25 Most Impressive Starting Rotations in MLB History

A strong pitching rotation goes a long way.

Throughout Major League Baseball history there have literally been hundreds of four or five-man rotations that have dominated, making opposing hitters dread having to face them.

Some have more inflated numbers in early history due to the lack of many great hitters, while many in recent history have gone toe-to-toe with the game's best.

The following is the top 25 rotations of all time. The starting staff with the most wins in a season won't necessarily be in the top spot, nor the staff with the lowest combined ERA. All numbers will be taken into account for the top rotations of all time.

So, how many of your team's rotation will be in this list? Will your team even have a rotation in the list?

25. 1954 New York Giants

While not too flashy, the 1954 New York Giants' rotation got the job done.

Johnny Antonelli went 21-7 with a 2.30 ERA, 152 strikeouts and a 1.171 WHIP, while Ruben Gomez was 17-9 with a 2.88 ERA, 106 strikeouts and a 1.403 WHIP.

Sal Maglie was 14-6 with a 3.26 ERA, 117 strikeouts and a 1.337 WHIP, while Jim Hearn and Don Liddle combined for 17 wins and 89 strikeouts.

24. 1997 Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves had another successful starting staff in 1997 on the backs of John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Denny Neagle and Greg Maddux.

Really, is there any worry coming into the year when Maddux is your No. 4 starter?

Smoltz finished the year going 15-12 with a 3.02 ERA, 241 strikeouts and a 1.160 WHIP, while Glavine was 14-7 with a 2.96 ERA, 152 strikeouts and a 1.150 ERA.

Surprisingly, Neagle had the most wins of the group with 20, while only losing five games. He also had a 2.97 ERA, 172 strikeouts and a 1.084 WHIP. Maddux was 19-4 with a 2.20 ERA, 177 strikeouts and a 0.946 WHIP. That would have been good enough for the Cy Young Award, by Montreal's Pedro Martinez had just a little bit better of a year.

Sadly, the Braves didn't make it out of the National League Championship Series, as they fell to the eventual world champs - the Florida (now Miami) Marlins.

23. 2002 Atlanta Braves

Just to go ahead and be clear - it's going to sound like a broken record when mentioning many Atlanta Braves' teams. But, that's because when you have a core of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz, you're always going to have a dominant rotation.

In 2002, the rotation was minus Smoltz as he was the closer.

Glavine went 18-11 with a 2.96 ERA, 127 strikeouts and a 1.282 WHIP, while Maddux was 16-6 with a 2.62 ERA, 118 strikeouts and a 1.199 WHIP.

Joining the pair in the rotation were Kevin Millwood, Damian Moss and Jason Marquis.

Millwood went 18-8 with a 3.24 ERA, 178 strikeouts and a 1.157 WHIP, while Moss was 12-6 with a 3.42 ERA, 111 strikeouts and a 1.279 WHIP. Marquis struggled during the year, going 8-9 with a 5.04 ERA and 84 strikeouts.

Still, the top four put up good numbers to warrant the Braves 2002 rotation for inclusion.

22. 2002 Oakland Athletics

Anybody would've loved to have been Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane in the early 2000s.

And, with a rotation like he had in 2002, can you really blame people?

Beane had the likes of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito (when he actually pitched well), Cory Lidle and Aaron Harang in his starting five.

Hudson went 15-9 with a 2.98 ERA, 152 strikeouts and a 1.255 WHIP, while Zito was 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA, 182 strikeouts and a 1.134 WHIP. Those numbers were good enough for Zito to win the American League Cy Young Award that year.

Mulder went 19-7 with a 3.47 ERA, 159 strikeouts and a 1.143 WHIP. Lidle and Harang combined to go 13-14 with 175 strikeouts.

Although the last two weren't that impressive, Hudson, Zito and Mulder were lights out, helping Oakland get to the playoffs.

21. 1956 Milwaukee Braves

The 1956 Milwaukee Braves had a very formidable staff with Warren Sphan, Lew Burdette, Bob Buhl, Ray Crone and Gene Conley.

