for Christy Mathewson to the Cincinnati Reds. (From the Reds point of view, this had to be one of the worst trades in history!) Rusie had nothing left, pitching only three games for his new team.

Rusie was a blazing star from ’90–’95. Then he seemed to self-destruct. He won 30 games four straight seasons and 20 games eight times.

His hard throwing ways led to plenty of strikeouts, leading the league for five straight years. His 1,950 Ks are third in baseball until Cy Young came along.

Hidden behind (or not so hidden) his strikeouts were his bases on balls. Rusie, first from this period in bases on balls (1,707), is seventh all-time, while his 3,778 innings pitched are 52nd. His WHIP of 1.350 is extremely high for a leading pitcher.

Rusie was inducted into the HOF in 1977.

9) Tony Mullane – (1881-1894) – (284-220; 3.05 ERA; ERA+118; 30 SHO; 4531 IP/ 4195 H; 1803 K/ 1408 BB; 1.237 WHIP) Mullane was born in Ireland in 1859. In 1881 he pitched his first game with the Detroit Wolverines in the National League.

An injury to his right arm led him to learn to pitch with his left. After the injury healed, he continued pitching with both arms, often in the same game.

He would face the batter and hold the ball with both hands (he didn’t wear a glove) and use either arm to throw the pitch!

In 1882 Mullane signed with the Louisville Eclipse and started 55 of the team’s 80 games, and posted a record of 30-24 with an ERA of 1.88.

This was the first of five 30-win seasons in a row for “the Count.” The following year, he pitched for the St. Louis Browns and won 35 games.

In 1884, attempting to sign with the St. Louis Maroons of the newly formed Union Association, he was threatened with banishment from the major league because of violation of the reserve clause, saying the Browns still held his rights to play.

He pulled back from his attempt, and the Browns shipped him to the expansion Toledo Blue Stockings.

He won a career-high 36 games for Toledo. When both Toledo and the Union Association folded after the ’84 season, he signed with Cincinnati, avoiding the Browns' attempt to sign him. Because of his action, the American Association suspended Mullane for one season.

This came in the middle of consecutive 30-win seasons, and probably cost Mullane a 300-win career and a place in the Hall of Fame.

For HOF voters to exclude Mullane because of his fight against the reserve clause smells of collusion.

8) Jim McCormick – (1878-1887) – (265-214; 2.43 ERA; ERA+118; 33 SHO; 4275 IP/ 4092 H; 1704 K/ 749 BB; 1.13 WHIP) was the first Scottish-born player in the major leagues. He played for the Chicago White Stockings, and helped the team to their last two pennants of the 19th century (’85, ’86).

He spent the first part of his career with the Cleveland Blues from ’79–’84. He left the Blues part way through the ’84 season. He bounced around with a Cincinnati team from the Union Association and the Providence Grays before landing in Chicago for the ’85 season.

He developed a vast friendship with Mike “King” Kelly, then on the White Stockings as well. A group of players were known to cavort after games. While this probably added to team spirit, owner Al Spalding frowned on the behavior.

Jim McCormick also co-owned a bar in Paterson, N.J. where teammates were known to frequent in the off season.

By the end of the ’86 season, and in spite of winning the pennant, Spalding and player manager Cap Anson had their fill of the off-the-field behavior, and sold or traded several players including Kelly to Boston. When Anson partly backed off of refusing to let McCormick go, Al Spalding sold him to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys the next week.

McCormick had some prodigious years for Cleveland, pitching over 500 innings five times. He won over 25 games six times.

He did a nice job keeping runners off base with his 1.13 WHIP. His career would seem to fit the profile for HOF veteran’s committee consideration.

7) James ‘Pud” Galvin – (1875-1892) – (365-310; 2.85 ERA; ERA+ 107; 57 SHO; 6003 IP/ 6405 H; 1807 K/ 745 BB; 1.19 WHIP) was baseball’s first 300-game winner. His 6,003 innings and 646 complete games are second only to Cy Young in the all-time pitching annals.

He pitched the first no-hitter on the road in ’80, and tied the record for most games started in one season in ’83 (75). He pitched 593 innings in ’79, and twice pitched over 600 innings in ’83 and’84.

At 5’8” Galvin was shorter in stature than many of his fellow hurlers. He gained the nickname of “the little steam engine” for his energy and stamina on the mound.

From ’79–’85 Galvin pitched for the Buffalo Bisons of the National League. In ’85 he was having an off year, (after pitching 656 and 636 innings the previous two years!), and was sent to Pittsburgh to finish the year.

By ’87 the Allegheny’s became a new franchise in the National league. He continued pitching with them until ’90 when the player’s league formed.

He jumped across town to play with the Burghers of the player’s league, and then was welcomed back to his old team, the newly named Pirates for the ’91 season. He retired after the ’92 season.

Galvin’s longevity is remarkable and unmatched for his era (pre-60 feet rule change). He won over 25 games in seven different seasons. He is also second in shutouts with 57, the only pitcher before Cy Young to break 50.

His 745 BB in 6,003 innings is truly remarkable, and one of the lowest ratios of BB/nine innings on record (especially for that length of career).

Galvin also had his detracting factors. As well as winning 365 games, he is second in losses with 310. He gave up 6,405 hits in his career, allowing well more than a hit per inning. His career ERA+ of 107 is not remarkable.

In his defense, he played for less successful teams, contributing to his many losses. Also, his outstanding control helped limit the number of base runners. His 1.19 WHIP is well within standards of excellence.

Although not a strikeout pitcher, his ratio of Ks/BB (2.42) is quite good for the era. The 57 shutouts also show a level of excellence that can’t be ignored.

He deserves a ranking along with the other 300-game winners of his era.

Pud Galvin may be the first professed PED user, openly remarking about using Brown-Sequard elixir, which was supposed to contain monkey testosterone.

He died poor at age 45 in Pittsburgh.

James “Pud” Galvin was inducted into the HOF in 1965.

6) Mickey Welch – (1880-1892) – (307-210; 2.71 ERA; ERA+ 114; 41 SHO; 4802 IP/ 4588 H; 1850 K/ 1297 BB; 1.225 WHIP) was the third pitcher to 300 wins, and was known as “Smiling Mickey.”

He pitched for 13 seasons, first with the Troy Trojans, and after they folded, with the New York Giants (the Giants took many of the Troy players).

Welch was very good for a long time. From his first year, he had 10 of 11 winning seasons, including nine times winning over 20 games.

Both in Troy and later in New York he teamed up with fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe to form one of the great all-time pitching duos.

Welch threw one of the best curveballs in the era, as well as a change of pace and a screwball.

His best year came in ’85 when he went 44-11 with 345 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.50. At one point that season he won 17 consecutive games.

Teaming with Keefe, the team went 85-27, a remarkable record. But it was two games shy of the White Stockings that year, who finished with an even better record of 87-25 behind the pitching of Jim McCormick and a young John Clarkson!

Welch still holds the record for most consecutive strikeouts to start a game: nine. (Tom Seaver struck out 10 batters consecutively in 1970.)

Welch was part of the Giants pennant winning team efforts in ’88 and ’89.

Mickey Welch was inducted into the HOF in 1973.

5) Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn – (1881-1891) – (309-195; 2.67 ERA; ERA+ 119; 4535 IP/ 4335 H; 1830 K/ 875 BB; 1.149 WHIP) was the lead pitcher for the Providence Grays from ’81–’85.

He pitched for the Boston Beaneaters from ’86-’89 and finished his career pitching both in the player’s league for the Boston Reds and the Cincinnati Reds the following year.

In 1984 he won 59 of his team’s 84 games! This is an all-time record for games won. He also struck out 441 batters that year, also a season record. His 678.2 IP are second all-time to Will White’s 680.

After some of the rule changes after ’85, Radbourn was never quite as dominant again. His seasons with the Beaneaters were just filling in the rest of his career.

He managed one good season in the player’s league in ’90 when he went 27-12. His year in Cincinnati (’91) was his last.

Radbourn is known mostly for his dominant peak, and his single outstanding year of ’85, one of the best single seasons of the era.

Radbourn ran a successful billiards parlor in Bloomington, Ill. after his retirement. Always known to be quite vain, taking great pride in his looks and attire, he lost an eye in a hunting accident. He died in 1897, refusing to let anyone see him.

Radbourn was elected to the HOF in 1939.

4) John Clarkson – (1884-1894) – (328-178; 2.81 ERA; ERA+ 134; 37 SHO; 4536 IP/ 4295 BB; 1978 K/ 1191 BB; 1.209 WHIP) was discovered by Cap Anson in Michigan in ’84.

He finished the ’84 season going 10-3 for the White Stockings. The next year he was a wonder, going 53-16, and teaming up with Jim McCormick to win the pennant. The team went 87-25 edging out the New York Giants.

From ’85–’89 he won 209 games!

Having become quite attached to his battery mate, King Kelly, he requested a trade after Kelly was sold to the Boston team for $10,000.

After the ’87 season, Anson became tired of dealing with Clarkson’s temperamental ways, and the White Stockings sold him to the Boston Beaneaters for a matching $10,000.

This was a lot of money in those days. In Boston they became known as the $20,000 battery.

Clarkson was known for being a calculating and scientific pitcher, throwing many types of curveballs. He studied hitters to find their weaknesses. His 1978 Ks were second before 1900 to Tim Keefe until Cy Young passed them pitching over into the modern era.

At the time of his retirement, he had the most wins in the National league. He was the fourth pitcher to win the Triple Crown. His team won the pennant in ’91. Clarkson was 33-19, pitching 460 innings.

A memorable incident took place in Boston. A game Clarkson was pitching was running late into dusk. But the umpire, Jack Kerins, refused to call the game.

Finding it necessary to impress upon the umpire the need to stop play, Clarkson and his catcher brought a lemon out to throw.

After pitching the lemon, and the umpire not catching the change, the catcher showed the umpire what had just been thrown, and he finally called the game!

Clarkson was also known as a good hitter. His 24 home runs are still high on the all-time list for pitchers.

As much as any pitcher, I think Clarkson and our next pitcher, Tim Keefe, embodied the spirit and nature of pitching before the turn of the century.

Clarkson ran a cigar shop in Bay City, Mich. after he retired. Tragically, in 1905 or ’06 he suffered a breakdown, and finished his days at age 47 in a mental institution in 1909.

He was inducted into the HOF in ’63.

3) Tim Keefe – (1880-1893) – (342-225; 2.62 ERA; ERA+ 127; 39 SHO; 5049 IP/ 4912 H; 2564 K/ 1233 BB; 1.12 WHIP) started his career with the Troy Trojans of the National league in 1880. He was nicknamed “Sir Timothy” for his gentlemanly manners.

His first year with Troy, he posted an ERA of 0.86. His ERA+ of 294 is a record.

The next two seasons pitching alongside Mickey Welch were sub-par for Keefe. He left after the team folded and pitched for the New York Metropolitans of the American Association until ’85 when he joined back up with Welch on the New York Giants.

On July 4 in ’84 he threw both ends of a double-header. He won both games, throwing a one-hit gem in the first game and a two-hitter in the second.

He won the Triple Crown in ’88, and was the first pitcher to have three seasons with over 300 strikeouts. His 2,564K for his career were a record when he retired.

His 342 wins, ERA+ of 127 with over 5,000 innings pitched and a sparkling WHIP of 1.12 all point to his ranking here. He is the top ranking pitcher who did not pitch over into the modern era.

He had one of the great handlebar moustaches of the era!

Keefe was involved with fighting the reserve clause. It was his friend John Ward who organized the player’s league in ’90. Keefe himself pitched on the New York team in the new league.

He was inducted into the HOF in 1964.

2) Kid Nichols – (1890-1906) – (361-208; 2.95 ERA; ERA+ 140; 48 SHO; 5056 IP/ 4912 H; 1873 K/ 1268 BB; 1.222 WHIP) began his career during the year the player’s league existed. He started for the Boston Beaneaters all the way through the 1901 season.

Nichols was known for his amazing consistency. He won 26 or more games for nine consecutive seasons to begin his career. He won over 30 games seven times.

He was the youngest pitcher to win 300 games at age 32.

He helped his team win five pennants; ’91-’93, ’97-’98.

Nichols represented the next generation of pitchers who had to deal with the change in distance of the mound to the plate. Nichols handled it with no ill effects, going on to his great career.

After the 1901 season. he bought part ownership of a team in Kansas City, a minor league team. He pitched and managed for them ’02-’03.

After two years out, he returned to the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1904, winning 21 games.

He pitched briefly in 1906 for the Phillies, ending his career.

Nichols win total, ERA+ of 140 spanning 5,000+ innings, and his 48 shutouts all speak to his ranking.

Kid Nichols was inducted into the HOF in 1949.

1) Cy Young – (1890-1911) – (511 – 316; 2.63 ERA; ERA+ 138; 76 SHO; 7,356 IP/ 7,092 H; 2,803 K/ 1,217 BB; 1.13 WHIP) broke into the major leagues with the expansion Cleveland Spiders in 1890. He quickly established himself as one of the stronger pitchers in the league, leading the league in wins in ’92 and ’95.

His warm up catcher gave him the nickname “Cyclone” because of how hard he threw. The name stuck, and Denton True used it throughout the rest of his career. Newspaper writers shortened it to "Cy.”

In ’92 he led his team to the second-half pennant, but lost the post season Temple Cup to Kid Nichols’ Boston Beaneaters. But in ’95 after winning the pennant again, the Spiders won the Cup.

He experienced some adjustment period to the new rules, seeing his ERA jump from 1.93 in ’92 to 3.36 after the rules change. His ERAs throughout the ‘90s hovered in the low threes.

There were years when he gave up many more hits than innings pitched. (’94 – 408/ 488; ’96 – 414/477; ’97 – 333/391). However, his WHIP was regularly among league leaders throughout his career.

Later in his career, he developed and relied on outstanding control rather than the impressive fastball of his youth.

When Cleveland’s owner bought the St. Louis Browns, they transferred several of the Cleveland stars to play for the newly named Perfectos.

Young pitched two years there (’99-’00), but jumped to the Boston Americans of the newly formed American league for their inaugural season in 1901.

Young stayed with the Boston team, seeing some of his greatest success over the next nine years.

His first four years in Boston were his best, winning the Triple Crown in ’01, and leading the league in innings pitched and wins the next two years.

In ’03 Young’s Boston Americans won the American League pennant, and were that league’s representative in the first World Series. Young started and lost the first game, but won his next two starts and the Americans were the first World Series champions.

On May 2, 1904 Rube Waddell and Connie Mack’s Athletics one-hit the Americans. After the game he called out Young to face him next time so he could repeat the performance. Three days later they faced off. Young pitched the first perfect game of the young American League’s history!

After Rube Waddell flied to center for the last out of the game, Young shouted at him “How do you like that that, you hayseed?!” They later would face each other in memorable matchups, with Cy showing respect for his opponent.

Cy Young holds the record for most career wins (511), most career innings (7,354.2), most games started (815), and most complete games (749). His 76 shutouts are fourth all-time.

The most amazing part of his career is his longevity. He credited this to avoiding any long warm up sessions or much work in spring training. His ability to adjust his pitching and maintain success is also admirable.

Cy Young’s roots are in the pre-modern era. He pitched from 55 feet for three years. The level of competition was sparse at best during the next few years. This is one reason his ERA+ is as high as it is.

He deserves credit for his level of performance in the modern era. His ability to adapt and succeed, coming back for excellent years in ’07 and ’08, shows what a tremendous competitor he was! I think it was very fitting he pitched in the first World Series.

He was elected to the HOF in 1937. In 1956, the year after he died, the Cy Young award was initiated, honoring the best pitcher(s) for that season.

He sits atop the list of best pitchers from the pre-modern era, looking forward to challenge all comers to meet his standards of stamina and excellence.

Conclusions

The pre-modern era deserves its own category for ranking, as the rules and standards were constantly evolving during these years.

Because the ranking is separate does not mean the skill level or accomplishments of the players were inferior in any way to the modern era.

These pitcher’s careers are gems worth knowing about. The modern baseball fan should understand this era and admire these pitchers, not ignore it and put its stars on a forgotten shelf!

The Ten Greatest Left-Handed Pitchers: A Legacy Worth Knowing

Jonathan Stilwell — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:45:12 -0400

The Top Ten Left-handed Pitchers of the Modern Era

“Daddy—What’s a southpaw?” was the line I recently heard watching “Field of Dreams,” in the scene where Kevin Costner’s adorable daughter is watching a baseball game. All of us at one time or another learned what a southpaw was.

While listening to Reds radio broadcasts as a youth, I remember the announcers referring to “typical lefty control problems,” or jokingly referring to southpaws as “odd, off the wall, or quirky.” Of course, the color announcer, Joe Nuxhall, himself had been a left-handed pitcher and signed off every broadcast with “the old left-hander rounding third and heading for home!”

Quality left-handed pitching is still at a premium today. Lefties have an advantage against left-handed batters, who are closest to first base. A left-handed pitcher who has mastered his craft can stay in the game a long time—i.e. Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer.

While researching the top pitchers from each era, it became apparent to me that there seemed to be one dominant lefty from each period of baseball history. Some eras produced a second left-handed pitcher not quite as good, usually in the other league.

This phenomenon gives us a remarkable cross-section of baseball history, as we ferret out the game’s best southpaws.

Composing a list like this can help make clear this topic in the mind of the average baseball fan. Once exposed, the list is not that hard to remember.

I have ranked the pitchers in reverse order, from tenth to first. I ranked them according to excellence and stamina, taking into consideration their whole career, and evaluating the following categories: W – L; ERA; ERA+; CG, SHO; IP; H/9; K/BB; K/BB ratio; WHIP.

I think it needs to be mentioned that not every era delivered the same emphasis on certain stats. A pitcher from the deadball era could be forgiven a low K total if the WHIP was decent. A pitcher from the live ball era could be forgiven a higher H/9 if their ERA was in line.

By the time the raised mound era was over, a pitcher was expected to be good at everything—all-around excellence. This philosophy has continued to today, but we have gradually taken the endurance requirement away from the starting pitcher, so they can focus on all-out pitching from the beginning of the game.

So when you look at each pitcher on this list, and consider ranking, ask yourself if they delivered what their era was about.

Although this ranking is my effort to break down the relative greatness of these careers, I’m certainly willing to admit someone could legitimately see it differently.

Some pitchers just missed the list. Selecting between #10 and these candidates was particularly difficult. Historical significance played the biggest role in my current decision. Honorable mentions here go out to:

Tommy John—288 wins. Perhaps the missing complementary pitcher to Steve Carlton and his era.

Billy Pierce—211 wins and a nifty ERA+ of 119, and consistent work in the '50s leaves him just outside the top ten.

Mickey Lolich—2,855 Ks, an excellent K/BB ratio, 217 wins, and ’68 World Series heroics put him close.

