Who are the10 greatest pitchers in Major League History?

Question

Give me details please on why they deserve their rating.

Answer 1

(1) Walter Johnson - he dominated his league like no one else dominated a league during his era. Only other player to have 400+ wins besides Cy Young (417), and had a career ERA on 2.17. He had 11 seasons with an ERA of less than 2.00. ENough said.

(2) Warren Spahn - winningest Lefty of all-time (beat Steve Carlton by 34 whole games)

(3) Cy Young - the only reason why the all-time wins leader is not any higher is because he is also the all-time losses leader

(4) Christy Mathewson - don't hear about Mathewson too much since he started playing at the turn of the century (1900). He compiled 373 wins and a career 2.13 ERA. Slightly downgrade his numbers since he played in the deadball era (the average ERA during his career in the NL was only 2.88), but he still managed to rack up even more impressive stats than his peers, which is why he is #4.

(5) Sandy Koufax - how can you fault a man for going out in his prime? I wish more athletes would bow out this gracefully. Had his best statistical year in 1966 (27 wins and a 1.73 ERA) and left the game.

(6) Roger Clemens - to do what he has done pitching primarily in the AL during the steroids years in unbelievable

(7) Greg Maddux - he dominated the NL in the 90's. He has simply been the most consistent pitcher of this era.

(8) Bob Gibson - anyone who can have an ERA as low as his was in 1968 (1.12 for the SEASON, which included 22 wins and 28 complete games) deserves to be on this list somewhere.

(9) Pedro Martinez - take away all of the ridiculous comments that come flying out of his mouth, and you have one of the most dominant contemporary pitchers ever. Many say Pedro is much better into his career than many of the greats were at that point. He won't compile the wins to get way up there - nobody will in today's baseball game of setup men, closers and 5-man rotations. But the pure numbers show how good he really is - and he did a good portion of that in the AL.

(10) Nolan Ryan - all the no-no's on top of the K's and wins - plus he beat the $%^& out of Robin Ventura. How can he not be in the top 10.

Answer 2

This is purely subjective, and off the top of my head (and not necessarily in order:)

Walter Johnson - Legendary all-time pitcher, 400-plus wins, great ERA, dominant.

Sandy Koufax --Oh, what might have been if there was a cure for his arthritis, but for a 5-year run at his peak, he was amazing.

Cy Young -- 511 Wins!

Christy Mathewson -- Another ancient pitcher with superb numbers.

Lefty Grove --OK, one more dominant all-timer

Roger Clemens - Don't like him, but all those Cy Young Awards don't lie.

Warren Spahn -- A top 2 or 3 ever lefty starter.

Bob Gibson -- As good a big-game competitor as ever lived.

Tom Seaver -- Amazing, and very consistent power pitcher

Steve Carlton -- I put him a little ahead of Randy Johnson as the best lefty since Spahn.


Others to consider: Alexander, Feller, Maddux, Big Unit ...

Answer 3

First, let me address who doesn't belong: Ryan and Gibson. They simply didn't have the performance. Neither is in the top fifty all-time in ERA+, and Gibson, in particular has numbers that pale in comparison to the pitchers I will put on this list and to his reputation. He was a great player, as was Ryan, but not top ten material. Gibson was known as a "workhorse", but he never led the league in IP. He was known as dominant, but only once did he lead the league in ERA or ERA+. Ryan is the same.

I would list Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux, Warren Spahn, Cy Young, Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer, and Carl Hubbell as the best ever. There are also some other greats that just missed the cut: Plank, Carlton, Gibson, Randy Johnson, Pedro(not yet), Ryan, Jenkins, Addie Joss, etc.

Answer 4

Details? that would take paragraphs so here's the edited versions:
Christy Mathewson--managed to put up with McGraw and still come out with class.
Carl Hubbell--screwball genius.
Walter Johnson--Big Unit only that much better on a terrible franchise for much of his career.
Lefty Grove--so underrated when people talk of the greats. Check his ERA for the era.
Bob Gibson--intimidating.
Juan Marichal--the high leg kick along and being jobbed of thre Cy Youngs really.
Sandy Koufax--simply the best.
Nolan Ryan--longevity and gets bonus points for being the only grandpa to win a decision in a beanball brawl (remember the Ventura fight?)
Whitey Ford--sure he was on great NYY teams but look at his ERA, too.
Pedro Martinez--truly one of the all-time bests. Head and shoulders above most pitchers of this era and that includes Steroid Boy Clemens.

Answer 5

In no particular order:
Pedro Martinez - won 70% of his games, average of 252 K's per year, Dominated during a period where batting stats were steroid enhanced.

Cy Young - 511 wins, nobody will ever come close.

Roger Clemens - Another dominating pitcher during the steroid era. 7 Cy Young awards.

Steve Carlton - over 4000 K's and 300 wins while playing for several bad teams.

Bob Gibson - Averaged 16 wins per year over 17 years. 3117 K's

Lee Smith - 478 Saves, Avg 31/yr. Best Closer in history of Baseball (sorry Rivera fans).

Dennis Eckersly - Eck was the man, 20 game winner as a starter, Best Closer in baseball during his prime.

Lefty Grove - 300 wins in 17 years. Adjusted ERA 2nd Best all time (Behind Pedro).

Rollie Fingers - Started the closer movement, had a wicked cool mustache!

Nolan Ryan - 7 No Hitters, Leader in K's, Played 27 years averaging 33 starts a year.

Answer 6

Not in any particular order:

Nolan Ryan- 7 no hitters, all-time leader in strikeouts

Roger Clemens- 7 Cy Young awards, 343 wins

Cy Young- 511 wins, top pitching award named after him

Sandy Koufax- 5 no-hitters, would have been the best lefty ever had his career not been cut short

Bob Gibson- tough in the clutch, lowest single-season ERA ever

Greg Maddux- 325 wins, 15 Gold Gloves

Lee Smith- all time saves leader

Walter Johnson- 400+ wins

Warren Sphan- most dominant lefty

Tom Seaver- 300+ wins, consistent power pitcher, longevity of his career shows his superb conditioning

Answer 7

Cy Young, Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Whitey Ford, Tom Seaver, Warren Spahn, Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson

Answer 8

Nolan Ryan-seven no hitters, 5714 strikeouts, 11 strike out leader seasons(the very best)
Koufax-3 Cy Youngs and 4 no nos in 5 seasons
Cy Young- hes Cy Young
Clemens- Strikeout second place
Bob Gibson-in a seven year stretch he was 156-81 and he got two Cy Youngs
Tom Seaver-dominated
Randy Johnson- He was amazing
Curt Shilling- bloody sock in 04 world series, 'nuff said
Mariano Rivera-dominated with one pitch
Mike Mussina-great pticher for years
These weren't in a specific order, but Nolan Ryan was the best

Answer 9

The previous answerers have done pretty well and made good picks, although they've been a bit biased toward the past few decades. Worth considering in the Top 10 is the man who ranks 12th in career ERA among pitchers with 1000+ innings: Babe Ruth.

When Barry Bonds wins an ERA title, as Ruth did in 1916, then we'll talk about who is the better player...

Answer 10

Nolan Ryan - 7 No-hitters
Cy Young - 511 wins
Sandy Koufax - 5 No-hitters