Spahn went 20-11 with a 2.78 ERA, 128 strikeouts and a 1.070 WHIP, while Burdette was 19-10 with a 2.70 ERA, 110 strikeouts and a 1.116 WHIP.

Buhl went 18-8 with a 3.32 ERA, 86 strikeouts and a 1.362 WHIP, while the combination of Crone and Conley went 19-19 with a 3.47 ERA and 141 strikeouts.

Sad thing for the Braves this year was they were beat out by the Brooklyn Dodgers by one game, thus ending their season instead of going to the World Series.

20. 1918 Boston Red Sox

Now, we start to get into the earlier years of baseball.

For the 1918 Boston Red Sox, who beat the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, they had Carl Mays, Bullet Joe Bush, Sad Sam Jones, Dutch Leonard and some kid named Babe Ruth in their starting rotation.

Mays was 21-13 with a 2.221 ERA, 114 strikeouts and a 1.060 WHIP, while Bush was 15-15 with a 2.11 ERA, 125 strikeouts and a 1.218 WHIP.

Jones went 16-5 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.201 WHIP, while Leonard went 8-6 with a 2.72 ERA.

This kid, Ruth, went 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.046 WHIP.

A few years later, Ruth went to hitting full time, picking up occasional mound victories during the rest of his career, to close at 94.

19. 1927 Philadelphia Athletics

The 1927 Philadelphia Athletics had five double-digit winners int their rotation with none having less than a .545 record.

Lefty Grove (pictured) went 20-13 with a 3.19 ERA, 174 strikeouts and a 1.258 WHIP, while Rube Walberg went 16-12 with a 3.93 ERA, 136 strikeouts and a 1.396 WHIP.

The other starters included Jack Quinn, who went 15-10 with a 3.26 ERA, Howard Ehmke, who went 12-10 with a 4.22 ERA, and Eddie Rommel, who went 11-3 with a 4.36 ERA.

Sam Gray also got to start a few games, going 9-6 with a 4.59 ERA.

18. 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

With six young starters, the 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers definitely had a team that could contend for a title.

The team was led by Don Drysdale, who went 25-9 with a 2.83 ERA and 232 strikeouts. Those numbers were good enough to win him the National League Cy Young Award that year.

Also in the starting staff were Johnny Podres, Stan Williams, Sandy Koufax, Joe Moeller and Peter Richert.

Podres went 15-13 with a 3.81 ERA, 178 strikeouts and a 1.337 WHIP, while Williams went 14-12 with a 4.46 ERA, 108 strikeouts and a 1.519 WHIP.

Koufax was No. 2 on the team, although his win total didn't show it, as he went 14-7 with a 2.54 ERA, 216 strikeouts and a 1.036 WHIP.

Moeller and Richert combined to go 11-9 with 121 strikeouts.

Unfortunately, they finished second in the National League, watching San Francisco take the National League's slot in the World Series.

17. 1913 New York Giants

With three 20-game winners, the 1913 New York Giants had a definite advantage on the mound.

Christy Mathewson led the way, going 25-11 with a 2.06 ERA, 93 strikeouts and a 1.020 WHIP.

Rube Marguard went 23-10 with a 2.50 ERA, 151 strikeouts and a 1.031 WHIP, while Jeff Tesreau compiled a 22-13 record with a 2.17 ERA, 167 strikeouts and a 1.209 WHIP.

Al Demaree rounded out the group, going 13-4 with a 2.21 ERA, 76 strikeouts and a 1.072 WHIP.

16. 1964 Chicago White Sox

The 1964 Chicago White Sox had four legitimate starters with two guys as fillers in the No. 5 spot.

Gary Peters led the way, going 20-8 with a 2.50 ERA, 205 strikeouts and a 1.173 WHIP, while Juan Pizarro went 19-9 with a 2.56 ERA, 162 strikeouts and a 1.038 WHIP.

Joe Horlen was in the No. 3 slot with a 13-9 record, a 1.88 ERA, 138 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.935. John Buzhardt went 10-8 with a 2.98 ERA, 97 strikeouts and a 1.156 WHIP.