On the Horizon—the next generation of lefties are on their way. One pitcher of particular note is Johan Santana, who already possesses one of the top 20 peaks of the modern era. He is definitely a product of his times, with only 9 CGs and 6 shutouts on his resume thus far, but he is on track to make this list as he completes his career.

The Top Ten

10) Eppa Rixey—(266–251; 3.15 ERA; ERA+ 115; 290 CG; 37 SHO; 4,494 IP; 9.3 H/9; 1,350K/ 1,082 BB; K/BB ratio 1.25; 1.272 WHIP)

Eppa Rixey broke in with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1912. His career bridged both the deadball and the live ball eras.

After returning from a year at war in 1918, he struggled through the next two years. After arriving in Cincinnati at the beginning of the live ball era in 1921, he began to flourish. His best years were to follow, winning 19 or more games five of the next eight years.

At 6’ 5”, Rixey was an imposing figure on the mound. He featured a sidearm delivery and a sinking fastball.

When pitching, he was a great competitor, but off the field he was good-natured and amiable. More than one historian has noted how his positive outlook helped him deal with many a discouraging situation throughout his career.

His 266 wins (somewhat of a suppressed total because of pitching for second division teams for most of his years) were the most in the NL for a left-handed pitcher until topped by Warren Spahn at the end of the 1959 season.

Eppa Rixey was selected for the HOF by the veteran’s committee in 1963, but died before the the induction ceremony that same year.

9) Tom Glavine—(305–203; 3.54 ERA; ERA+118; 56 CG; 25 SHO; 4413 IP; 8.8 H/9; 2,607 K/ 1,500 BB; K/BB ratio 1.74; 1.314 WHIP)

Tom Glavine broke in with the Atlanta Braves in 1987. By 1991, he was the lead pitcher on the staff that won the pennant. He led the league in wins five of the next ten years. He was the Cy Young award winner twice.

He reached his 300th win with the New York Mets in 2007.

Glavine was a tough mental competitor. He used a fastball, curve, and change up to keep hitters off balance enough to make outs. He worked the outside part of the plate as extensively as any modern pitcher has, and refused to give in to the hitter, accepting 1,500 walks along the way.

Tom Glavine was a player representative to the union, and became known as a spokesman for the players.

Throughout his career he was quite fortunate to have a team that won 14 consecutive division titles, an excellent manger in Bobby Cox who was adept at managing a pitching staff, a pitching coach who taught him how to avoid injury and gave him a pitching strategy that led to much success, and a surrounding rotation with two other HOF caliber pitchers, whose success kept the pressure off just one member.

In addition, Glavine worked in pitcher friendly ballparks for all his home games throughout his career. With all his good fortune, Tom was prepared, focused and skilled enough to make it all work. When he finally decides to retire, he will undoubtedly be voted into the HOF, joining every other 300-game winner.

8) Sandy Koufax — (165–87; 2.76 ERA; ERA+ 131; 137 CG; 40 SHO; 2,324 IP; H/9 6.8; 2,396 K/ 817 BB; K/BB ratio 2.93; 1.106 WHIP)

Sandy Koufax began his career in 1955 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was still mostly a prospect with a great fastball, but erratic control when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958.

He took on a more prominent role in the rotation after the move, but was still unable to control situations because of his control problems, having lost four more games than he had won, and sporting a career ERA of 4.10 after three years in the rotation.

Things began to click for Sandy after a conversation with his catcher before the 1961 season. His control improved as he learned to relax on the mound. Now that the hitters had to put bat on ball, or face striking out, his fortunes began to reverse. Koufax's fastball and drop off the table curve were overpowering.

When the mound was raised and the strike zone made larger before the 1963 season, Koufax's career took off like a comet blazing across the raised mound era. In 1963, he won 25 games, struck out over 300 batters, won the ERA title with 1.88, and pitched 11 shutouts. (These were all firsts for his career.)

After winning the triple crown (most wins, lowest ERA, and most strikeouts) in ’63, he repeated the feat in ’65 and ’66. He broke Rube Waddell’s single season strikeout record of 349, which had stood since 1904, with his total of 382 in ’65.

He helped the Dodgers to a World Series victory in ’63. The Dodgers won the ’65 series riding Koufax’s pitching line of two wins, a 0.38 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and only 13 hits in 24 innings pitched. Again the Dodgers reached the series in ’66, but were sent home by the Baltimore Orioles. Koufax pitched and lost one game.

Sandy retired after the series in 1966, succumbing to progressive arthritis in his pitching elbow.

For his pitching heroics, Koufax was awarded a NL MVP, and three Cy Young awards.

Koufax was inducted into the HOF in 1972.

For this four-year period, ’63–’66, Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher in baseball. Baseball writers of the time say they have not witnessed a more dominant stretch of pitching before or since.

7) Whitey Ford — (236–106; 2.75 ERA; ERA+ 133; 156 CG; 45 SHO; 3,170 IP; 7.9 H/9; 1,956 K/ 1,086 BB; K/BB ratio 1.80; 1.215 WHIP)

Whitey Ford pitched his entire career with the Yankees from 1950–67. This coincided with a period of dominance by his team, winning 11 American League pennants and six world series titles.

By the mid ‘50s, Ford was the lead pitcher on the Yankees staff. He fronted the great teams he represented admirably, posting winning records every year of his career until ’66.

His manager Casey Stengel often held Ford back for the biggest pitching match-ups against their biggest rivals and to keep him fresh for the post season. Ford became well-known for his duels with Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox.

His best year came in 1961 when he won 25 games against only four losses. He led what was one of the best teams and offensive juggernauts in Major League history, winning the Cy Young award that year.

Ford relied on good stuff, excellent breaking pitches and a healthy dose of guile and game savvy. His career ERA of 2.75 is lowest in the live ball era since 1921. His ERA+ of 133 is also one of the highest marks.

During interviews since, Ford has admitted to doctoring baseballs with the help of his catcher Elston Howard.

He was an excellent big game pitcher under the greatest pressure, gaining the nickname “slick." His World Series performances help make him one of the best postseason pitchers throughout baseball history.

Whitey Ford was inducted into the HOF in 1974.

6) Carl Hubbell — (253–154; 2.98 ERA; ERA+ 130; 260 CG; 36 SHO; 3,590 IP; 8.7 H/9; 1,677 K/ 725 BB; K/BB ratio 2.31; 1.166 WHIP)

Carl Hubbell was signed by the Detroit Tigers in the '20s. However, on two successive looks, in ’26 and ’27, player manager Ty Cobb and pitching coach George McBride were not impressed with Carl or his screwball.

The Tigers didn’t invite him back for the ’28 season and sent him to the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas league. Hubbell was ready to quit baseball after the season when Giants scout Dick Kinsella watched him pitch against the Houston Buffs and called Giant manager John McGraw.

Hubbell later said that being released by the Tigers was the best thing that ever happened to him. (Twenty years later the Tigers followed this up by turning away team legend Tommy Bridges after the war, and letting Billy Pierce go to the White Sox!)

McGraw was less concerned about the screwball, saying Christy Mathewson had thrown one and had done fine by it. Hubbell was signed by the Giants, finishing the year 10–6, and pitched the rest of his career until 1943 for them.

Hubbell won 20 games five consecutive years from ’33–’37. During that time he was named NL MVP twice. He also led the league in ERA three times, had the lowest WHIP six out of eight years, and led in K/BB ratio five times.

He won 24 consecutive games between the ’36 (16) and ’37 (8) seasons. This is still a Major League record today.

He led the Giants to the World Series three times—’33, ’36 and ’37. His series performances include a 4–2 record and a 1.79 ERA.

In a well-documented occasion during the ’34 all-star game, Carl struck out five consecutive future HOF players, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.

These performances led to his nicknames of King Carl and “the meal ticket." One famous baseball historian stated that if there were one game to win, he’d pick Carl Hubbell to pitch it.

Hubbell offered his screwball with a very slow delivery. He relied on pinpoint control, leading to his WHIP and K/BB ratio titles. His total of 725 BB in 3,590 IP is remarkable.

Carl Hubbell was the dominant pitcher in the National League during his career. He was voted into the HOF in 1947.

5) Steve Carlton — (329–244; 3.22 ERA; ERA+ 115; 254 CG; 55 SHO; 5,217 IP; 8.1 H/9; 4,136 K/ 1,833 BB; K/BB ratio 2.26; 1.247 WHIP)

"Lefty" broke in with the St. Louis Cardinals briefly in 1965. By 1967, he was an integral part of the rotation which included Bob Gibson. He became known as a power pitcher, throwing a strong fastball and a heavy slider.

The Cardinals became frustrated with him after a contract dispute before the 1970 season, and the team owner ordered that he be traded. He was finally traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for the 1972 season.

Carlton peaked in a big way that year! He went 27–10, at one point winning 15 consecutive games. During one stretch he gave up only one earned run over a span of 56 innings! He led the league in wins (46% of his team’s total), ERA, ERA+, games started, complete games (30), innings pitched, and strikeouts (310). This is one of the greatest single season performances in the books.

Carlton had erratic seasons in between his great ones. He had off years in ’70 and ’73, losing 19 and 20 games respectively. During the ’73 campaign, he became so frustrated with his situation that he stopped talking to the sportswriters, and didn’t for most of his career.

Before the 1982 season, three pitchers of the era stood within 100 Ks of Walter Johnson’s all-time strikeout total of 3,508, (Nolan Ryan, Gaylord Perry, and Steve Carlton). During the 1982 season, they all passed the long-standing mark. The lead eventually switched back and forth between Ryan and Carlton 11 times over the next two years.

Carlton struggled through the ’85 campaign. After leaving the Phillies, he bounced between San Francisco, the White Sox, Cleveland, and Minnesota, without success. He was released at the beginning of the ’88 season by the Twins.

He pitched well in one game for the Cardinals in the ’67 series. He led the Phillies as their ace to the ’80 series, claiming the title. Some of his other post-season appearances were not as successful in divisional playoff games and the ’83 World Series. His post-season record of 6–6, a respectable 3.26 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.480 is a mixed bag.

Each year he led the league in wins — ’72, ’77, ’80, ’82 — he won the Cy Young award. He was the first pitcher to win the award four times.

Among left-handed pitchers in the modern era, Carlton is second in innings pitched and strikeouts. His 1,833 BB are second all-time behind his contemporary Nolan Ryan.

He was inducted into the HOF in 1994.

4) Eddie Plank — (326–194; 2.35 ERA; ERA+ 122; 410 CG; 69 SHO; 4,495 IP; 7.9 H/9; 2,246 K/ 1,072 BB; K/BB ratio 2.10; 1.119 WHIP)

Eddie Plank hit the ground running when he pitched as a rookie with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics in 1901, going 17–13. By the next year, he would win 20 games for the first of eight times in his career. (He won 19 games two other years.)

Being from Gettysburg, PA, and having pitched for their college team, he was given the nickname of “Gettysburg Eddie."

In 1902, he teamed up with Rube Waddell for six years on the A’s pitching staff to form one of baseball’s most formidable 1–2 pitching combinations.

Plank was Christy Mathewson’s opponent on the mound when he threw three complete game shutouts against the A’s and Plank. (They had faced each other in their college days—Bucknell vs. Gettysburg.) Eddie finally beat Mathewson for the first time in the 1913 series, when both pitchers were on the back side of their careers.

The A’s made five World Series appearances behind Plank: ’05, ’10, ’11, ’13, ’14. Plank was unable to pitch in the ’10 World Series because of a sore arm. His series record of 2–5 also sports a 1.32 ERA, 54 innings, 37 hits and a 0.878 WHIP. The A’s won the ’11 and ’13 series.

After losing the ’14 series, Connie Mack disbanded the team. Plank played in St. Louis for the Terriers of the Federal League and the Browns of the AL through the 1917 season. He was traded to the Yankees before the 1918 season but refused to report.

Plank’s 305 wins still lead the American league among left-handed pitchers. His 69 shutouts are 5^th all-time.

He had a side-arm delivery, and featured a sweeping curveball. He was also known for his long pauses on the mound, prompting poet Ogden Nash to write in his “Lineup for Yesterday”:

"'P' is for Plank

The arm of the A’s;

When he tangled with Matty

Games lasted for days."

He was the first great left-hander of the modern era, and was inducted into the HOF in 1946.

3) Lefty Grove — (300–141; 3.06 ERA; ERA+ 148; 298 CG; 35 SHO; 3,940 IP; 8.8 H/9; 2,266 K/ 1,187 BB; K/BB ratio 1.91; 1.278 WHIP)

When Lefty Grove broke in with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1925, he was already a pitching star with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League from 1920–1924. His owner/manager, Jack Dunn, who had been free of any team affiliations, finally sold his rights, after refusing several major league offers, to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1925 for $100,000.

During his first two seasons, he experienced some control problems, walking 131 batters in ’25 and 101 the next year. By ’27 he had improved his command, and won 20 games for the first of seven consecutive seasons for the Athletics.

He spearheaded his team’s success over the next several years, appearing in the World Series from ’29–’31, winning in ’29 and ’30. His World Series line includes a 4–2 record and a 1.75 ERA.

His seasons from ’28–’33 represent one of baseball’s all-time pitching peaks. During his peak years, he led the American League in wins four times, had the lowest ERA four times, the most strikeouts four times and led the league in WHIP three times.

Owner Connie Mack sold him to the Boston Red Sox after the ’33 season. An arm injury led to a poor ’34 season with a 6.50 ERA and an 8–8 record.

He entered his afterglow years with the Red Sox. He won 20 games for the last time in ’35. He maintained winning records over the next several years, but his years of dominance were behind him. Hitters bats caught up to him the last couple of years, seeing his H/9 and ERAs rise considerably. He retired after finally winning his 300th game in 1941.

His peak, ERA titles, and career ERA+ of 148 are remarkable. He was the most dominant pitcher of his era. He was inducted into the HOF in 1947.

2) Randy Johnson — (at time of printing) (303–166; 3.29 ERA; ERA+ 136; 100 CG; 37 SHO; 4,131 IP; 7.3 H/9; 4,869 K/ 1,497 BB; K/BB ratio 3.25; 1.17 WHIP)

(At the time of this writing, (7/16/09), Randy Johnson is on the disabled list. He has been pitching this year for the San Francisco Giants with mixed results.)

Randy Johnson was a product of the Montreal Expo farm system. He first saw major league action in ’88. After a slow start the following season, the Seattle Mariners snagged him. He spent the next nine-plus seasons with the Mariners, winning his first Cy Young award in ’95 and leading the league in strikeouts four consecutive years.

"The Big Unit" had his best years after landing in Arizona, ’99 – ’02, winning the Cy Young award each year. His peak over those four seasons ranks in the top ten all-time, and includes leading the National league in ERA+ four times, ERA and CG three times, IP twice, and wins and WHIP once.

His ability to strikeout batters is among the most impressive ever. From ’98 – ’02 Randy Johnson struck out over 300 batters each year. This five year stretch is a major league record.

Johnson stands 6’ 10”, the second tallest major league player ever. With long hair and a demeanor with a no frills mean streak, Johnson struck a more than intimidating figure on the mound. His 189 hit batters are a good deal more than the second place pitcher in the live ball era!

His fastball often topped 100 mph, and his slider, which he calls “Mr. Snappy,” dives down toward the right-handed batter’s back foot, and arrives in the low 90s.

In 2001, he helped lead the Diamondbacks to the World Series where they faced the Yankees. Between the league championship series against the Braves and World Series, Johnson went 5 – 0 with two complete games, 38 Ks in 33 innings and successive ERAs of 1.12 and 1.04.

His relief stint in the 7th game of the World Series is legendary, allowing his team to tie and eventually win the series in the bottom of the 9th inning. He was named the MVP of the series.

His five Cy Young awards are second-most in baseball. He won his 300th game earlier this year.

Randy Johnson has a plaque waiting for him in the HOF.

1) Warren Spahn — (363–245; 3.09 ERA; ERA+ 118; 382 CG; 63 SHO; 5,243 IP; 8.3 H/9; 2,583 K/ 1,434 BB; K/BB ratio 1.80; 1.195 WHIP)

Spahn first saw major league action in ’42 for the Boston Braves for only four games. He fought in WWII with an exemplary record. He rejoined the Braves in ’46 and his career took off from there!

In 1947, he won 20 games for the first of 13 times! His league leading categories start in ’47 (ERA, shutouts, IP, ERA+, and WHIP), and continue all the way though ’63 (complete games — and 23 wins to boot!). He led the league in wins five consecutive years (’57–’61) and in complete games during seven season in a row (’57–’63).

Spahn featured an assortment of pitches, later relying more on a screwball, but he said he needed only two—“the one the batter’s looking for, and the one I’m going to throw." His plan was to out-think the hitter.

He had a high leg kick which he used to conceal his move to first base.

His 35 home runs as a batter are one of the highest totals for a pitcher.

Spahn was instrumental in reaching the World Series three times—’48, ’57 and ’58. His team won once, beating the Yankees in ’57. His record in the series is 4–3 with an ERA of 3.05 and a sparkling 1.07 WHIP.

In 1963 at age 42 he hooked up against the Giants and Juan Marichal in one of the most epic pitching duels in history. After 14 innings with the score tied 0–0, the Giant manager, Alvin Dark, went to the mound to check on his pitcher. Juan refused to come out of the game, noting that his opponent was 42 years old—he was 25—he couldn’t come out! (Perhaps this was a little machismo from the Latin ace!)

The Giants eventually won the game in the 16^th inning with a home run from Willie Mays. After the game, Carl Hubbell, who had been in attendance, stated Warren Spahn should donate his body to science!

Spahn’s 363 wins are the most ever by a left-hander, and the most wins in the live ball era since 1921. His 63 shutouts are also the most in the live ball era by any pitcher. His 2,583 strikeouts were 3^rd all-time when he retired.

Warren Spahn was inducted into the HOF in 1973.

These left-handed pitching greats have left us a legacy. One which is worth knowing!

Peak Performance: The Top 20 Pitching Peaks Of The Modern Era

Jonathan Stilwell — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:06:31 -0400

Peak Performance! The Top 20 Pitching Peaks in Modern Baseball

As I started research on the best pitchers in each era of baseball, the concept of a peak in a pitcher’s career was somewhat nebulous and undefined in my understanding. I knew of pitchers whose reputations were based on a few years of sheer excellence, like Sandy Koufax, and those whose careers just ended too quickly, like JR Richard.

What I uncovered when studying career after career, is that most pitchers had peak years when their skills were at their best. Most commonly, a top pitcher would have 2 – 3 years of uptake or learning when they were honing their pitches and knowledge of hitters.

The next few years were the peak years for most pitchers. This was variable in length, but 4 years covers it for most pitchers.

Then the next period of time could be called the after-glow period, when the pitcher was still successful, but not quite as dominant as they were during the peak. If there was injury, it usually showed itself here.