Ray Herbert and Fred Talbot combined to win 10 games and strike out 74 batters.

15. 2003 Chicago Cubs

The 2003 Chicago Cubs are more known for the Steve Bartman incident than anything else.

However, when you look at the 2003 rotation, there was a strong staff that did a lot throughout the season.

On the staff were Carlos Zambrano, Mark Prior, Kerry Wood, Matt Clement and Shawn Estes.

Zambrano was 13-11 with a 3.11 ERA, 1.318 WHIP and 168 strikeouts, while Prior was 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA, 1.103 WHIP and 245 strikeouts. Wood was 14-11 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.194 WHIP and 266 strikeouts, while Clement was 14-12 with 4.11 ERA, 1.230 WHIP and 171 strikeouts.

As the No. 5 starter, Estes was 8-11 with a 5.73 ERA and 103 strikeouts.

As a team, the 1,404 total strikeouts by the entire roster is a Major-League record.

This starting staff was one of the most feared towards the end of the season, and provided them a big advantage in the playoffs.

What was once thought to be a dominating staff for the next decade, the top three broke up from the starting rotation three years later.

14. 2011 Philadelphia Phillies

A year after many thought this would be the greatest rotation of the all time, the 2011 version of the Philadelphia Phillies falls into the No. 15 spot on this list.

True, the Phillies had two of the games premier pitchers, but the rest of the rotation didn't produce the results needed to be in the top 10.

Roy Halladay went 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA, 220 strikeouts and a 1.040 WHIP, while Cliff Lee went 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA, 238 strikeouts and a 1.027 WHIP.

Cole Hamels had decent numbers, going 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA, 194 strikeouts and a 0.986 WHIP and Vance Worley, who was just supposed to be a spot starter, went 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA, 119 strikeouts and a 1.230 WHIP.

Roy Oswalt was the disappointment of the group, going 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA and 93 strikeouts.

Still, the 2011 Phillies deserved to be mentioned on the top 25 list.

The only thing I wonder is, without Worley doing what he did, would they even be in the top 25? Halladay, Lee and Hamels did what they always do, but this is about entire pitching staff.

I'll let you guys answer that.

13. 1907 Chicago Cubs

The 1907 Chicago Cubs were simply dominant.

Orval Overall went 23-7 with a  1.68 ERA, 141 strikeouts and a 1.006 WHIP, while Mordecai Brown was 20-6 with a 1.39 ERA, 107 strikeouts and a 0.944 ERA.

Carl Lundgren went 18-7 with a 1.17 ERA, 84 strikeouts and a 1.072 WHIP, while Jack Pfiester was 14-9 with a 1.15 ERA and a 0.979 WHIP.

Ed Reulback was 17-4 with a 1.69 ERA and a 1.099 WHIP, while Chick Fraser was the worst on the team, going 8-5 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.142 WHIP.

Those numbers aren't exactly what I would like to see if I was an opposing hitter. This team is easily ranked as one of the top staffs of all time, especially considering they only used eight pitchers the entire season.

12. 2003 New York Yankees

First off, I'll preface this by saying that I know those outside of New York will disagree with putting any Yankees' rotation on this list, but this one is deserving.

The 2003 Yankees had a rotation of Mike Mussina, David Wells, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Jeff Weaver.

Mussina went 17-8 with a 3.40 ERA, 195 strikeouts and a 1.081 WHIP, while Wells was 15-7 with a 4.14 ERA, 101 strikeouts and a 1.230 WHIP.

Clemens won 17 games with a 3.91 ERA, striking out 190 batters and garnering a 1.214 WHIP, while Pettitte was 21-8 with a 4.02 ERA, 180 strikeouts and a 1.330 WHIP.

Weaver brought up the rear with a 7-9 record and 93 strikeouts.

11. 2003 Oakland Athletics

In 2002, the Oakland A's pitching staff was good.

In 2003, it was even better.

Still in the rotation were Hudson, Zito and Mulder, while Ted Lilly and Rich Harden were added at the end this time around.

Hudson impressed again, going 16-7 with a 2.70 ERA, 162 strikeouts and a 1.075 WHIP, while Zito was 14-12 with a 3.30 ERA, 146 strikeouts and a 1.183 WHIP.

Mulder went 15-9 with 3.13 ERA, 128 strikeouts and a 1.179 WHIP, while Lilly was 12-10 with a 4.34 ERA, 147 strikeouts and a 1.329 WHIP. Harden rounded out the bunch, going 5-4 with 67 strikeouts.

While the numbers weren't overly impressive, the starters on this team were consistent and impressive considering they were on a team with only 11 of its 25 players making $1 million or more.

10. 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers

For a team that didn't have any big superstars on offense, the pitching staff took care of the glamor, combining for 69 wins between the four starters.

Sandy Koufax went 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA, 317 strikeouts and a 0.985 WHIP. The 1966 season would be his last season in the big leagues, but he did go out on top, winning the National League Cy Young Award.

Don Drysdale went 13-16 with a 3.42 ERA, 177 strikeouts and a 1.184 WHIP, while Claude Osteen went 17-14 with a 2.85 ERA, 137 strikeouts and a 1.261 ERA.

Don Sutton also had a good year for the Dodgers, going 12-12 with a 2.99 ERA, 209 strikeouts and a 1.081 WHIP.

However, the lack of offense showed in the World Series showed as the Baltimore Orioles swept the Dodgers for the title.

9. 1927 New York Yankees

The 1927 New York Yankees are mostly known for their offense.

However, what you might not have known is that they had a pretty good pitching staff as well.

Waite Hoyt went 22-7 with a 2.63 ERA, 86 strikeouts and a 1.155 WHIP, while Herb Pennock went 19-8 with a 3.00 ERA, 51 strikeouts and a 1.302 WHIP.

Urban Shocker was 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.240 WHIP, while Dutch Ruether was 13-6 with a 3.38 ERA.

Georgie Pipgras picked up 10 wins as the No. 5 starter and 81 strikeouts, and the team's closer, Wilcy Moore, went 19-7 with a 2.28 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 13 saves.

8. 1911 New York Giants

The 1911 New York Giants were a great bunch with Christy Mathewson and Rube Marquard.

Mathewson went 26-13 with a 1.99 ERA, 141 strikeouts and a 1.111 WHIP, while Marquard was 24-7 with a 2.50 ERA, 237 strikeouts and a 1.178 WHIP.

Joining Mathewson and Marquard on the staff were Rod Ames, Hooks Wiltse and Louis Drucke.

Ames went 11-10 with a 2.68 ERA, 118 strikeouts and a 1.098 WHIP, while Wiltse and Drucke combined for 16 wins and 134 strikeouts.

7. 1906 Chicago Cubs

The 1906 Chicago Cubs had one of the most impressive starting rotations in the first part of the 20th century.

with four pitchers with 17 or more wins, the Cubs got all but nine of their  wins from their six starters.

Mordecai Brown went 26-6 with an ungodly 1.04 ERA, 144 strikeouts and a 0.934 WHIP, while Jack Pfiester went 20-8 with a 1.51 ERA, 153 strikeouts and a 0.941 WHIP.

Ed Reulbach was 19-4 with a 1.65 ERA, 94 strikeouts and a 1.014 WHIP, while Carl Lundgren was 17-6 with a 2.21 ERA, 103 strikeouts and a 1.199 WHIP.

Jack Taylor and Orval Overall each went 12-3 and combined for 128 strikeouts.

6. 1986 New York Mets

This has to be one of my favorite rotations of all time just because of the names involved.

Dwight Gooden went 17-6 with a 2.84 ERA, 200 strikeouts and a 1.108 WHIP, while Ron Darling was 15-6 with a 2.81 ERA, 184 strikeouts and a 1.198 WHIP.

Bob Ojeda was 18-5 with a 2.57 ERA, 148 strikeouts and a 1.090 WHIP, and Sid Fernandez was 16-6 with a 3.52 ERA and 200 strikeouts. Rick Aguilera rounded out the starting rotation with 10 wins and 104 strikeouts.