Then there are usually a few (2 – 3 average) waning years when the pitchers skills are on decline. They may have individual performances where they show their former brilliance, but have trouble sustaining this level of performance throughout a season—IP decline, K/BB differentials narrow, and ERAs are on the rise.

Obviously, every pitcher’s career is slightly different, but this was the predominant pattern.

Greg Maddux’ career makes a wonderful uninterrupted pattern for this natural arc. He broke in learning his craft in Chicago, reached a certain level of excellence, then won four Cy Young awards in a row from ’92 – ’95 in Atlanta at his peak.

The seasons gradually blended into afterglow and waning years. We still saw the incredible framework of his greatness even at the end of his career.

These peaks represent the ultimate in pitching dominance. In this they represent a measuring stick of greatness throughout the course of each era of baseball.

Naturally, sportswriters have been drawn to these feats of pitching, sometimes lauding the sources of accomplishment to almost superhuman levels.

So the purpose of this article is to bring to light and celebrate the pitchers who so mastered their craft at their peak, so that we can look back and say, “that was really something!”

As defining as these peaks are to pitching greatness, there are top pitchers not on this list. Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan, Gaylord Perry and many others had epic careers but never a dominating peak.

These great pitchers were so good for so long that what they accomplished throughout the course of their career can’t be ignored. So I guess we can call them the great grinders. However, the grinders will have to be the topic of another article.

I focused my attention on peaks that naturally presented themselves. I allotted four years for the peak to take place (Greg Maddux ’92 – ’95), with the allowance of only one intervening year. (Pedro Martinez – ’98 – ’00, ’02). One exception was Bob Feller, whose peak fell on both sides of WWII – ’39 – ’41, ’46. So I gave him a special dispensation for that.

There were two pitchers whose careers naturally presented two peaks on either side of an off year. I found these to be quite exceptional and unique: Christy Mathewson’s ’06 and Jim Palmer’s ’74 separated truly remarkable bodies of work.

I looked for impressive win totals, low ERAs and high ERA+, shutouts, high K totals, K/BB ratios, H/9, IP, WHIP and CGs. But what I counted for ranking was how many times a pitcher led their league in these categories. I tried to weight the first part of the list more than the latter categories, but they all counted.

This method of counting League Leading Categories (hence noted as LLCs) may seem a bit simplistic on the surface. But I think it gives a unique perspective to the relative dominance of our top peaks. It allows each era to present its dominant peaks without skewing the results to favor any one era. This method is not definitive, but I think it puts each peak very close to its true ranking.

You may have a favorite pitcher or peak not represented on the list, or there may be a ranking that doesn’t suit you. Feel free to respond with a comment. If I missed someone, I would certainly like to acknowledge their accomplishments.

There were pitchers I thought might make the list, but ultimately didn’t quite make the final cut for the top twenty. So an honorable mention to Dwight Gooden, Catfish Hunter, Ferguson Jenkins, Bob Gibson, and Eddie Plank.

The Top Twenty Peaks –

# 20 —Jim Palmer— ’73, ’75 – ’77: Baltimore Orioles; 10 LLCs

’73; W 23 – 11; 2.09 ERA; +169; 10 SHO; 193K/ 80 BB; 2.41r; 323 IP; 7.0 H/9; 25 CG

’75: W 22 – 13; 2.51 ERA; +130; 6 SHO; 159 K/ 84 BB; 1.89r; 315 IP; 7.3 H/9; 23 CG

’76: W 20 – 11; 2.91 ERA; +132; 3 SHO; 193K/ 99 BB; 1.95r; 319 IP; 7.4 H/9; 22 CG

’77; W 22 – 9; 2.40 ERA; +156; 6 SHO; 158K/ 113 BB; 1.40r; 296 IP; 6.8 H/9; 19 CG

As a child I remember watching box scores of Jim Palmer’s pitching performances. He wasn’t a strikeout artist, but consistently prevented the other team from scoring with his sinker. During his prolonged peak from ’69 – ’77, Jim Palmer was arguably the 2^nd best pitcher in baseball!

#19—Rube Waddell —’02 – ’05; Philadelphia Athletics; 11 LLCs

’02; W 24 – 7; 2.05 ERA; +179; 3 SHO; 210K/ 64 BB; 3.28r; 276 IP; 7.3 H/9; 26 CG

’03; W 21 – 16; 2.44 ERA; +125; 4 SHO; 302K/ 85 BB; 3.55r; 324 IP; 7.6 H/9; 34 CG

’04; W 25 – 19; 1.62 ERA; +165; 8 SHO; 349K/ 91 BB; 3.84r; 383 IP; 7.2 H/9; 39 CG

’05; W 27 – 10; 1.48 ERA; +179; 7 SHO; 287K/ 90 BB; 3.19r; 328 IP; 6.3 H/9; 27 CG

Rube Waddell was the first pitching star of the 20^th century! News and accolades of his blazing fastball helped his popularity spread across the country like wildfire. Nobody broke his single season strikeout record of 349 or reached 300K twice for over 60 years, and it took a raised mound and a larger strike zone to do it!

#18—Juan Marichal—’63, ’65 – ’66, ’68; San Francisco giants; 11 LLCs including WHIP title ’66 of 0.859

’63; W 25 – 8; 2.41 ERA; +132; 5 SHO; 248K/ 61 BB; 4.074; 321 IP; 7.3 H/9; 18 CG

’65; W 22 – 13; 2.13 ERA; + 169; 10 SHO; 240K/ 46 BB; 5.22r; 295 IP; 6.8 H/9; 24 CG

’66; W 25 – 6; 2.23 ERA; +167; 4 SHO; 222K/ 36 BB; 6.17r; 307 IP; 6.7 H/9; 25 CG

’68; W 26 – 9; 2.43 ERA; +123; 5 SHO; 218K/ 46 BB; 4.74r; 326 IP; 8.1 H/9; 30 CG

This is an impressive peak any way you slice it, but especially considering his competition to getting LLCs – Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson. From ’63 – 66 he was up against Koufax’ peak, and in ’68 he was up against Gibson’s all-time year with the 1.12 ERA! His WHIP of .859 in ’66 was the lowest of his generation.

#17—Dizzy Dean—’33 – ’36; St. Louis Cardinals; 12 LLCs

’33; W 20 – 18; 3.04 ERA; +114; 3 SHO; 199K/ 64 BB; 3.11r; 293 IP; 8.6 H/9; 26 CG

’34; W 30 – 7; 2.66 ERA; +159; 7 SHO; 195K / 75 BB; 2.60r; 311 IP; 8.3 H/9; 24 CG

’35; W 28 – 12; 3.04 ERA; +135; 3 SHO; 190K/ 77 BB; 2.47r; 325 IP; 9.0 H/9; 29 CG

’36; W 24 – 13; 3.17 ERA; +124; 2 SHO; 195K/ 53 BB; 3.68r; 315 IP; 8.9 H/9; 28 CG

Dizzy Dean’s brash and outgoing nature made him a favorite of the sportswriters. He was part of the St. Louis “Gashouse Gang” of that time, and Pepper Martin, Frankie Frisch or Dizzy Dean were always good for a quote. He would often predict successes and then follow through – like winning 30 games, or how many games he and his younger brother would win that year.

#16—Mordecai Brown— ’06, ’08 – ’10; Chicago Cubs; 12 LLCs, including 3 WHIP titles

’06; W 26 – 6; 1.04 ERA; +253; 9 SHO; 144K/ 61 BB; 2.36r; 277 IP; 6.4 H/9; 27 CG

’08; W 29 – 9; 1.47 ERA; +160; 9 SHO; 123K/ 49 BB; 2.51r; 312 IP; 6.2 H/9; 27 CG

’09; W 27 – 9; 1.31 ERA; +193; 8 SHO; 172K/ 53 BB; 3.25r; 342 IP; 6.5 H/9; 32 CG

’10; W 25 – 14; 1.86 ERA; +155; 6 SHO; 143K/ 64 BB; 2.23r; 295 IP; 7.8 H/9; 27 CG

Mordecai Brown was as stingy as a pitcher could get. All of these LLCs came in direct competition with Christy Mathewson. Their head to head duels became the stuff of legend. While Mathewson threw a “fade-away”, Brown used his handicap of a missing finger (hence the nickname “three-finger”) to develop unique breaking pitches which baffled the league for most of a decade.

#15 —Johan Santana— ’04 – ’06, ’08; Minnesota Twins/ NY Mets; 17 LLCs including 3 WHIP titles

’04; W 20 – 6; 2.61 ERA; +182; 1 SHO; 265K/ 54 BB; 4.91r; 228 IP; 6.2 H/9; 1 CG

’05; W 16 – 7; 2.87 ERA; +155; 2 SHO; 238K/ 45 BB; 5.29r; 231 IP; 7.0 H/9; 3 CG

’06; W 19 – 6; 2.77 ERA; +`161; 0 SHO; 245K/ 47 BB; 5.21r; 234 IP; 7.2 H/9; 1 CG

’08; W 16 – 7; 2.53 ERA; +166; 2 SHO; 206K/ 63 BB; 3.06r; 234 IP; 7.9 H/9; 3 CG

Johan Santana has made his mark on baseball history posting this peak. Santana features an outstanding fastball and change-up which he spots with excellent control. Johan pitched the first three years of his peak for the Minnesota Twins, and ’08 with the New York Mets.

#14—Tom Seaver—’69 – ’71, ’73; New York Mets; 16 LLCs incl. 2 WHIP titles

’69; W 25 – 7; 2.21 ERA; +165; 5 SHO; 208K/ 82 BB; 2.54r; 273 IP; 6.7 H/9; 18 CG

’70; W 18 – 12; 2.82 ERA; +142; 2 SHO; 283K/ 83BB; 3.41r; 290 IP; 7.1 H/9; 19 CG

’71; W 20 – 10; 1.76 ERA; +193; 4 SHO; 289K/ 61BB; 4.74r; 286 IP; 6.6 H/9; 21 CG

’73; W 19 – 10; 2.08 ERA; +175; 3 SHO; 251K/ 64 BB; 3.92r; 290 IP; 6.8 H/9; 18 CG

Tom Seaver at his best was the best of his generation. He led the miracle Mets to the world series title in ’69. His drop and drive pitching motion became one of the most iconic and classic. He said his best season was ’71.

#13—Hal Newhauser—’44 – ’46, ’48; Detroit Tigers; 16 LLCs incl. 1 WHIP title

’44; W 29 – 9; 2.22 ERA; +161; 6 SHO; 187K/ 102 Bb; 1.83r; 312 IP; 7.6 H/9; 25 CG

’45; W 25 – 9; 1.81 ERA; +195; 8 SHO; 212K/ 110 BB; 1.93r; 313 IP; 6.9 H/9; 29 CG

’46; W 26 – 9; 1.94 ERA; +188; 6 SHO; 275K/ 98 BB; 2.81r; 292 IP; 6.6 H/9; 29 CG

’48; W 21 – 12; 3.01 ERA; +145; 2 SHO; 143K/ 99 BB; 1.44r; 272 IP; 8.2 H/9; 19 CG

This peak of Newhauser’s was quite dominant, incl. a league MVP awards, two pitcher of the year awards and led the Tigers to the world series in ’45. He wasn’t quite the same pitcher after ’48, but the veteran’s committee found its way to induct him into the HOF in ’92.

#12—Robin Roberts—’52 – ’55; Philadelphia Phillies; 18 LLCs incl. 1 WHIP title

’52; W 28 – 7; 2.59 ERA; +141; 3 SHO; 148K/ 45 BB; 3.29r; 330 IP; 8.0 H/9; 30 CG

’53; W 23 – 16; 2.75 ERA; +152; 5 SHO; 198K/ 61 BB; 3.25r; 346 IP; 8.4 H/9; 33 CG

’54; W 23 – 16; 2.97 ERA; +136; 4 SHO; 185K/ 56BB; 3.30r; 336 IP; 7.7 H/9; 29 CG

’55; W 23 – 14; 3.28 ERA; +121; 1 SHO; 160K/ 53 BB; 3.02r; 305 IP; 8.6 H/9; 22 CG

Robin Roberts may be one of the most overlooked pitchers on this list. However, he won 20 games 6 years in a row, and at one point pitched 28 complete games in a row! He was a true workhorse on the mound, leading the league in innings pitched and complete games each year of his peak.

#11—Carl Hubbell— ’33 – ’36; New York Giants; 19 LLCs incl. 3 WHIP titles

’33; W 23 – 12; 1.66 ERA; +193; 10 SHO; 156K/ 47 BB; 3.32r; 308 IP; 7.5 H/9; 22 CG

’34; W 21 – 12; 2.30 ERA; +168; 5 SHO; 118 K/ 37 BB; 3.19r; 313 IP; 8.2 H/9; 25 CG

’35; W 23 – 12; 3.27 ERA; +118; 1 SHO; 150K/ 49 BB; 3.06r; 302 IP; 9.3 H/9; 24 CG

’36; W 26 – 6; 2.31 ERA; +169; 3 SHO; 123K/ 57 Bb; 2.16r; 304 IP; 7.8 H/9; 25 CG

Often overshadowed by the accomplishments of his contemporary, Lefty Grove, Carl “the meal ticket” Hubbell was quite the show in the mid ‘30s. He won the NL MVP in ’33 and ’36. At one point he won 17 games in a row, and struck out six consecutive HOF batters in an All-Star game. He was the “other” dominant pitcher of the era.

#10 —Randy Johnson— ’99 – ’02; Arizona Diamondbacks; 21 LLCs incl. 1 WHIP title

’99; W 17 – 9; 2.48 ERA; +186; 2 SHO; 364K/ 70 BB; 5.20r; 271 IP; 6.9 H/9; 12 CG

’00; W 19 – 9; 2.64 ERA; +181; 3 SHO; 347K/ 76 BB; 4.57r; 248 IP; 7.3 H/9; 8 CG

’01; W 21 – 6; 2.49 ERA; +188; 2 SHO; 372K/ 71 BB; 5.24r; 249 IP; 6.5 H/9; 3 CG

’02; W 24 – 5; 2.32 ERA; +197; 4 SHO; 334K/ 71 BB; 4.70r; 260 IP; 6.8 H/9; 8 CG

Randy Johnson put up these incredible numbers in the NL. He is the only pitcher in major league history to strikeout more than 300 batters four straight years, yielding the greatest number of strikeouts in a 4 year period in history. This peak ranks third among left-handed pitchers. The “Big Unit” pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, helping his team win the world series in 2001.

#9—Pedro Martinez— ’98 – ’00, ’02; 21 LLCs incl. 3 WHIP titles

’98; W 19 – 7; 2.89 ERA; +163;p 2 SHO; 251K/ 67 BB; 3.75r; 233 IP; 7.2 H/9; 3 CG

’99; W 23 – 4; 2.07 ERA; +243; 1 SHO; 313K/ 37 BB; 8.46r; 213 IP; 6.8 H/9; 5 Cg

’00; W 18 – 6; 1.74 ERA; +291; 4 SHO; 284K/ 32 BB; 8.88r; 217 IP; 5.3 H/9; 7 CG

’02; W 20 – 4; 2.26 ERA; +202; 0 SHO; 239K/ 40 BB; 5.98r; 199 IP; 6.5 H/9; 2 CG

Pedro’s incredible K/BB ratios, H/9 ratios led to not many batters reaching base during his peak. It’s no wonder they didn’t score many runs! His ERA+, and ratios are all-time season marks. He was awarded the Cy Young award in ’99 and ’00.

#8 —Dazzy Vance— ’24 – ’25, ’27 – ’28; Brooklyn Dodgers; 23 LLCs incl. 2 WHIP titles

’24; W 28 – 6; 2.16 ERA; +174; 3 SHO; 262K/ 77BB; 3.40r; 308 IP; 6.9 H/9; 30 CG

’25; W 22 – 9; 3.53 ERA; +118; 4 SHO; 221K/ 66 BB; 3.35r; 265 IP; 8.4 H/9; 26 CG

’27; W 16 – 15 2.70 ERA; +146; 2 SHO; 184K/ 69 BB; 2.67r; 273 IP; 8.0 H/9; 25 CG

’28; W 22 – 10; 2.09 ERA; +191; 4 SHO; 200K/ 72 BB; 2.78r; 280 IP; 7.3 H/9; 24 CG

Dazzy Vance entered the major leagues at age 31, and didn’t look back! He was the only really dominant pitcher of the '20s. Once they figured out to give him an extra day’s rest between starts, he was able to maintain his dominant ways throughout the seasons. He led the NL in strikeouts 7 consecutive years. The story goes he even tried tearing his pitching sleeves to increase the level of distraction. He was the 1924 NL MVP and won the pitching triple crown

#7 —Greg Maddux—’92 – ’95; Atlanta Braves; 23 LLCs incl. 3 WHIP titles

’92; W 20 – 11; 2.18 ERA; +166; 4 SHO; 199K/ 70 BB; 2.84r; 268 IP; 6.8 H/9; 9 CG

’93; W 20 – 10; 2.36 ERA; +171; 1 SHO; 197K/ 52 BB; 3.79r; 267 IP; 7.7 H/9; 8 CG

’94; W 16 – 6; 1.56 ERA; +271; 3 SHO; 156K/ 31 Bb; 5.03r; 202 IP; 6.7 H/9; 10 CG

’95; W 19 – 2; 1.63 ERA; +262; 3 SHO; 181K/ 23 BB; 7.87r; 209 IP; 6.3 H/9; 10 CG

This was an amazing run of dominance by Maddux. He studied how to get each hitter out. Simply put, he pitched more innings and gave up fewer runs than anybody in baseball for these four years. Four Cy Young awards followed and a world series title in ’95.

#6 — Bob Feller— ’39 – ’41; ’46; Cleveland Indians; 23 LLCs incl. 1 WHIP title

’39; W 24 – 9; 2.85 ERA; +154; 4 SHO; 246K/ 142 BB; 296 IP; 6.9 H/9; 24 CG

’40; W 27 – 11; 2.61 ERA; +161; 4 SHO; 261K/ 118 BB; 320 IP; 6.9 H/9; 31 CG

’41; W 25 – 13; 3.15 ERA; +125; 6 SHO; 260K/ 194 BB; 343 IP; 7.5 H/9; 28 CG

’46; W 26 – 15; 2.18 ERA; +153; 10 SHO; 348K/ 153 BB; 371 IP; 6.7 H/9; 36 CG

“Rapid Robert” and his blazing fastball splashed on the scene before WWII. And as if that wasn’t enough, he came back for an encore after the war! His peak strikeout numbers are the most since Rube Waddell (’02 – ’05). We can only imagine what his peak might have looked like without the interruption!