The season ended great for the Mets as well as they beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games in the World Series.

5. 1951 Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians' 1951 rotation was dominant as well, helping the team finish five games out of first to the New York Yankees.

Leading the rotation was Bob Feller, who went 22-8 with a 3.50 ERA, 111 strikeouts and a 1.338 WHIP, while Early Wynn was 20-13 with a 3.02 ERA, 133 strikeouts and a 1.217 WHIP.

Mike Garcia also went 20-13 and had a 3.15 ERA, 118 strikeouts and a 1.264 WHIP, while Bob Lemon was 17-14 with a 3.52 ERA, 132 strikeouts and a 1.397 WHIP.

The 1951 Indians were only the second best in team history, only to be outdone by another Indians' rotation a few years later.

4. 1993 Atlanta Braves

Ah, back to the Atlanta Braves and their stables in the starting rotation.

The Braves had the foursome of Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine and Steve Avery, with Pete Smith and Kent Mercker getting some starts in there.

Maddux went 20-10 with a 2.36 ERA, 197 strikeouts and a 1.049 WHIP, winning the second of four-straight National League Cy Young Awards he would win.

Smoltz went 15-11 with a 3.62 ERA, 208 strikeouts and a 1.264 WHIP, while Glavine was 22-6 with a 3.20 ERA, 120 strikeouts and a 1.362 WHIP. Avery was 18-6 with a 2.94 ERA, 125 strikeouts and a 1.160 WHIP.

The Braves won their third-straight division title this year, but ended up losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series.

3. 1954 Cleveland Indians

The 1954 Cleveland Indians were again loaded on the mound.

Ironically, the No. 5 pitcher of the group, Bob Feller, went 13-3  with a 3.09 ERA, 59 strikeouts and a 1.186 WHIP.

Early Wynn was 23-11 with a 2.73 ERA, 155 strikeouts and a 1.138 WHIP, while Mike Garcia was 19-8 with a 2.64 ERA, 129 strikeouts and a 1.125 WHIP.

Bob Lemon was 23-7 with a 2.72 ERA, 110 strikeouts and a 1.239 WHIP, and Art Houtteman was 15-7 with a 3.35 ERA.

Lemon and Wynn ended up finishing fifth and sixth in the Most Valuable Player voting.

2. 1971 Baltimore Orioles

Four 20-game winners.

That's a hard feat to accomplish, especially if they're all on one team.

The quartet of Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, Jim Palmer and Dave McNally was a combined total of 81 games and had 586 total strikeouts.

Cuellar was 20-9 with a 3.08 ERA, 124 strikeouts and a 1.122 WHIP, while Dobson was 20-8 with a 2.90 ERA, 187 strikeouts and a 1.102 WHIP.

Palmer went 20-9 as well with a 2.68 ERA, 184 strikeouts and a 1.195 WHIP, and McNally was 21-5 with a  2.89 ERA, 91 strikeouts and a 1.097 WHIP.

Due to the excellent pitching staff, the Orioles made it to the World Series, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in seven games.

1. 1998 Atlanta Braves

And, finally, the greatest pitching staff of all time.

Although the 1998 Atlanta Braves didn't have four 20-game winners, they had five starters with 16 or more wins.

Greg Maddux went 18-9 with a 2.22 ERA, 204 strikeouts and a 0.980 WHIP. Tom Glavine, who went on to win the National League Cy Young Award, went 20-6 with a 2.47 ERA, 157 strikeouts and a 1.203 WHIP.

Denny Neagle was 16-11 with a  3.55 ERA, 165 strikeouts and a 1.217 WHIP, while Kevin Millwood was 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA, 163 strikeouts and a 1.325 WHIP.

John Smoltz was the other dominant pitcher in this group, going 17-3 with a 2.90 ERA, 173 strikeouts and a 1.127 WHIP.

Now, while many will argue that there are better rotations out there, my thoughts are that the 1998 Braves' rotation had five pitchers achieve great numbers against better hitters.

If there are any other teams that should have been considered for a better spot or weren't even on the list, I invite you to let me know.