#5 —Lefty Grove—’29 – ’32; Philadelphia Athletics; 24 LLCs incl. 3 WHIP titles

’29; W 20 – 6; 2.81 ERA; +151; 2 SHO; 170K/ 81 BB; 2.10r; 275 IP; 9.1 H/9; 19 CG

’30; W 28 – 5; 2.54 ERA; +185; 2 SHO; 209K/ 60 BB; 3.48r; 291 IP; 8.4 H/9; 22 CG

’31; W 31 – 4; 2.06 ERA; +219; 4 SHO; 175K/ 62 BB; 2.82r; 288 IP; 7.8 H/9; 27 CG

’32; W 25 – 10; 2.84 ERA; +159; 4 SHO; 188 K/ 79 BB; 2.38r; 291 IP; 8.3 H/9; 27 CG

Robert Moses Grove came up to the major leagues in ’25, and finally figured out what it took to win. By ’27 he recorded his first of 7 consecutive 20 win seasons. He was an intense competitor and hated to lose. Fortunately it wasn’t that often! He was the most dominant pitcher of his era, and especially the American League during his peak years.

#4—Christy Mathewson—’05, ’07 – ’09; New York Giants; 25 LLCs incl. 3 WHIP titles

’05; W 31 – 9; 1.28 ERA; +230; 8 SHO; 206K/ 64 BB; 3.22r; 338 IP; 6.7 H/9; 32 CG

’07; W 24 – 12; 2.00 ERA; +123; 8 SHO; 178K 53 BB; 3.36r; 315 IP; 6.7 H/9; 31 CG

’08; W 37 – 11; 1.43 ERA; +168; 11 SHO; 259K/ 42 BB; 6.17r; 390 IP; 6.6 H/9; 34 CG

’09; W 25 – 6; 1.14 ERA; +222; 8 SHO; 149K/36 BB; 4.14r; 275 IP; 6.3 H/9; 26 CG

Christy Mathewson’s well mannered presence and educated background caught the imagination of baseball fans everywhere. He became a symbol for what was right in the game and the nation. He pitched in the series 4 times, but it was in ’05 that he stood the baseball world on end by pitching and winning 3 complete game shutouts to conquer Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics.

#3—Sandy Koufax—’63 – ’66; Los Angeles Dodgers; 27 LLCs incl. 3 WHIP titles

’63; W 25 – 5; 1.88 ERA; +159; 11 SHO; 306K/ 58 BB; 5.28r; 311 IP; 6.2 H/9; 20 CG

’64; W 19 – 5; 1.74 ERA; +187; 7 SHO; 223K/ 53 BB; 4.21r; 223 IP; 6.2 H/9; 15 CG

’65; W 26 – 8; 2.04 ERA; +160; 8 SHO; 382K/ 71 BB; 5.38r; 335 IP; 5.8 H/9; 27 CG

’66; W 27 – 9; 1.73 ERA; +190; 5 SHO; 317K/ 77 BB; 4.12r; 323 IP; 6.7 H/9; 27 CG

This peak is perhaps for us today the one against which all others are measured. Sandy Koufax was the epitome of excellence and dominance for these four years. He won the triple crown—most wins, strikeouts and lowest ERA in ’63, 65 and ‘66, as well as the Cy Young award each of those seasons. He broke the single season strikeout record which had stood for 61 years in ’65.

#2 —Grover Alexander — ’14 – ’17; Philadelphia Phillies; 28 LLCs incl. 2 WHIP titles

’14; W 27 – 15; 2.38 ERA; +123; 6 SHO; 214K/ 76 BB; 2.82r; 355 IP; 8.3 H/9; 32 CG

’15 W 31 – 10; 1.22 ERA; +225; 12 SHO; 241K/ 64 BB; 3.77r; 376 IP; 6.1 H/9; 36 CG

’16 W 33 – 12; 1.55 ERA; +170; 16 SHO; 167K/ 50 BB; 3.34r; 389 IP; 7.5 H/9; 38 CG

’17 W 30 – 13; 1.83 ERA; +153; 8 SHO; 200K/ 56 BB; 3.57r; 388 IP; 7.8 H/9; 34 CG

“Pete” must have pitched like a machine during this peak—put him on the mound and you get a complete game victory. All those wins, shutouts, IP and complete games must have been something to watch and be a part of! As far as I am aware of, 16 shutouts is the modern day record for one season! I hope historians will not continue to overlook this great pitcher’s peak and career.

#1—Walter Johnson—’12 – ’15; Washington Senators; 30 LLCs incl. 3 WHIP titles

’12; W 33 – 12; 1.39 ERA; +242; 7 SHO; 303K/ 76 BB; 3.99r; 369 IP; 6.3 H/9; 34 CG

’13; W 36 – 7; 1.14 ERA; +259; 11 SHO; 243K/ 38 BB; 6.39r; 346 IP; 6.0 H/9; 29 CG

’14; W 28 – 18; 1.72 ERA; +164; 9 SHO; 225K/ 74 BB; 3.04r; 371 IP; 6.9 H/9; 33 CG

’15; W 27 – 13; 1.55 ERA; +191; 7 SHO; 203K/ 56 BB; 3.63r; 336 IP; 6.9 H/9; 35 CG

Taking a look at ’12, it’s hard to imaging pitching 369 innings, with 33 wins and 34 complete games and not leading in any of those categories, but that’s the case here, or ‘the Train’ would have had even more LLCs during his peak! This peak gives us a glimpse at the legend of Walter Johnson. He was the complete package —velocity, control and endurance.

All of these pitchers deserve recognition for their accomplishments and the excellence they bestowed on baseball for all of us to appreciate and celebrate. Some of these peaks tend to get more attention than others. Perhaps this list can help us discover new pitching exploits to revel over and retell on our own.

Baseball's Greatest Pitching Seasons: The Prime Nine Revisited

Jonathan Stilwell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:15:29 -0400

The Best Ever Seasons by Starting Pitchers: The Prime Nine Revisited

The best seasons ever by starting pitchers emblazon the path of major league history. They are like signposts or markers along the way that are monuments to the excellence bestowed upon the game by these pitchers.

MLB network has recently broadcast its choices for the best seasons ever in its series “Prime Nine.” Their stipulations for selection were that the season be in the modern baseball era, since 1900, and that there be only one season per pitcher.

The following is their list of the top nine all-time seasons in the order they listed, and the salient statistics that accompany each year:

9) Steve Carlton – 1972; (27 – 10; 1.97 ERA; ERA+ 182; 30 CG, 8 SHO, 346 IP/ 257 H; 310 K/ 87 BB; 0.993 WHIP)

8) Ron Guidry – 1978: (25 – 3; 1.74 ERA; ERA+ 208; 16 CG, 9 SHO; 273 IP/ 187 H; 248 K/ 72 BB; 0.946 WHIP)

7) Greg Maddux – 1995: (19 – 2; 1.63 ERA; ERA+ 262; 10 CG; 3 SHO; 209 IP/ 147 H; 181 K/ 23 BB; 0.811 WHIP)

6) Sandy Koufax – 1965; (26 – 8; 2.04 ERA; ERA+ 160; 27 CG, 8 SHO: 335 IP/ 216 H; 382 K/ 71 BB; 0.855 WHIP)

5) Christy Mathewson – 1908; (37 – 11; 1.43; ERA+ 168; 34 CG; 11 SHO; 390 IP; 285 H; 259 K/ 42 BB; 0.837 WHIP)

4) Dwight Gooden – 1985; (24 – 4; 1.53 ERA; ERA+ 228; 16 CG, 8 SHO; 276 IP/ 198 H; 268 K/ 69 BB; 0.965 WHIP)

3) Bob Gibson – 1968; (22 – 9; 1.12 ERA: ERA+ 258; 28 CG, 13 SHO, 304 IP/ 198 H; 268 K/ 62 BB; 0.853 WHIP)

2) Walter Johnson – 1913; (36 – 7; 1.14 ERA; ERA+ 259; 29 CG, 11 SHO; 346 IP 232 H, 243 K, 38 BB; 0.780 WHIP)

1) Pedro Martinez – 2000; (18 – 6; 1.74 ERA; ERA+ 291; 7 CG, 4 SHO; 217 IP/ 128 H; 284 K/ 32 BB; 0.737 WHIP)

The program says its aim is to start arguments rather than solve them, so here we go!

Are these truly the nine greatest seasons? Is the order listed valid? What other seasons are there worth looking at in the context of this discussion?

I hope to answer these questions with this article and perhaps open a forum for other writers and readers to respond.

This is undoubtedly a great list. Every one of these seasons is a significant landmark along the history of pitching. In truth all of these belong in what is probably a top 14 or so seasons, with another four of historical significance.

The order listed above and the overall selection shows some skewing of the big picture, however.

Seasons pitched during the lifetime of modern historians got favorable selection. The program’s editors condensed everything before Sandy Koufax into two seasons, Walter Johnson’s 1913 and Christy Mathewson’s 1908, and left everything else out.

Certainly these two titans of the game deserve the recognition as two of the greatest all-time pitchers. But there are other pitchers and seasons that deserve mention and attention. I hope we will not condense baseball history to only the most popular players of the past.

The program said it took special emphasis on ERA+. While this is an important stat, it is just one aspect of a dominant all-time season. Some of the more recent seasons don’t have the volume of work of say a Sandy Koufax, or Walter Johnson.

The ranking on the list above is skewed somewhat to favor the pitchers with less volume of work, and higher qualitative ratios.

How else do we arrive with seasons of 217 IP as the No. 1 all-time season, or a season with 209 IP and 181 Ks as the No. 7 all-time season?

From the perspective of these editors, it made sense. But some of these seasons showed excellence over another 100–180 innings! It was simply more work accomplished in one season.

So I would probably adjust the ranking somewhat—perhaps moving Pedro’s ‘2000 down to No. 3, and put some of the other modern seasons on notice as well, as we take another look at what got left off the list.

The Alternate Prime Nine

The program alludes to other seasons considered when it mentions Lefty Grove’s 1931 as having just missed the list. This was just one of five years in a row that Grove put up one of the great peaks in baseball history.

(Several of these pitchers had alternate years that made it hard to choose one for inclusion here.) But there are perhaps four other excluded pitchers’ seasons begging recognition before this one can make the list.

1) Grover Alexander – 1915; (31 – 10; 1.22 ERA; ERA+ 228; 36 CG; 12 SHO; 376 IP/ 253 H; 241 K/ 64 BB; 0.842 WHIP) – any way you slice these stats, this is one of the great all-time seasons ever pitched. I believe it fits in just behind Walter Johnson’s 1913 and just ahead of Christy Mathewson’s 1908! The Prime 9 editors had to be on some pretty strong “don’t confuse me with the facts” medicine to miss this one!!

2) Rube Waddell – 1905; (27 – 10; 1.48 ERA; ERA+ 179; 27 CG; 7 SHO; 328 IP/ 231 H; 287 K/ 90 BB; 0.977 WHIP) – It didn’t take long for the new century to yield its first pitching star. Waddell’s blazing fastball dominated baseball for four years – 1902 – 1905. His single season mark of 349 Ks was not surpassed until Sandy Koufax. 1905 was his most dominant all-around year.

3) Mordecai Brown – 1906; (26 – 6; 1.04 ERA; ERA+ 253; 27 CG; 9 SHO; 277 IP/ 198 H; 144 K/ 61 BB; 0.934 WHIP) – “Three-fingered” Brown’s breaking pitches must have been something to behold! His duels with Christy Mathewson must have been something to watch! Don’t you think this season would have made the list if it had happened during our lifetime?

4) Randy Johnson – 2002; (24 – 5; 2.32 ERA; ERA+ 197; 8 CG; 4 SHO; 260 IP; 197 H; 334 K/ 71 BB; 1.031 WHIP) – “the Big Unit’s” best year puts him with elite company. – I’ll leave it to the readers to decide where this season ranks on the all-time list!

5) Lefty Grove – 1931; (31 – 4; 2.06 ERA; ERA+ 219; 27 CG; 4 SHO; 288 IP/ 249 H; 175 K/ 62 BB; 1.077 WHIP) – truly an amazing feat for the live ball era! But the peripheral stats keep it outside the top 10 – only 4 shutouts, 39 fewer hits than IP, less than 200 Ks, and a WHIP over 1.00.

6) Carl Hubbell – 1933; (23 – 12; 1.66 ERA; ERA+ 193; 22 CG; 10 SHO; 308 IP/ 256 H, 156 K/ 47 BB; 0.982 WHIP) – I put this season here to show the direct parallel with lefty Grove’s ’31. Hubbell was the “other” dominant pitcher of the era, only in the NL. The “meal ticket” and his screwball were arguably just as dominant.

7) Bob Feller – 1946; (26 – 15; 2.15 ERA; ERA+ 153, 36 CG; 10 SHO; 371 IP/ 277 H; 348 K/ 153 BB; 1.158 WHIP) – Feller burst onto the scene before the war, but it was in ’46 that he put it all together – his last great dominant year. The 10 shutouts, the almost 100 fewer hits than IP, and 348 Ks put him in this discussion.

8) Juan Marichal – 1966; (25 – 6; 2.23 ERA; ERA+ 167; 25 CG; 4 SHO; 307 IP/ 228 H; 222 K/ 36 BB; 0.859 WHIP) - style and control personified, a K/BB ratio rivaling Maddux’ ’95 mark, and a WHIP better than Koufax and Gibson’s best years – all while pitching 307 innings!

(Marichal received not a single vote for the Cy Young award for this season! So much for the award being a measure of a pitcher’s greatness!)

9) Dazzy Vance – 1924; (28 – 6; 2.16 ERA; ERA+ 174; 30 CG; 3 SHO; 308 IP/ 238 H; 262 K/ 77 BB; 1.022 WHIP) Dazzy Vance was the most dominant pitcher of the 20s. During the advent of the live ball era, Vance not only won the triple crown (W, ERA, Ks), but also led the league in CG, K/BB ratio, IP/H ratio, K/9 innings, ERA+, and WHIP. That’s domination!

These are seasons I feel also need attention and recognition when talking about the best ever because of their historical significance. They obviously can’t all fit in a Prime Nine count down. But perhaps some do?

I thought they might be of some interest to students of the game while considering this topic.

I am sure there are other terrific seasons I have not included.

How would you rank the best seasons ever by a starting pitcher?

The Top Pitchers of the (Steroids?) Era: 1990-2009

Jonathan Stilwell — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:00:50 -0400

These are the pitchers we all know. They have dominated the starting pitching world for the most part of the last 20 years. It does feel like the end of an era, with so many of these pitchers coming to the end of brilliant careers.

We’ve seen continued strikeout dominance, incredible exploration into pitching efficiency, a throwback to the “Golden Years” winning pitcher, and new heights with K/BB ratio and WHIP.

We’ve seen the expansion of the relief pitcher role into setup specialist and situational left and right-handed pitchers, leaving the starting pitcher free of real responsibility to end what he started.

We’ve seen a dominant starting pitcher become a dominant closer, and then return to be a dominant starter late in his career. It has been an historic period for the starting pitcher.

I refrain from detailed ranking and evaluation for different reasons. One, some of these pitchers are still rounding out their careers. Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz are all planning to pitch this year in varying capacities. I hesitate to put an exact ranking on their careers, there being so much finality about the judgment.

Second is the healthy skepticism that surrounds many performances from this era because of the use of performance enhancing substances—steroids and HGH. Three pitchers studied for this article have already been linked to usage.

How do we evaluate their careers? From what we know, many top performers have been involved with using. Can we assume all of our other pitchers are without blame here? We may never know the answer to this with any complete certainty.

My conclusions are that records are records. They were accomplished within the game, and need to stand on the merit of the accomplishment, and be understood within the context of the period. Some batting records and pitching records were accomplished with aid. Also, a skepticism with historical perspective should be brought to understanding the accomplishments of this era.

The Epic, All-Time Greats

Greg Maddux

(355-227; 3.16 ERA; ERA+132; 35 SHO; 109 CG; 5008 IP/ 4726 H; 3371 K/ 999 BB; 3.37 ratio; WHIP 1.14; Neut. Stats: 360-200; ERA 3.02; WHIP 1.116)

Maddux pitched the majority of his career for the Cubs and Braves and finished up with the Padres and Dodgers.

Maddux was an artist with the baseball. He was always prepared, studying the opposing batters and developing a strategy for each hitter and for the game at hand. His peak came in the mid '90s when he won four Cy Young awards in a row—’92–’95. His career follows a natural arc of uptake, peak, and gradually declining skills that could be studied as an example.

Randy Johnson

(295-160; 3.26 ERA; ERA+137; 37 SHO; 100 CG; 4039 IP/ 3249 H; 4789 K/ 1466 BB; 3.27 ratio; WHIP 1.167; Neut. Stats: 299-159; 2.94 ERA; 1.10 WHIP)

After making his illustrious career with the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and Yankees, “the Big unit” is pitching for the Giants this year. Johnson has had an overpowering fastball and a slider. At 6’ 10” he is an imposing figure on the mound, and has intimidated his share of batters with his no-nonsense demeanor and 100+ mph fastball.

Johnson is the top lefty from this era. He is approaching 300 wins this year. His strikeout total is second all-time, and his K ratio to IP is an all-time mark for starting pitchers. Johnson won five Cy Young Awards, beginning in 1995.

Roger Clemens

(354-184; 3.12 ERA; ERA+ 143; 46 SHO; 118 CG; 4916 IP/ 4185 H; 4672 K/ 1580 BB; 2.96 ratio; WHIP 1.17; Neut. Stats: 373-181; 2.79 ERA; 1.099 WHIP)

Clemens pitched for Boston, Toronto, the Yankees, and Houston during his career. Clemens had overpowering stuff. He developed a split-fingered fastball as his “out” pitch part-way through his career. He won an unprecedented six Cy Young awards for his pitching exploits.

Roger was being lauded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time (his numbers support this conclusion) until allegations of steroid use surfaced about two years ago. Now, baseball history will have to sort out his place—ranking and HOF.

Pitchers of All-Time Significance

Pedro Martinez

(214-99; 2.91 ERA; ERA+ 154; 17 SHO; 46 CG; 2782 IP/ 2173 H; 3117 K/ 752 BB; 4.14 ratio; 1.05 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 221-94; 2.66 ERA; .993 WHIP)

Martinez broke in with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but came to prominence with the Montreal Expos and the Boston Red Sox before recently finishing a contract with the New York Mets. Along the way, Pedro has won three Cy Young awards.

Pedro always had incredible “stuff” on his pitches. He possessed a plus fastball, change-up, and curve, using varying angles for each pitch to confuse batters. His approach yielded incredible ratios for IP/ H, K/ IP, K/BB, ERA, and ERA+. His physical delivery placed a heavy amount of torque on his shoulder and arm. After delivering one of the greatest all-time peaks in baseball history, 1998–2000, Pedro has succumbed to arm problems of late. His 3,000 Ks, career ERA+ of 154, and other ratios make him an all-time great and HOF worthy despite his relatively short career.

Tom Glavine

(305-203; 3.54 ERA; ERA+ 118; 25 SHO; 56 CG; 4413 IP/ 4298 H; 2607 K/ 1500 BB; 1.74 ratio; 1.314 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 285-208; 3.44 ERA; 1.291 WHIP)

Glavine defined pitching excellence with the Atlanta Braves during the '90s. He teamed with Greg Maddux and John Smoltz to form one of the greatest pitching staffs in history, himself winning the Cy Young award twice.

Known for his cool demeanor and precision pitching, Glavine won 20 games five times on his way to 300+ wins. Never overpowering, Glavine relied on moving his pitches inside and out, up and down. He worked the outside part of the plate perhaps more than any other pitcher, often getting called strikes hitters questioned. But he rarely gave in, accepting 1,500 BB along the way. Glavine is one of only a handful of left-handed pitchers to win 300 games.

More Likely HOF Pitchers

John Smoltz

(210-47; 3.26 ERA; ERA+ 127; 16 SHO; 53 CG; 3395 IP/ 2979 H; 3011 K/ 992 BB; 3.04 ratio; 1.17 WHIP; Neut. Stats; 233-148; 3.20 ERA; 1.15 WHIP)

Smoltz pitched for the Atlanta Braves since 1988 until signing with the Red Sox this offseason. He is one of the great competitors of the game and rises to big game challenges.

He won the Cy Young award in 1996 with 24 wins. After undergoing Tommy John surgery, he agreed to work as the Braves' closer, and began his closing career the last part of 2001. In 2002, he logged 55 saves. Smoltz was fearless on the mound, going after the toughest hitters, and for long stretches was virtually unbeatable. After two more standout seasons as a closer, he petitioned to return to the starting rotation in 2005. He pitched three more excellent seasons as a starter before his injury last season. Smoltz is the only pitcher in baseball to have 200 wins and 150 saves.

Curt Schilling

(216-146; 3.46 ERA; ERA+ 127; 20 SHO; 83 CG; 3261 IP/ 2998 H; 3116 K/ 711 BB; 4.38 ratio; 1.137 WHIP; neut. Stats; 224-141; 3.15; 1.080 WHIP)

Schilling has made his sterling career with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox. He is currently a free agent and has spoke of wanting to pitch again this year. With a postseason record of 11–2, Schilling is known as one of the best postseason pitchers. He helped lead the Diamondbacks to the world series title in 2001, and the Red Sox in 2004.

Possessing pinpoint control, and a split-fingered fastball as on out pitch, he has established the highest K/ BB ratio of all time. He perhaps reached his peak in 2001–2002 with Arizona, winning 22 and 23 games. He struck out over 300 batters three times.

Mike Mussina

(270-153; 3.68 ERA; ERA+ 123; 23 SHO; 57 CG; 3562 IP/ 3460 H; 2813 K/ 785 BB; 1.19 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 247-161; 3.25 ERA; 1.11 WHIP)

Known as a winning pitcher, Mussina pitched for Baltimore and the Yankees from 1991–2008. Only once did he pitch a full season with a losing record. Mussina was known for excellent control, intelligence, and high style.

Not until his last year did he win 20 games. However, he won 17, 18, or 19 games six times. He was traded to the Yankees after his only losing season in 2000. Not really a strikeout pitcher, he did reach over 2,800 for his career. His 3.58 K/ BB ratio is historically significant.

The Best of the Rest

Kevin Brown

(211-144; 3.28 ERA; ERA+ 127; 17 SHO; 72 CG; 3256 IP/ 3079 h; 2397 K/ 901 BB; 2.66 ratio; 1.222 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 226-140; 3.19 ERA; 1.205 WHIP)

Brown was a highly effective pitcher for the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, and, later, the Padres and Dodgers. He had great movement on a tailing fastball, slider, and split-finger pitch.

He is perhaps best known for his postseason exploits, helping lead the Marlins to their first World Series title in 1997. Brown has been more recently attached to the Mitchell report and use of steroids while a Dodger.

David Cone

(194-126; 3.46 ERA; ERA+ 120; 22 SHO; 56 CG; 2898 IP/ 2504 H; 2668 K/ 1137 BB; 2.35 ratio; WHIP 1.256; Neut. Stats: 196-133; 3.33 ERA; 1.228 WHIP)

Cone was best known for pitching with the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals. He helped the Mets to the postseason in ’88, the Blue Jays in ’92, and the Yankees from ’95–2000.

Cone won the Cy Young award in 1994 with the Kansas City Royals. He led the NL in strikeouts in ’91 and ’92. Following a perfect game in July of ’99, he seemed to lose effectiveness, walking 90 batters that season. The next year was a disaster, 4–14, 6.91 ERA. Cone’s days as an effective starter were over, and his last efforts to pitch came in 2003.

Bret Saberhagen

(167-117; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 126; 16 SHO; 76 CG; 2562 IP/ 2452 H; 1715 K/ 471 BB; 3.64 ratio; 1.14 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 177-112; 3.17 ERA; 1.108 WHIP)

Saberhagen was an outstanding pitcher with the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox. He won the AL Cy Young award twice. He had outstanding control and great movement on his pitches.

Honorable Mention: David Wells, Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser, Chuck Finley, and Jamie Moyer.

The Next Generation

Ten for the next list—here are 10 up and coming pitchers well on their way to making the list as the top pitchers of the next generation: Johan Santana (109 W – 1587 K), C.C. Sabathia (117 W – 1393 K), Roy Oswalt (129 W – 1335 K), Roy Halladay (131 W – 1287 K), A.J. Burnett (87 W – 1278 K), Jake Peavy ( 86 W – 1256 K), Carlos Zambrano (96 W – 1172 K), Josh Beckett ( 89 W – 1131 K), Brandon Webb (87 W – 1063 K), and John Lackey (91 W – 1062 K).

Discussion on Evaluation

How do these pitchers and their stats fit in with what has previously been accomplished by the greats of the game?

We have been asked to bring understanding to evaluating pitching stats from previous eras. The modern dead ball era enabled pitchers to control damage with lower scoring games. Strikeouts were non-essential, but a flashy part of a pitcher’s repertoire. Most pitchers reserved their strength for the big moments, and were expected to complete a high percentage of the games they started. The shutout, however, was an important stat of dominance.

The initial live ball era saw scoring surge to new heights. Pitchers were tremendously challenged not to be engulfed by the offensive surge. There were careers of brief dominance, but very few who could maintain mastery over several years.

The raised mound era was kind of like putting pitchers on steroids, but within the rules of the game! The strike zone was enlarged as well. ERAs plummeted, high strikeout totals abounded, and K/BB ratios reached never before seen heights. Several careers were made from this brief six-year period in baseball history. Their records need to be understood within the context they were accomplished.

Now we have the steroid era, which history has not yet fully dealt with. The problems begin here when we start to evaluate and rank these pitchers not only within their era, but also across eras because of the unknown and uneven use of PEDs. We can’t assume every pitcher used some form of illegal aid to produce their career numbers. But it’s obvious some did. I would be naïve to think it was only Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Kevin Brown.

How could PEDs help a pitcher? He doesn’t need bulk or power strength to hit a baseball further. The use of HGH enables the body to recover more quickly from the normal wear and tear of the grind of pitching. This becomes especially valuable to the pitcher trying to recover say from an arm injury—rotator cuff, or any muscular injury. Also, it becomes especially valuable to the pitcher recovering between starts.

When the pitcher begins to age, it becomes more difficult to get ready for the next start, and he decides to use HGH. His body is rejuvenated. He pitches with the vigor he had five or six years earlier because of his muscles being charged and ready to go.

Also, the pitcher is aided by increased leg strength. He gains more stability and drive toward the plate. Also, his shoulder is able to handle the increased torque placed on it for breaking balls. The pitcher has more control over his pitches. They break more sharply.

So a cursory examination into the potential benefits shows how PEDs could help a pitcher prolong the peak of a career and reach new levels of effectiveness.

Natural counter measures to suspect use do exist. Players physically train their bodies to withstand the punishment of the baseball season. We know Roger Clemens used a very stringent personal workout program. We know Greg Maddux’ body never broke down over 5,000 innings of pitching!

Second is the psychological factor. Pitchers know they can go all out from the beginning of the game. When they run out of gas, the manager brings in the middle inning relievers. But he is able to pitch at peak effectiveness for five to seven innings without the responsibility of being expected to finish the game.

These two factors can account for some ratio enhancement. Also, all of these pitchers have tremendous natural skills without ever considering the use of PEDs.

What I did find in this era were ceiling breaking marks of ERA+ and K/BB ratio. Before, when we saw record breaking ERAs, and a group of pitchers breaking before set K/BB records, it was because of the raised mound. Now, we find career marks in these categories beyond previous set records.

Are these career marks the natural progression of tremendous skill aided by advanced training and going all-out until the relief corps takes over? Or was a little something extra added to the mix? I’ll leave that for history and the reader to sort out.

A cursory check of ERA+ records across the eras reveals that the dead ball era (1901–1921) produced several historically low marks: Walter Johnson +147, Ed Walsh +146, Addie Joss +142, Mordecai Brown +138, and Christy Mathewson +135. This makes sense because low ERAs were a product of the period.

From the beginning of the live ball era until now we have: Lefty Grove +148 and Carl Hubbell +130—bulwarks against the offensive onslaught of the time; Whitey Ford +133, Sandy Koufax +131, Tom Seaver +127, Bob Gibson +127, and Jim Palmer +126. This is a sampling of the best marks across the history of baseball from 1901–1990.

The other category we need to keep in mind is the K/BB ratio. The best marks from each era are as follows:

Dead Ball era: Christy Mathewson 2.96, Rube Waddell 2.88

Live Ball era: Dazzy Vance 2.43, Carl Hubbell 2.31

Golden Years: Robin Roberts 2.61

Raised Mound: Juan Marichal 3.25, Koufax 2.93, Drysdale 2.91, and Bunning 2.86.

Post–Raised Mound: Ferguson Jenkins 3.20, Bert Blyleven 2.80

So we see that when pitchers had aid—with the dead ball or with the raised mound—the K/BB ratios were higher. The two listed in the most recent era, 1969–1990, stand out from their contemporaries. The other greats were closer to Robin Roberts’ mark.

Conclusions

History will need to ferret out the truth regarding PED use in this era. Certainly, there have been many great accomplishments both in total wins and strikeouts, as well as ERA+ and K/ BB ratios. There may not be quite the depth in excellence there was in the previous generation, but a solid eight or nine HOF candidates is still pretty good depth.

The Future

How will standards for excellence change with the modern use of the starter? This has begun already. There will still be emphasis on wins and strikeouts, but ratios like ERA+, K/ BB, OBP percentage, and WHIP will become more important. Totals like complete games and shutouts are less relevant today. I still think relative longevity will remain important if not essential to the resume of a great pitcher.

We have been through two generations of establishing 3,000 Ks as a career mark of distinction (beginning with Bob Gibson). I think we need to begin to acknowledge this as a benchmark achievement, like 300 wins, 3,000 hits or 500 HRs.

Also, the complete game shutout remained a significant historical stat until around 1985. The leaders on this list are the most dominant pitchers of all time. The shutout totals should be a strong factor to HOF consideration. Any total over 50 should be deemed HOF worthy. Forty-five to 50 shutouts is still very strong and should gain the attention of the HOF voters.

The Nine All-Time Greats Of The Post-Raised Mound Era: 1969: 1990

Jonathan Stilwell — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:08:12 -0500

The Nine All-Time Great Pitchers of the Lowered Mound – Divisional Baseball era: 1969 – 1990

(And the best of the Rest)

As I grew up and followed baseball through this era, I was aware of all these pitchers. I played a Sports Illustrated game from 1970 that kind of imprinted all of the players stats from that year on my mind. The combination of tv broadcasting, radio, baseball magazines and sportswriters made a combined impression of players’ greatness. The media lauded some player’s exploits to legendary status. About others there were more differing opinions, and some toiled long and hard without getting the spotlight they deserved.

After the 1968 season baseball executives reacted to the dominance pitchers displayed. The lack of run scoring in particular led the powers that be to reverse the rules change of 1963. The mound was physically lowered 5”, and the umpires were instructed to shrink the strike zone. Pitching was heading into a new era.

The lowered ERAs, incredible strikeout totals, and never before seen K/BB ratios of the raised mound era all left new levels of expectation on pitching excellence. Since the live ball era beginning in 1921, only Warren Spahn (363), Lefty Grove (300), and Early Wynn (300) had won 300 games. Would the new demands on strikeouts and excellence cause pitching longevity to go by the wayside?

Pitchers rose to the challenge presented by the raised mound era in a big way! More runs were being scored in the new era, but the depth of pitching excellence displayed is equalled perhaps only by the deadball era pitchers! Later I will list 27 pitchers who displayed some form of mastery in their careers that could have been considered among the top 15 or so statistical pitchers from any previous era.

Bob Gibson had a few good years '69 - '74, but for the most part the great pitchers of the previous era were finished by the early 70s. Having been ranked as the #2 pitcher of the previous era, Bob Gibson will not be ranked in this article. (He would certainly cause the number in the title to change to 10!)

There were 9 pitchers who truly separated themselves with their accomplishments. They didn’t just have long careers, or win games, or have low ERAs, or a lot of strikeouts, or great K/BB ratios, or prevent fewer hits than innings pitched, or have significant shutout totals. Many of these pitchers did everything well!

8 of these 9 reached 4500 innings – 4 topped 5000!

8 of these 9 passed 3000 Ks, a mark previously reserved for Walter Johnson (3508), and more recently Bob Gibson (3117). (This began setting 3000 Ks as a career mark worthy of the HOF.)

7 of the 9 topped 50 shutouts, pretty much an automatic HOF #, or should be! 4 more from the era had 45 or more!

6 of these 9 won 300 games! 6 more won between 250 and 300.

8 pitchers completed over 200 games.

7 of the 9 surpassed a K/BB ratio of 2.00 – the historical mark of excellence.

7 of the 9 had a career ERA+ of 115 or better.

So whether you are measuring with stats of dominance, longevity, or quality, all were present for these 9 greats of the era.

Neutralized Stats offered at Baseball Reference are a great tool for making comparisons of pitchers’ careers because it puts the pitchers on an even playing field. Adjustment is made for the ballpark a pitcher worked in and provision for historical average run support. It gives you a good feel for just how effective a pitcher was! Did a pitcher ride the coattails of a powerful offense to amass large win totals, or pitch in a severe pitcher’s park, aiding his ERA? Or did a pitcher suffer from poor run support, but pitched great quality ball? The answers to these questions are largely revealed by the neutralized stats. I included neutralized W-L, ERA and WHIP in my pitcher evaluations along with actual W-L, ERA, ERA+, shutouts, complete games, innings pitched/hits allowed, Ks/ BB, ratio, and WHIP.

Having lived through the era, I, like any fan of the period, had preconceived impressions of the relative greatness of these pitchers. So I determined to throw out my pre-judging, and let the #s speak for themselves. Having determined to list 27 pitchers and somehow rank them, I ran into trouble making judgment calls between so many pitchers. Desiring to be fair in evaluating and comparing these careers, I developed a point system to aid in separating the best from the rest.

I will preface listing the point system by saying this is by no means a flawless comparison system. But it is an arbitrary evaluation of each category, to emphasize the all-around excellence that prevailed as the theme for this era. It was evenly applied to every pitcher’s career total. The point total will be listed last after the pitcher’s stats. As in real life, emphasis is given to wins, but all aspects are given attention.

Neutralized wins ; 1 pt for each 5 wins over 200.

1 point for each 10 real wins over 200. (rounded to nearest 10)

1 point for each 10 real wins more than losses. (rounded to nearest 10)

Neutralized ERA ; 1 pt. for each .05 +/- from 3.70.

ERA+ ; 1 point for each % point over 100.

1 pt. for each shutout over 30.

1 pt. for each 100 hits fewer than innings pitched.

1 pt. for each 100 Ks +/- 2000.

K/BB ratio; 1 pt. for each .1 in ratio +/- 2.00.

1 pt. each 10 complete games +/- 150 for the career.

Neutralized WHIP; 1 pt. for each .010 +/- 1.300

1) Tom Seaver – (311 - 205; 2.86 ERA; ERA+ 127; 61 SHO; 231 CG; 4782 IP/ 3971 H; 3640 K/ 1390 BB; ratio 2.62; WHIP 1.12; Neut. Stats: 330-196; 3.12 ERA; 1.18 WHIP; 170 points) was the leading pitcher for this era, and the one who most exemplifies all-around excellence. “Tom Terrific” was good at everything. He won 300 games, is 6^thon the all-time K list, is tied for the most shutouts of the era, and had the best ERA+ and WHIP.

Tom Seaver began his career in 1967, winning the Rookie of the Year award with 16 wins, 18 complete games and an ERA of 2.76. In 1969 he led the “Miracle Mets” to the world series title. Along the way he won 25 games and the Cy Young award. He won 20 games 5 times and garnered two more Cy Young awards in 1973 and ’75.

Seaver had a unique combination of power and control. His delivery came straight over the top, using his legs to drive forward toward the plate. It was one of the most classic pitching deliveries in baseball history.

In 1977 he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, who had just finished winning back to back world series. Although he pitched well for his new club, he never made it back to the world series while he was there. After struggling in 1982, he was back with the Mets in ’83.

The White Sox plucked him off the waiver wire, and he won his 300^th game against the Yankees in 1985. He spent one season in Boston before retiring in 1987. He was inducted into the HOF in 1992 with 98.84% of the vote on the first ballot.

The Surprises! - the next four pitchers all finished within 5 points of each other following my point system, (138 – 133). The order is a little surprising, but I will list them according to how the points came out. (This is certainly not a flawless system), but I think it shows rather that these four great pitchers are relatively close in strength of their careers. The surprise here is that Nolan Ryan fits in a group at all, and that this is where Bert Blyleven finds his place.

Each of them has their individual strengths. Ryan and Steve Carlton were the power pitchers, and led with incredible strikeout totals (5714 and 4136). Gaylord Perry pitched 303 complete games, and had great all-around strength. He and Carlton have Cy Young awards. If it’s ERA+ (118) or K/BB ratio (2.80) you’re looking for then Blyleven is the leader. Ryan (61) and Blyleven (60) led in shutouts.

2) Bert Blyleven – (287 – 250; 3.31 ERA; ERA+ 118; 60 SHO; 242 CG; 4970 IP/ 4632 H; 3701 K/ 1322 BB; ratio 2.80; WHIP 1.19; Neut. Stats: 325 – 227; 3.37 ERA; 1.213 WHIP; 138 points) was born in the Netherlands, and was named AL rookie pitcher of the year in 1970 at the tender age of 20. For 6 straight years, from 1971 – 1976, he pitched over 250 innings and struck out over 200 batters, posting ERAs between 2.50 and 3.00. The Twins, his team, scored a total of 18 runs during his 15 losses in 1971. He won 20 games just once in 1973, when he pitched 9 shutouts, 325 innings, 25 complete games, struck out 258 batters, had a WHIP of 1.11 and still finished 7^th in the Cy Young award balloting!

He was traded to the Texas Rangers during the 1976 season, and in 1977 pitched a no-hitter for them. Bert has 8 career one hit games in his career.

In 1979 he was instrumental in helping the Pittsburgh Pirates of “We are Family” fame win the league championship series against the Reds and the world series against the Baltimore Orioles.

He continued on with the Cleveland Indians ’81 – ‘85, went back to Minnesota ’86 – ’87, pitching with them for the world series title in ‘87, and finished his career in California with the Angels. In 1989, at age 38, he pitched 242 innings, went 17 – 5 and won the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Beginning in 1979 and ’80 Bert struggled with various arm and neck injuries, but always seemed to find a way to reinvent his excellence. He maintained a high level of effectiveness late into his career. His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 was only matched in history by Christy Mathewson from the deadball era, and the high flying stats from the raised mound era (Marichal, Koufax and co.)

He is one of only 4 pitchers since the live ball era began (1921) to have 60 shutouts. 15 times he shut down the opposing team for the entire game while only getting one run of support himself. This leads all pitchers in the same time period.

His 3701 strikeouts are 5^th all-time. But what Bert Blyleven is perhaps most well-known for is his legendary curveball. Being inspired by watching Sandy Koufax pitch, he learned a curve with similar mechanics, and used it throughout his career. It has become the curve against which all others are compared.

3) Nolan Ryan – (324 – 292; 3.19 ERA; ERA+ 111; 61 SHO; 222 CG; 5386 IP/ 3923 H; 5714 K/ 2795 BB; 2.04 ratio; WHIP 1.247; Neut. Stats: 320 – 259; 3.62 ERA; 1.350 WHIP; 137 points) – the Texas gunslinger came up with the New York Mets, pitching his first full season in 1968. Ryan became known for his blazing fastball that seemed to rise on the way to the plate. He was regularly clocked at over 100 mph.

He became unhappy without a regular rotation spot in New York, and was traded to the California Angels for the 1972 season. His 329 Ks led the league, and were the first of 6 times he would break the 300 K mark for a season. The next year he broke Sandy Koufax season mark by one with 383 Ks. Ryan came into his own for the Angels, posting his highest IP and win totals for them from ’72 – ’79.

He pitched for the Houston Astros (1980 – ’88), and the Texas Rangers (’89 – ’93). Along the way he threw a record 7 no-hitters. His pitching became known as “the Ryan Express”. In that he was described as an unstoppable force, the nickname was quite accurate. He was still striking out more than a batter per inning, and throwing in the high 90s at age 46.

His 5714 Ks are first all-time, more than 900 ahead of Randy Johnson heading into the ’09 season. But his 2795 BB are also by far the most any pitcher has allowed. He was the hardest pitcher to hit in baseball history, allowing 1463 fewer hits than innings pitched. His 61 shutouts tie Tom Seaver for the most from this era, one of 4 pitchers with 60 or more since the live ball era began (1921).

4) Gaylord Perry – (314 – 265; 3.11 ERA; ERA+ 117; 53 SHO; 303 CG; 5350 IP/ 4938 H; 3534 K/ 1379 BB; 2.56 ratio; WHIP 1.18; Neut. Stats: 342 – 242; 3.40 ERA; 1.248 WHIP; 136 points) broke in with the San Francisco Giants in 1962. By 1966 he had won 21 games and was known as part of a 1 – 2 pitching force for the Giants along with Juan Marichal.

In 1972 he was traded to the Cleveland Indians, and went on to win the Cy Young award, leading the league in wins and IP. He pitched 4 years for the Indians, 3 for the Texas Rangers, and 2 more for the San Diego Padres to round out the decade. He is one of only 4 pitchers to win a Cy Young Award in both leagues (“78 for San Diego).

He won 20 games 4 times. He was especially renowned for doctoring baseballs, writing an autobiography titled “Me and the Spitter” in 1974. However, he was never suspended for his “illegal” activity until near the end of his career in 1982.

Gaylord Perry was excellent in many facets of his pitching. His 303 complete games and 342 neutralized are 1^st and 2^nd among pitchers from this era. He was strong in every category, exemplifying the all-around excellence theme. He was inducted into the HOF in 1991.

5) Steve Carlton – (329 – 244; 3.22 ERA; Era+ 115; 55 SHO; 254 CG; 5217 IP/ 4672 H; 4136 K/ 1833 BB; 2.26 ratio; WHIP 1.247; Neut. Stats: 336 – 237; 3.42 ERA; 1.297 WHIP; 133 points) pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1965 – ’71 and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1972 – 1985.

He established an effective career early on, pitching in the ’67 and ’68 world series. He became mostly identified with the Phillies, winning 20 games 6 times and winning 4 Cy Young awards. His most incredible season came in 1972 when he won 27 games, posted a 1.97 ERA, struck out 310 batters, and threw 30 complete games.

His fastball and slider were his “out” pitches. His slider was especially devastating. In 1980 Carlton led the Phillies to the world series and won the final game. Again in 1983, the Phillies won the NL pennant, but this time lost the world series.

Battling Nolan Ryan for the all-time K lead from ’82 – ’84, “Lefty” succumbed to arm problems after the ’84 season, and settled for 4136 for his career. Retiring 2^nd to Ryan in strikeouts, he is also connected to Ryan by posting the 2^nd most BB for a career (1833).

Carlton was inducted into the HOF on the first ballot in 1994. Steve Carlton was the first pitcher to win 4 Cy Young awards. He is the leading lefthander from this era, and an all-time great.

The rest of the 9 greats –

6) Ferguson Jenkins – (284 – 226; 3.34 ERA; ERA+115; 49 SHO; 267 CG; 4500 IP/ 4142 H; 3192 K/ 997 BB; 3.20 ratio; 1.14 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 2896 – 211; 3.45 ERA; 1.168 WHIP; 123 points) was born in Ontario, Canada. He later became the first Canadian inducted into the HOF.

Jenkins came to fame with the Cubs in the late 60s and early 70s, winning 20 games 6 years in a row (1967 – ’72). He won the NL Cy Young award in 1971.

In 1974, ’75, and ’78 – ‘81 he pitched for the Texas Rangers. He spent ’76, ’77 with the Boston Red Sox. Although an effective pitcher throughout his career, he never pitched a post-season game.

Jenkins topped the 3000 K mark. But his 997 BB make him the leading K/BB ratio pitcher of this era. His 267 complete games are second only to Gaylord Perry. He is the second, (Bob Gibson was the first), black pitcher to make these top ten lists.

7) Jim Palmer – (268 – 152; 2.86 ERA; Era+ 126; 53 SHO; 211 CG; 3948 IP/ 3349 H; 2212 K/ 1311 BB; 1.69 ratio; WHIP 1.18; Neut. Stats: 265 – 166; 3.21 Era; 1.264 WHIP; 106 points) was a leading pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles in ’66, ’69 – ’82. He joined with Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally to make one of the great all-time pitching staffs. In 1970 the Orioles had four 20 game winners including Palmer – a feat only matched by the 1920 White Sox.

Palmer won 20 games ’70 – ’73 and ’75 – ’78, winning Cy Young awards in ’73, ’75 and ’76.

Palmer was not a strikeout pitcher, but rather relied on his sinker and solid defense behind him to induce ground balls and prevent runs from scoring. His career ERA (2.86) is one of the lowest in the live ball era. His 53 shutouts speak to his dominance without high strikeout totals.

Jim Palmer has one of the more distinguished post-season careers. He pitched in 6 world series with the Orioles (’66, ’69-’71, ’79, ’83). His post-season stats include an 8 – 3 record, 2.61 ERA, 124 innings, 101 hits, 90 Ks, and 2 shutouts.

Jim Palmer is undoubtedly one of the great pitchers not only of this era, but of all-time. He was amazingly consistent and reliable during his prolonged peak (’69 – ’78). His pitching style was somewhat of a throwback to earlier eras, when strikeout dominance was less expected. His declining years came rather abruptly and put a quick end to his brilliant career, leaving his longevity #s short of the other 8 pitchers on this list. Also, his K/BB ratio (1.69) is rather low – he topped 90 BB 6 different years.

I have moved him two places higher than the point totals indicate for his post-season record. I am aware that a differing viewpoint of evaluation could put him even higher.

8) Don Sutton – ( 324 – 256; 3.26 ERA; ERA+ 108; 58 SHO; 178 CG; 5282 IP/ 4692 H; 3574 K/ 1343 BB; 2.66 ratio; WHIP 1.14; Neut. Stats: 309 – 260; 3.71 ERA; 1,237 WHIP; 115 points) pitched for the LA Dodgers from ’66 – ’80. He also pitched for Houston, Milwaukee, California, and Oakland, finishing his career back with the Dodgers in ’88.

Sutton was a product of one of the great pitching factories in baseball – the Los Angeles Dodgers of the 1960s. During his peak years from ’71 – ’78, he won 19 games twice and 21 games in 1976. His best year was probably ’72 when he won 19 games, pitched 9 shutouts, allowed only 186 hits in 272 innings, had 207 Ks against 63 BB, and posted an ERA of 2.09.

His longevity is remarkable. He is 7^thall-time in IP (5282) and 7^th in Ks (3574). His 58 shutouts demonstrate his high quality of pitching, and are 5^th among pitchers in the live ball era. He fits the profile of the pitcher demonstrating all-around excellence, posting a 2.66 K/BB ratio, winning 324 games, and a WHIP of 1.14 as well.

9) Phil Neikro – 318 – 274; 3.35 ERA; ERA+ 115; 45 SHO; 245 CG; 5404 IP/ 5044 H; 3342 K/ 1809 BB; 1.85 ratio; 1.268 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 349 – 247; 3.41 ERA; 1.283 WHIP; 110 points) was a mainstay of the Braves pitching staff for 20 years.

Niekro’s best seasons came in ’69 (23 – 13; 2.56 ERA), and ’74 ( 20 – 13; 2.38 ERA). He finished second to Tom Seaver in the Cy Young balloting in ’69.

Phil Niekro’s incredible longevity can be attributed to his soft-tossing knuckleball. His 121 wins after the age of 40 are still a major league record. He threw over 200 innings 19 times! His 5404 innings are the most of any pitcher in the live ball era.

He combined with his brother, Joe Neikro (211 wins), to top the win list by any brother tandem in history (539 wins). Phil was beloved by the Atlanta crowd because of his loyalty to the team, despite many losing seasons. Along the way, Phil won 5 gold gloves.

He reached the post-season twice, in ’69 against the Mets, and ’82 against the Cardinals. He pitched well, but was unable to come away with a win.

These 9 pitchers separated themselves from the rest. But there was also depth of excellence in this era as well. Below you will find a breakdown of 18 more pitchers who had excellent careers. There are 200 game winners, 2000 K artists, and pitchers with 30 or more shutouts. These were all marks of excellence in previous eras. The pitchers ranked 26th and 27th turned out to be 200 game winners. (Some other 200 game winners did not make the list – Joe Niekro, Jim Perry, and Charlie Hough.)

#s 10 – 27:

10) Luis Tiant - (229 - 172; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 114; 49 SHO; 187 CG; 3486 IP/ 3075 H; 2416 K/ 1104 BB; 2.19 ratio; WHIP 1.19; Neut. Stats: 222 – 158; 3.43 ERA; 1.232 WHIP) 72 points.

11) Tommy John – (288 - 231; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 110; 46 SHO; 162 CG; 4710 IP/ 4783 H; 2245 K/ 1259 BB; 1.78 ratio; WHIP 1.283; Neut. Stats: 289 – 225; 3.61 ERA; 1.346 WHIP) 55 points

12) Jim Kaat - (283 - 237; 3.45 ERA; ERA+107; 180 CG; 31 SHO; 4530 IP/ 4620 H; 2461 K/ 1083 BB; 2.27 ratio; 1.259 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 266 – 222: 3.68 ERA; 1.307 WHIP) 43 points

13) Mickey Lolich – ( 217 – 191; 3.44 ERA; ERA+ 105; 41 SHO; 195 CG; 3638 IP/ 3366 H; 2832 K/ 1099 BB; 2.58 ratio; 1.227 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 205 – 184; 3.81 ERA; 1.305 WHIP) 42 points

14) Catfish Hunter – ( 224 – 166; 3.26 ERA; ERA+ 104; 42 SHO; 181 CG; 3449 IP/ 2958 H; 2012 K/ 954 BB; 2.11 ratio; WHIP 1.134; Neut. Stats: 194 – 174; 3.82 ERA; 1.249 WHIP) 35 points

15) Dave Stieb – (176 – 137; 3.44 ERA; ERA+ 122; 30 SHO; 103 CG; 2895 IP/ 2572 H; 1669 K/ 1034 BB; 1.61 ratio; 1.245 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 200 – 127; 3.25 ERA; 1.202 WHIP) 34 points

16) Frank Tanana – ( 240 – 236; 3.66 ERA; ERA+ 106; 34 SHO; 143 CG; 4188 IP/ 4063 H; 2773 K/ 1255 BB; 2.21 ratio; 1.27 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 245 – 216; 3.78 ERA; 1.295 WHIP) 32 points

17) Ron Guidry – (170 – 91; 3.29 ERA; ERA+ 119; 26 SHO; 95 CG; 2392 IP/ 2198 H/ 1778 K/ 633 BB; 2.80 ratio; 1.184 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 159 – 107; 3.34 ERA; 1.193 WHIP) 31 points

18) Jack Morris – 254 – 186; 3.90 ERA; ERA+ 105; 28 SHO 175 CG; 3824 IP/ 3567 H; 2478 K/ 1390 BB; 1.78 ratio; 1.296 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 229 – 204; 3.82 ERA; 1.283 WHIP)30 points

19) Jerry Koosman – ( 222 – 209; 3.36 ERA; ERA+110; 33 SHO; 140 CG; 3839 IP/ 3635 H; 2556 K/ 1198 BB; 2.13 ratio; WHIP 1.259; Neut. Stats: 230 – 188; 3.62 ERA; 1.319 WHIP) 30 points

20) Dennis Martinez – ( 245 – 193; 3.70 ERA; ERA+ 106; 30 SHO; 122 CG; 3999 IP/ 3897 H; 2149 K/ 1169 BB; 1.84; 1.266 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 245 – 210; 3.76 ERA; 1.283 WHIP) 25 points

21) Vida Blue – ( 209 – 161; 3.27 ERA; Era+ 108; 37 SHO; 143 CG; 3343 IP/ 2939 H; 2175 K/ 1185 BB; 1.83 ratio; WHIP 1.233; Neut. Stats: 200 – 163; 3.70 ERA; 1.332 WHIP) 23 points

22) Rick Rueschel – ( 214 – 191; 3.37 ERA; ERA+ 114; 26 SHO; 102 CG; 3548 IP/ 3588 H; 2015 K/ 935 BB 2.16 ratio; 1.275 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 225 – 168; 3.47 ERA; 1.294 WHIP) 21 points

23) Steve Rogers – ( 158 – 152; 3.17 ERA; ERA+ 116; 37 SHO; 129 CG; 2837 IP/ 2619 H; 1621 K/ 876 BB; 1.85 ratio; 1.232 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 1892 – 132; 3.45 ERA; 1.290 WHIP) 20 points

24) Mike Cuellar – ( 185 – 130; 3.14 ERA; ERA+ 109; 36 SHO; 172 CG; 2808 IP/ 2535 H; 1632 K/ 822 BB; 1.98 ratio; 1.197 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 165 – 133; 3.68 ERA; 1.314 WHIP) 18 points

25) Dave McNally - ( 184 – 119; 3.24 Era; ERA+ 106; 33 SHO; 120 CG; 2730 IP/ 2488 H; 1512 K/ 826 BB; 1.83 ratio; 1.214 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 156 – 136; 3.79 ERA; 1.329 WHIP) 0 points

26) Bob Welch – ( 211 – 146: 3.47 ERA; ERA+ 106; 28 SHO; 61 CG; 3092 IP/ 2894 H; 1969 K/ 1034 BB 1.90 ratio; 1.270 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 179 – 162; 3.82 ERA; 1.347 WHIP) -7 points

27) Jerry Ruess – ( 220 – 191; 3.64 ERA; ERA+ 100; 39 SHO; 127 CG; 3669 IP/ 3734 H; 1707 K/ 1127 BB; 1.69 ratio; 1.325 WHIP; Neut. Stats: 204 – 196; 3.97; 1.398 WHIP) -8 points

Discussion –

Luis Tiant is the bridge between the greats and the rest. His 3.30 ERA – ERA+ of 114, 49 SHO, 2400+ Ks, and post-season success indicate a HOF worthy career.

Tommy John and Jim Kaat are ideal candidates for the veteran’s committee. They have traditionally inducted pitchers with high win totals. (Burleigh Grimes, Red Ruffing, Eppa Rixey, etc.)

Catfish Hunter’s HOF induction certainly was the benefit of world series and large market media exposure. Although he had several good years, his #s have a hard time holding up to his HOF contemporaries – especially in neutralized stats.

Jack Morris has 254 wins and not too much else to hang his hat on. His #s do not stand out among his contemporaries.

Mickey Lolich was a very good pitcher who may have fallen a few wins short of strong HOF consideration. His 1968 post-season exploits are certainly memorable.

All of these pitchers had many different incredible seasons and excellent careers. (We didn’t even get to look at Fernando Valenzuela!)

The list is just a way to show the depth of the era, and the relative strength of the different careers.

The case of Bert Blyleven – lack of run support masked the greatness of what he was accomplishing in the 70s. By the early 70s when he broke in, sportswriter’s attention was already rapt on Seaver, Palmer, Perry, Gibson, Carlton, Catfish Hunter leading his team to the world series, and the new unheard of strikeout totals being put up by Nolan Ryan. It wasn’t hard to miss the curveball artist, toiling away out in Minnesota, when he put up W – L records like 17 – 17 (twice), 16 – 15, or 20 – 17. When it came time for the Cy Young voting, writer’s attention was easily diverted elsewhere. When he did get a chance to pitch in the post-season, Bert shined, going 5 – 1 with a 2.47 ERA. But Blyleven was clearly doing something special with his incredible curve – pitching 8 one-hitters, fifteen 1 – 0 shutouts, and a no-hitter in ’77. The neutralized stats begin to give us a glimpse of what his pitching was truly about – 325 – 227 with one of the best ERA+, WHIP, and K/BB ratios of his era accomplished over 4970 innings. There is no denying that he was not only one of the great pitchers of his era, but also one of the greats across the history of the game. He deserves voting induction to the HOF with a healthy dose of attention to his overlooked career!

The Top Ten Pitchers Of The "Golden Years" and The Raised Mound Era: 1946-1968

Jonathan Stilwell — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:01:37 -0500

This period, post - WWII, witnessed great domination by the Yankees, and the advent of integration in baseball. The Tigers, Phillies, Giants, Dodgers, Indians, White Sox, Braves, Cardinals, Pirates and Reds all saw glimpses of success, but it was usually the Yankees that they had to beat.

Not until the Yankees collapse in 1965 were other teams free of their shadow, (at least for 12 years). The last part of this era, during the mid 60s, is when I started following box scores and standings in the newspaper and reading biographies of historical players. I have vivid memories of watching the '67 World Series with my mom, and admiring players on both sides.

The pitchers on this list fall into two categories: those who toiled and won during the "Golden Years", 1946 - 1962, and those whose careers took off when the mound was raised and the strike zone made larger, 1963 - 1968.

The first period coincides with our country's baby-boom and unmatched prosperity. The game continued on unhurried, enjoyed great popularity, and witnessed integration and the advent of baseball on TV.

The second period coincides with social and racial upheaval and the Vietnam War. The game witnessed expansion and picked up a frenetic pace as pitching dominance spread like wild fire.

The best pitchers drove pitching records and excellence to new heights. Even Whitey Ford and Warren Spahn (age 42), who were close to finishing their careers in 1963, received a boost with 24 and 23 win seasons.

To comparatively evaluate careers, I looked primarily at several categories and ratios: wins, ERA, ERA+, shutouts, IP/H, Ks and K/BB ratio, and WHIP. Secondarily, I considered longevity, peaks of dominance, post-season success and awards. My focus is on the total career.

The Best Golden Years Pitchers:

During this era the emphasis in pitching was to win, however possible. Bob Feller blazed his way to 348 strikeouts in 1946, but by 1948 he was no longer throwing 100 mph, and had to find other ways to win.

The best pitchers from this era had good pitches, and struckout their share of batters, but depended on their ability to "pitch". They protected leads, kept hitters guessing, changed speeds, and saved a little something extra for when they needed it.

One pitcher stands out from this time with a career that spans across the era.

1) Warren Spahn - (363 - 245; 3.09 ERA; ERA+ 118; 63 shutouts; 5243 IP/ 4830 H; 2583 Ks/ 1434 BB; ratio 1.80; WHIP 1.195). From 1947 - 1963 Spahn pitched for the Boston Braves, who later moved to Milwaukee

He was known for a very high leg kick, which he used to hide his pitch selection and hold runners on base. Not a strikeout pitcher, Spahn used an assortment of pitches, later developing a screwball and change-up. He sought to upset the batter's timing by out-thinking the opponent.

Spahn won 20 games 13 times! He led his team to pennants in 1948, '57 and '58. In 1957, he won the Cy Young award. By the end of his career he had edged past Bob Feller into 3rd on the all-time strikeout list (2583K). His 363 wins and 63 shutouts are the most of any pitcher in the live ball era since 1920.

2) Bob Feller - (266 - 162; 3.25 ERA; ERA+ 122; 44 SHO; 3827 IP/ 3271 H; 2581K/ 1764 BB; 1.46 ratio; WHIP 1.34) came blazing into baseball before the war, but pitched more years and helped his team to prominence post-war.

His best years were 1939-'41, 1946. His incomparable fastball was the talk of the league. His 348 Ks in 1946 fell one short of the single season mark held by Rube Waddell since 1904. Feller continued to pitch effectively for Cleveland even after his fastball lost its zip.

He helped the Indians to the AL pennant in 1954 before he retired in 1956. Bob Feller lost four years to the war, ages 23 - 27. I wonder how many pitchers would still make the HOF if they lost those four years, a pitcher's usual peak, from their career? It's mind boggling to imagine what kind of numbers those peak years might have produced for him.

Looking at his pre-war rates, one could add 80 wins and over 1000 Ks, perhaps making him the greatest pitcher of his era. As it is, he is still one of the best. Bob Feller was inducted into the HOF in 1962.

3) Whitey Ford - (236 - 106; 2.75 ERA; ERA+ 133; 45 SHO; 3170 IP/ 2766 H; 1956 Ks/1086 BB; 1.80 ratio; WHIP 1.215) joined the Yankees pitching staff in 1950 and by 1955 was the ace.

A lefty, Ford had fine control, and always kept batters guessing what was coming next. He was consistently effective year after year for the Yankees, controlling runs scored and enjoying large W - L percentages. His ERA and winning percentage lead pitchers in the live ball era since 1920.

He won the Cy Young award in 1961, and was often a post-season hero for the Yankees many world series appearances. After his retirement Ford admitted to doctoring baseballs with the help of his catcher Elston Howard. He was inducted into the HOF in 1974.

4) Robin Roberts - (286 - 245: 3.41 ERA: ERA+ 113; 45 SHO; 4688 IP/ 4582 H; 2357 K/ 902 BB; 2.61 ratio; WHIP 1.17) Pitched for the 1950 Phillies "Whiz Kids", and led the team to their first pennant in 35 years. He won 20 games six years in a row, and at one point pitched 28 consecutive complete games!

He was a workhorse on the mound, completing 305 games in his career. His K/BB ratio of 2.61 is tops for the "Golden Age" pitchers, and the best since Christy Mathewson. It shows his great command and control.

In 1952, after winning 28 games, he was named Sporting News Player of the Year. He narrowly missed winning the triple crown the following year. He was inducted in the HOF in 1976.

5) Early Wynn - (300 - 244; 3.54 ERA; ERA+ 107; 49 SHO; 4564 IP/ 4291 H; 2334 Ks/ 1775 BB; 1.31 ratio; WHIP 1.329) pitched for Washington, Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox from 1939 - 1963.

Wynn possessed a blazing fastball and a tough attitude on the mound. He cultivated the image of meanness, once saying he would brush back his grandmother if need be.

He led the American League in IP in 1951, ‘54, and ‘59, had five 20 win seasons and 290 complete games. After he was traded to Cleveland in 1948, he learned to throw a curve, slider, changeup and knuckleball from his pitching coach, Mel Harder. By 1950, he led the league in ERA.

He remained a primary pitching force the rest of the decade, winning the Cy Young award with the Chicago White Sox in 1959. He totaled the most strikeouts during the decade (1544). Adept with the bat, he often pinch hit for his teams. Like Lefty Grove, his 300^thwin was the last game he pitched. He was inducted into the HOF in 1972.

6) Billy Pierce - (211 - 169); 3.27 ERA; ERA+ 119; 38 SHO; 3306 IP/ 2989H; 1999 K/1178 BB; 1.70 ratio; WHIP 1.260) was a leading pitcher for the White sox 1951 - '62.

A lefty and slight of build, he used a big wind up and dipped his back shoulder during his pitching motion. Pierce became known for his match-ups against Whitey Ford, highlighting the rivalry between the White sox and Yankees. (They faced each other 14 times.)

He was AL pitcher of the year in 1956 and 1957, was a 7 time all-star, and helped lead the White sox to a pennant in ‘59. And the Giants in ‘62. His 1999 Ks were fifth most by a lefty when he retired. He was a significant pitcher in his era.

The Best of the Raised Mound Era - 1963 - 1968 -

After an offensive explosion in 1961, baseball executives determined to give some advantage back to the pitcher. They raised the mound five inches and made the strike zone larger. By 1963, the changes were in effect, and the era of the pitcher was underway! Strikeout totals soared, ERAs plummeted, and HOF careers were made.

As an example of pitchers new found dominance, from 1965 - 1970 "Sudden" Sam Mc Dowell, one of the great strikeout pitchers of the era, posted 1652 Ks, averaging 275 per season!

This was more than anyone recorded for the entire decade of the 50s. Pitching records moved ahead at a furious pace, as opposed to the more leisurely pace baseball took in the 50s. Dominance became the key word.

1) Bob Gibson - (251 - 174; 2.91 ERA; ERA+ 127; 56 SHO; 3884 IP/ 3279 H; 3117 K/ 1336 BB; 2.33 ratio; WHIP 1.18) dominated hitters both with his slider and his stare. His performance in the ‘67 world series led to the series MVP.

His performance in 1968 led to the league MVP award, and may never be duplicated. He had an ERA of 1.12, 13 shutouts and 28 complete games! The 17 Tigers he struck out in game one of the ‘68 series is still a record. Gibson continued with success after the mound was lowered in 1969, and won a second Cy Young award in 1970.

He was the second pitcher in history to reach 3000 Ks. In addition to his pitching prowess, he was an excellent hitter, and won 9 gold gloves for his fielding. A knee injury quickly caught up to him in 1974, and by 1975 he retired. He was inducted into the HOF in 1981.

2) Juan Marichal - (243 - 142; 2.89 ERA; ERA+ 123; 52 SHO; 3507IP/ 3153H; 2303 K/ 709 BB; 3.25 ratio; WHIP 1.10) was the leading pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in the 1960s.

He was known for his high leg kick, concealing the pitch selection. His debut on July 19, 1960 was a one-hit shutout of the Phillies with one BB and 12 Ks. He won 20 games 6 of seven seasons from 1963 - 1969, with his highest ERA at 2.76.

Despite winning more games than any other pitcher during the decade (191), he received not a single vote for the Cy Young award. His exceptional control led to an amazing 3.25 K/BB ratio. This is the highest ratio among any pitcher since 1901 to his retirement in 1975. (Among pitchers studied for top ten of each era).

An allergic reaction to a shot of penicillin in 1970 led to severe back pain and crippling arthritis. He managed one more good year in 1971. He was a nine time All-Star. He was inducted into the HOF in 1983.

3) Sandy Koufax - (165 - 87; 2.76 ERA; ERA+ 131; 40 SHO; 2324 IP/ 1754 H; 2396 K/ 817 BB; 2.93 ratio; WHIP 1.11) pitched from 1955 - 1966 for the Brooklyn/ Los Angeles Dodgers. After a slow start to his career and two very good years in ‘61 and ‘62, his career took off in 1963.

He won the Cy Young Award that year, and again in ‘65 and ‘66. He was the league MVP in ‘63 and won the triple crown in each of his Cy Young seasons. His 2396 Ks were second among left-handed pitchers upon his retirement.

Painful arthritis in his left elbow led to his retirement after the ‘66 season. He is one of very few pitchers to record more than one K per IP for their careers. His ‘63, ‘65 and ‘66 seasons were dominance personified. This is one of the most significant peaks any pitcher has posted in baseball history.

He captured the imagination of fans and sportswriters, gaining legendary status from his four dominant years. He was rewarded for his exploits by HOF induction in 1972.

4) Don Drysdale - (209 - 166; 2.95 ERA; ERA+ 121; 49 SHO; 3432 IP/ 3046 H; 2486 Ks/ 855 BB; 2.91 ratio; WHIP 1.15) used a sidearm fastball to intimidate hitters. His 154 hit batters are still a NL record. His 25 wins in 1962 led to a Cy Young award.

In 1968, he pitched 58 consecutive scoreless innings, the record at the time. He teamed with Sandy Koufax to form one of the most dominant pitching duos in history. His success began a couple of years before Koufax, and he finished his career in 1969. He went on to broadcast games for the Dodgers, and was inducted into the HOF in 1984.

5) Jim Bunning - (224 - 184; 3.27 ERA; ERA+ 114; 40 SHO; 3760 IP/ 3433 H; 2855 K/ 1000 BB; 2.855 ratio; WHIP 1.18) Is serving as a U.S. Senator from the state of KY since 1998. His career began in 1955 with the Tigers.

He later pitched for the Phillies, Pirates and Dodgers. He had a good curve and was said to be sneaky fast. He put up several good seasons until the rule changes in 1963 gave his career a late surge.

He won 19 games three straight years and his highest K totals came from these years with the Phillies from 1963 - 1967. His 2855 Ks were second to Walter Johnson’s 3508 when he retired in 1971. He was inducted into the HOF in 1996.

NOTES -

A note on ERA+. It is a good tool to show a pitcher’s effectiveness, but is best used when comparing pitchers with similar career lengths.

You can’t really take pitcher "A" who pitched 3000 innings and posted an ERA+ of 130 and say he was a greater pitcher, (because of this stat), than pitcher "B" who posted and ERA+ of 117 but pitched a much more rigorous 4600 innings. It just doesn’t wash.

Pitcher "B" accomplished over half again as much work as pitcher "A" - and it is not "compiling" or "accruing". Pitcher "B" was striving for excellence each time on the mound, and may have worked through arm problems or any number of difficulties that normally come up in those 1600 extra IP.

Chances are he found some sort of excellence on the other side of difficulties along his way. ERA+ is not an automatic ranking system. When evaluating a pitcher’s career for ranking, you still have to look at the whole body of work - career totals and quality stats.

The mighty strikeout! First, we must acknowledge that from 1901 - 1963 striking out was one of the worst things you could do as a hitter. It was against "baseball religion." Secondly, the best pitchers throughout these three eras amassed the most strikeouts. (This is kind of like the all-time shutout list.)

Entering the post-war era, the top of the all-time strikeout list looked like this:

1) Walter Johnson 3508

2) Cy Young 2803

3) Christy Mathewson 2502

4) Rube Waddell 2316

5) Lefty Grove 2266

6) Eddie Plank 2246

7) Grover Alexander 2198

8) Bobo Newsom 2082

9) Dazzy Vance 2045

10) Red Ruffing 1987

Pitchers from the live ball era had barely dented the top 5 (Lefty Grove). 2000 Ks was still a significant total for a career. Even Pierce’s 1999 and Ford’s 1956 were historically significant at the time.

Our "Golden Years" aces began to make inroads on the list, spearheaded by the feats of Bob Feller. He ended up passing Mathewson for third.

When the Golden Year’s pitchers finished their careers, the top 10 included Warren Spahn - 2583, Bob Feller - 2581, Robin Roberts - 2357, and Early Wynn - 2334. That was quickly about to change as Gibson, Bunning, Drysdale, McDowell, Koufax, and Marichal all began to make a mark.

By the time the "raised mound" pitchers finished their assault on the K records, there were five new members to a new top 10:

1) Walter Johnson 3508

2) Bob Gibson 3117

3) Jim Bunning 2855

4) Cy Young 2803

5) Warren Spahn 2583

6)Bob Feller 2581

7) Christy Mathewson 2502

8) Don Drysdale 2486

9) Sam McDowell 2453

10) Sandy Koufax 2396

Only three names remained from the list from 1945. Walter Johnson’s record still seemed to be set on Mt. Olympus. New standards and expectations were being set for top pitchers to accomplish. Now the dominance of the strikeout had become an important stat.

K/BB ratios - In the dead ball era the very best showed their stuff:

1) Mathewson 2.96

2) Waddell 2.88

3) W. Johnson 2.57

4) Alexander 2.31

5) E. Plank 2.10

The best of the live ball era showed Dazzy Vance at 2.43 and Carl Hubbell at 2.31. The ERA's leading pitcher, Lefty Grove posted a K/BB ratio of 1.91.

Bob Feller’s and Early Wynn’s high BB rates, along with their blazing fastballs, seem reminiscent of pitchers like Bobo Newsom (2082/1732), and Amos Russie (1950/1707). All of their numbers were soon to be dwarfed by Nolan Ryan.

Spahn and Ford’s 1.80 looks quite normal for very good pitchers historically. Robin Roberts 2.61 was the best since the live ball era began in 1920!

The dominance of the 1963 - 1968 period shows up remarkably in K/BB ratios. The ceiling for the live ball era was broken again and again.

Marichal - 3.25, Koufax - 2.93, Drysdale - 2.91, and Bunning - 2.855 posted ratios not seen since the dead ball era. Only Christy Mathewson and Rube Waddell could manage with a dead ball what the raised mound enabled these pitchers to accomplish!

This ERA also witnessed the integration of baseball. Bob Gibson and Juan Marichal are the first men of color to jump onto any era’s top ten list. But overall, breaking into the pitching ranks was a slower process than the field positions.

Juan Marichal not receiving a single vote for the Cy Young award during the 60s is a disgrace to the game and the voters for the award during that time! But it is probably indicative of the resistance Latin Americans received during the 60s.

What? Put the lists together you say? I hear you! - lol

This presents difficulties because of the change in the nature of the game. The greatness these pitchers achieved needs to be taken in context. This period (1963 - 1968) should be viewed with respect for the accomplishments achieved, but with a similar adjusted understanding that we use to judge the records of the dead ball era.

These five pitchers excelled above the rest of their time. Both Gibson and Marichal showed they could maintain excellence after the mound was lowered - Bunning and Drysdale not so much.

Koufax left no evidence in this area other than the two years preceding the rule changes. I fully expect a discussion of Koufax ranking to ensue in the comments(!) I will say here that it is based on his total career.

Also, I am aware that varying values can be placed on different aspects of a pitcher’s career. This usually centers around the debate of longevity and total numbers vs. quality stats like ERA+ and K/BB ratio.

The combined list:

1) Warren Spahn

2) Bob Gibson

3) Juan Marichal

4) Bob Feller

5) Whitey Ford

6) Robin Roberts

7) Early Wynn

8) Sandy Koufax

9) Don Drysdale

10) Billy Pierce and Jim Bunning

In closing let me say that Billy Pierce had a truly excellent career in historical perspective up to the time of his retirement. It was probably overshadowed by the frenetic records breaking that surrounded the period when he retired.

He was one of the top pitchers of his time, (better than Bob Lemon and Hal Newhouser who are in the HOF), and deserves attention from the veteran’s committee.

The Top 10 Pitchers from the Live Ball Era: 1923-1945

Jonathan Stilwell — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:27:31 -0500

As a youth, I read biographies about Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mel Ott. I knew many of our great position players made their careers during this era: Rogers Hornsby, Jimmy Foxx, Charlie Gehringer. I'd heard of some of the pitchers they faced: Dizzy Dean, Waite Hoyt, Red Ruffing, Dazzy Vance, Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Bucky Walters and more, but I didn't know how their careers stacked up individually, or in comparison to each other.

So I have endeavored to make sense of the stats, pull out who I feel are the top ten pitchers from the era, and introduce them to the casual baseball historian such as myself.

This era witnessed a great hitting explosion. Consequently the pitching stats reflect the offensive emergence induced by the "live ball". ERAs skyrocketed. It was common for pitchers to give up more hits than innings pitched. Flame throwers burned out their arms after meteoric careers (Dizzy Dean, Lefty Gomez). Careers were shortened by the war. Others were shortened by how quickly the offensive era caught up to their skills.

This era did not produce any prolific careers of epic proportion—nobody reached 4500 innings. Anybody who pitched that long in this era had to be successful, and they were—Eppa Rixey ranks 29th all-time in IP (4494.2), and leads the era as well. Many of these innings came before 1923. So the pitcher who actually leads IP within the era is Red Ruffing (4344).

One could say many pitchers "survived" the era, rather than maintaining any true excellence or mastery throughout their careers.

So right up front I want to give honorable mention to the pitchers right outside my list who pitched many outstanding and significant seasons; many of whom are in the Hall of Fame, but who all gave up more hits than innings pitched for their careers—Larry French, Herb Pennock, Paul Derringer, Bobo Newsom, Waite Hoyt, Charlie Root, Freddie Fitzsimmons, Burleigh Grimes, Ted Lyons, Red Faber, Dutch Leonard, and Mel Harder (In no particular order).

Obviously some careers overlapped eras. I tried to look at when they did their most significant work, and when the impact of their careers took place.

For example, Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes and Eppa Rixey all overlapped with the preceding era, but did much of their significant work in the '20s (Red Faber less so) so as to be included here. On the other end one significant case needs to be mentioned. Cleveland's Bob Feller hit the majors with a jolt before WWII. But I felt the impact of his career came mostly after the war, when he pitched more years and had an effect on the rising success of his team.

Because of the nature of the era, I dug past win totals and looked at shutouts, ERA & ERA+, IP/H (+/-), and K/BB ratio. In general, I acknowledged awards, peaks, and streaks of dominance, but took the career as a whole in making my rankings.

There are two pitchers who stand out as the best of the era. Their dominance, excellence throughout their careers, and accomplishments put them on a higher level than the rest.

1) Lefty Grove - (300 - 141; 3.06 ERA; ERA+ 148; 35 SHO; IP/H +91; K/BB - 2266/1187) pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox of the American League during his career, which began in 1925. He had already established a remarkable career in the minor leagues.His contract was sold to Connie Mack for over $100,000, the largest such transaction for a player to that date.

In 1928 he began one of the most remarkable peaks any career has ever seen. For five years, his W-L total came to 128-33! Not once did his ERA exceed 3.00, and his ERA of 2.06 in 1931 not only led the league, but was less than half the league average ERA! For his career he led the league in ERA and ERA+ 9 times. He also led his era in strikeouts with 2266.

Grove was serious about his pitching, becoming known for his temper in the dugout. Grove finished the second part of his career with Boston in 1941, reaching 300 wins exactly. He was the only pitcher of this era to reach 300 wins, and rightfully places as the best of his era.

2) Carl Hubbell - (253 - 154; 2.98 ERA; ERA+ 130; 36 SHO; IP/H +129; K/BB - 1677/725) pitched for the NY Giants and was the most dominant pitcher in the NL during this time. He is best known for striking out the first five batters he faced in the 1934 All-Star game and for his screwball. Carl had tremendous control and his K/BB ratio is second only to the ratio posted by the shortened career of Dizzy Dean. He was awarded the NL MVP both in 1933 and 1936.

The next two pitchers I placed here on the list in honor of their two most prolific careers. They are similar in the length of their careers and that they were inducted into the HOF via the veteran's committee.

3) Red Ruffing - (273 - 225; 3.80 ERA; 109 ERA+; 45 SHO; IP/H +60; K/BB - 1987/1541) pitched for the mighty Yankees beginning in 1930, and won the second most games of any pitcher of this generation. He remained consistently good, winning 20 games four straight years from 1936 - 39. His 1987 Ks rank 4th in the era. He helped the Yankees to several world series titles. His 4344 IP are the most pitched within the era.

4) Eppa Rixey - (266 - 251; 3.15 ERA; ERA+ 115; 37 SHO; IP/H -139; K/BB - 1350/1082) a good-natured "gentleman" of the game was a 6'5" finesse pitcher who relied on keeping his fastball down and out-thinking batters. He endured most of his career on second division teams, but seemed to take it all in stride, really coming into his own in Cincinnati in the '20s.

His 266 wins are the most for a left-hander in the National League until surpassed by Warren Spahn in 1960. His 4494 IP are the most on this list. He was elected to the HOF in 1963, but died before being inducted.

The next group on my list of top ten pitchers from this era rate very closely. They all pitched less than 3500 innings, posted win totals just under 200, but maintained excellence and mastery during their careers. It would be easy to interchange the rankings 5 - 9, but here's how I broke it down:

5) Dazzy Vance - (197 - 140; 3.24 ERA; ERA+ 125; 29 SHO; IP/H +157; K/BB - 2045/840) broke in with the Dodgers in 1922 at the age of 31! Vance had pitched 10 years in the minor leagues, often burning out his arm during seasons. Finally, with the solution of an extra day's rest between starts, he established success and became the dominant strikeout pitcher of the 1920s, leading the National League 7 years in a row, 1922 - 1928.

Vance used a high leg kick, unusual delivery and a blazing fastball to intimidate hitters. He was league MVP in 1924 with 28 wins, 262 Ks, an ERA of 2.16, and 30 complete games. He compiled 2045 Ks against only 840 BB, a tremendous ratio for his time. He was elected to the HOF in 1955.

6) Tommy Bridges - (194 - 138; 3.57 ERA; ERA+ 126; 33 SHO; IP/H +151; K/BB - 1674/1192) pitched for the Detroit Tigers from 1930 - 1946. He helped them to 4 pennants during his career, winning 20 games 3 straight years, 1934-36. Of slight build, Bridges possessed great stuff, with a blazing fastball. But it was his "drop off the table" curveball that devastated American League hitters for over a decade. His +151 IP/H allowed is one of the best marks in the era.

7) Bucky Walters - (198 - 160; 3.30 ERA; ERA+ 115; 42 SHO; IP/H +114; K/BB 1107/1121) Actually broke into the majors as an infielder in 1933. He switched to pitching in 1934 with the Phillies. He had a side-arm delivery and relied on a sinking fastball.

After a trade to Cincinnati in 1938, he helped his team to two straight pennants in 1939 - 40, going 27 - 11 and 22 - 10. His 42 shutouts are second only to Red Ruffing in this era.

8) Lefty Gomez - (189 - 102; 3.34 ERA; ERA+ 125; 28 SHO; IP/H +213; K/BB - 1468/1095) Was known for his colorful personality and his exceptional fastball. He teamed up with Red Ruffing to form the Yankees R/L pitching force of the 1930s. He has a 6-0 record in world series appearances.

He won the triple crown of W, ERA, and Ks in 1934 and 1937. He lost his velocity on his fastball after developing arm problems, engendering his comment, "I'm throwing as hard as I ever did, the ball's just not getting there as fast."

He retired at age 33, and was inducted into the HOF in 1972.

9) Lon Warneke - (192 - 121; 3.18 ERA; ERA+ 119; 30 SHO; IP/H +56; K/BB - 1140/739) the "Arkansas Hummingbird", pitched for the Cubs and Cardinals from 1930 - 1943, then join the military. He won 20 games three times and helped the Cubs to the world series twice.

He was second in MVP voting in 1932 when he led the league in wins (22) and ERA (2.37). He was selected to the first All-Star team and was a 5X all-star. He was also an outstanding fielder, going 163 straight games without an error. He was an effective pitcher right up until his enlistment.

He served as a NL umpire after the war, and worked world series and all-star games. He makes this list because of his all-around excellence.

10) Dizzy Dean - (150 - 83; 3.02 ERA; ERA+ 130; 26 SHO; IP/H +48; K/BB - 1163/453) Was the face of the St. Louis Gas House Gang. His animated personality, and boasting of exploits yet to be achieved, were endless fodder for sportswriters and fans. His career travelled like a meteor through the 1930s, and was over after essentially only six full seasons.

His 1934-35 seasons mark one of the truly great peaks in baseball history: 58 wins, 627 innings, and an ERA+ of 159 and 135. His career mark of 1163K against only 453 BB tops the era in ratio. He retired at age 30 to become a broadcaster for the St. Louis Browns. He was inducted into the HOF in 1953.

Notes

Many pitchers left the game between 1941-'45 to serve our country. Most were unable to continue with the success they had before the war. Tommy Bridges, overlooked after the war by his team, the Tigers, who were focusing on a youth movement, went on to win an ERA title, albeit in the Pacific Coast league - oops. the war shortened many careers.

It was common for pitchers to allow more hits than innings pitched. Even successful HOF pitchers like Herb Pennock (-329) and Waite Hoyt (-275) were not close to breaking even.

The era's strikeout artists were Lefty Grove (2266), Bobo Newsom (2086), and Dazzy Vance (2045).

The K/BB leaders were Dizzy Dean (1163/453), Dazzy Vance (2045/840), Carl Hubbell (1677/725), and Paul Derringer (1507/761).

It was exciting to learn about the pitching stars and characters of this era. I had not been aware of Tommy Bridges and Lon Warneke in particular. I believe they were somewhat overlooked in their time.

Sportwriters voted for the dominance of Grove and Hubbell and the character and peak of Dean, and Herb Pennock ('48), while the Veteran's committe has focused on win totals, inducting Eppa Rixey (1963), Ted Lyons ('64), Red Faber, Red Ruffing ('67), Burleigh Grimes ('64), Waite Hoyt ('69), and Lefty Grove '72).

Meanwhile, pitchers like Bucky Walters, Tommy Bridges and Lon Warneke have fallen through the cracks.

The Modern Deadball Era's Top Ten Pitchers (1901- 1923)

Jonathan Stilwell — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:08:25 -0500

Baseball historians acknowledge 1901 as the beginning of modern baseball. Most recognize that as the start date for comparing stats—pitching and hitting.

As a baseball fan pouring over the all-time wins or shutouts lists, I realized that I could identify most names that I didn't know much about as coming from the "early" years of baseball, but didn't know if they were pre-modern baseball, or form the modern 'dead ball" era—1901-1923.

I knew some names like Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson, who were mainstays at the top of most historian's all-time greatest pitcher lists, but knew I didn't know enough about Grover Alexander (90 shutouts), or Eddie Plank (69). I was determined to study the exploits of the best pitchers of the modern dead ball era (1901-1923), and extract a comparative list of the best that generation had to offer.

The first step was to eliminate the pitchers who's main career impact came before 1900. Going down the all-time wins list I found out that the majority of the players I did not know came from the pre-1900 period: Pud Galvin, Kid Nichols, Keefe, Clarkson, Radbourn, and Welch all won 300+ games.

Continuing on down the win list, the pre-1900 generation included Mathews (297) and five more who could be found at 250 wins or above.

That brought me quickly as to how to deal with Cy Young, who's career overlapped the pre and modern eras. His career started in 1890, but some of his best years came after the modern era began. Some of his ERAs, 3.78 and 3.94, seemed very high for the period, and several years he pitched over 350 innings and gave up many more hits than innings pitched.

His legendary win totals, innings totals, the less than well-known teams he played for all seem to point to a player whose roots were in the pre-modern era. This caused me to limit his ranking only to his influence and numbers post-1901.

I had been under the impression that the modern dead ball era had been full of 300 game winners, who pitched a ton of innings every year and had microscopic ERAs because of the lack of the power game.

Outside of Young, discussed above, this generation produced only four 300 game winners. Walter Johnson (417 wins), Christy Mathewson, Grover Alexander (373 wins), and Eddie Plank (326) are the greats of this generation. Along with Young, they also top the all-time shutouts list!

So these paragons of the game top the list of the greatest pitchers from their generation:

1) Walter Johnson—generally considered the No. 1 pitcher of all-time for his 110 shutouts, 417 wins, 3500+ Ks—not passed until the 1980s. He was the leading figure for the Washington Senators.

2) Christy Mathewson—(373 wins, 2.16 ERA, and 79 shutouts) Known for his control, "fade-away" pitch, and great performances leading the Giants to World Series titles.

3) Grover Alexander—(373 wins, 2.56 ERA, 90 shutouts) did his best pitching for the Phillies of 1911 - 1917. His 1915 season (31-10, 1.22 ERA was one of the greatest all-time) was a rebel, and later developed problems with alcohol, although maintaining an effective career til the end with the Cardinals 1927-1930.

4) Eddie Plank (best lefthander of the generation) (326 wins, 2.36 ERA, and 69 shutouts) he pitched for the Athletics and was a consistently effective pitcher thoughout his career. Although he was traded to the Yankees in 1918, decided to retire rather than report.

5) Cy Young—discussed above. 225 wins came after 1901 for five different teams.

These five are the only pitchers to break 300 wins. Between 250-300 wins, only Eppa Rixey (266) is from this generation, although much of his work came after 1923. The rest of the pitchers all had shorter careers—usually about 12-13 years of length. The next five on my list pitched with outstanding quality, if not longevity:

6) Mordecai "Three-finger" Brown—(239-130, 2.06 ERA, 55 shutouts) Known for his duels with Christy Mathewson—a mainstay for the Cubs—truly one of the greats of the game.

7) Ed Walsh—all-time leader with career ERA - 1.82, 57 shutouts, 195 wins. Was instrumental in helping design Comiskey Park's "pitching-friendly" dimensions.

8) Rube Waddell—his 307 Ks in 1904 were ahead of his time. 2316 Ks vs. only 803 BB demonstrated his terrific command. The leading power pitcher of his generation until "The Train." 2.16 ERA, 50 shutouts, and 193 wins to go along with his career.

9) Vic Willis—perhaps because he pitched for the Boston Beaneaters and the Pittsburgh Pirates, his 249 wins and 50 career shutouts were not recognized for the HOF until 1995.

10) Chief Bender—(212-127, 2.46 ERA, 40 shutouts) He was a mainstay on the Philadelphia Athletics of Connie Mack. He pitched alongside Eddie Plank. He was an interracial pioneer.

Honorable mention to Addie Joss, who maintained an amazing 1.89 career ERA for the White Sox in a too brief career. Also to Joe McGinnity, who amassed 246 wins between 1899 and 1908 for Joe McGraw's Giants.

Although it took too much time in many cases, the Hall of Fame has looked kindly on all of these pitchers, long careers and short. Perhaps this sets some historical precedent on how we might deal with the Hall of Fame worthiness of Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, John Smoltz, and Mike Mussina.

Why Bert Blyleven Belongs in the Hall of Fame

Jonathan Stilwell — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:58:48 -0500

Bert Blyleven toiled long and hard (4,970 innings worth) to produce a career of pitching excellence. It's time to give him his due, his Day in the Sun, by voting him into the Hall of Fame on this year's 2009 Hall of Fame ballot.

At first glance, it looks like Bert is just another pitcher who fell short of the magic 300-win plateau (287), pitched for a bunch of small market teams (Minnesota, Texas, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Minnesota again, and the California Angels), doesn't stand out with Cy Young awards, many All-Star game nominations, or 20 win seasons, and lost a bunch of games along the way (250).

It doesn't seem like he was a dominant pitcher. But let's take a closer look at Bert's place in baseball history.

Historically, wins have been the No. 1 measuring stick to a pitcher's greatness—they are the No. 1 factor in voting for Cy Young awards. 300 wins are considered a lock for the HOF (like 3000 hits).

287 is a lot of wins. It's 27th all-time, and only one eligible pitcher with more wins is not in the HOF—he pitched in the 1870s and 80s. There are atleast as many HOF starting pitchers with fewer wins as there are with more. Bert pitched a lot of low scoring games with poor run support. In 1971 he lost 15 games—the Twins scored a total of 18 runs in those 15 losses.

But what is a win? What does it mean to get a W? It means you pitched at least the first five innings of a game and you left with a lead and your team was not tied or did not lose the lead after you left.

We know in modern baseball that a starting pitcher may only pitch 6 innings and then the game is out of his control. The pitcher has no control over how many runs his team scores. A pitcher could surrender any number of runs and leave the game with a lead, and garner the W. It's certainly not an exact science when it comes to measuring a pitcher's career for the HOF!

One sabermetric stat has computed that with league average run support Bert would have 313 wins— Baseball Reference computes it to 325. But Bert unapologetically has 287, so let's look past the W at what kind of quality was Bert throwing up there, and what truly does make a dominant pitcher.

The first stat that probably jumps out of Bert's resume is his place on the all-time strikeout list. From 1970-1992 Bert amassed 3701 strikeouts, placing him 5th on the all-time list!

Although Bert was never what we term a strikeout pitcher today, his devastating curveball made getting a K a viable way for him to get an out. He totalled over 200 Ks several years in a row for the Twins in the 70s.

Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton totalled more Ks. In our generation, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens have passed his total. But several have not—Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Mike Mussina, Tom Glavine. Bert also surpassed many of his contemporaries deemed worthy of the HOF—Tom Seaver, Galyord Perry, Phil Niekro, Bob Gibson, Jim Palmer, Ferguson Jenkins, Catfish Hunter all finished HOF careers with fewer Ks than Bert's 3701.

It certainly isn't harder to strike out a batter today than it was in Bert's generation. 3000 Ks is becoming a measuring stick for greatness. Fewer pitchers have 3000 Ks than batters have 3000 hits. That said, is there a disparity in how we treat batting statistics as compared to those pitchers get? Would we keep a batter out of the HOF who was 5th on the all-time hits list?

No other eligible pitcher with more than 3000 Ks is not in the HOF.

Perhaps Bert's most impressive statistic is getting a little overlooked today because of the modern use of relievers. The complete game and complete game shutout are not easy to find during a typical season today.

During Bert's generation (1970-1990) the closer became a normal part of any successful baseball team. Bert threw more complete games (242) than Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver. But perhaps the single most indicative stat of a pitcher's greatness and dominance is the complete game shutout.

The all-time shutout list is a virtual who's who of the greatest pitchers of all-time. It's easy to see you don't get on this list by accident, a fluke or "accruing". The list is headed by Walter Johnson with an unbelievable 110 shutouts—probably the No. 1 reason he is considered the greatest pitcher of all-time. Next come Christy Mathewson, and Grover Alexander and a couple more greats form the dead-ball era.

However, since the live-ball era—circa 1921 to present, only 4 pitchers have 60 shutouts: Warren Spahn (63, sixth all-time), Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver with 61 (tied for seventh), and Bert Blyleven with 60 (ninth all-time, and fourth since 1921). No one on the all-time shutout list all the way down to 20th is not in the Hall of Fame.

This is indeed elite company!

To highlight his run support dilemma and show a little bit of his grit: Since 1925, Bert leads the way with the most shutouts of a 1-0 nature with 15.

Bert maintained a high quality of pitching throughout his career. He had great command of the strike zone. His career K/BB ratio of 2.80 is outstanding—especially for his generation. Among HOF pitchers circa 1970-1990 (Palmer, Perry, Niekro, Ryan, Seaver, Carlton, Hunter, Jenkins, Sutton, Gibson) it would place him second behind only Jenkins and ahead of Seaver and the rest.

I believe these are the stats that most highlight Bert's HOF worthiness. There is more—including a postseason record of excellence and his career ERA. But this is more than enough to place Bert with his contemporary greats in the Hall of Fame. No more years of toil in relative obscurity, being overlooked for awards and appointments without large market attention.

Tom Seaver's adjusted win total to league average run support (312), career Ks (3640), K/BB ratio (2.65), complete games (234), and shutouts (61) are eerily similar to Bert Blyleven's. He was voted into the HOF on the first ballot with the highest percentage to that date.

It's time to recognize Bert Blyleven's accomplishments by voting him into this year's 2009 Hall of Fame. It's time for Bert's Day in the Sun.