Who do you believe is/was the best major league baseball pitcher?

Answer 1

Warren Spahn
All around the best pitcher with most wins in the modern era which is fantastic considering he didn't win a game in the majors until age 27 because he served 4 years in the army during world war II
Koufax was better for a short span of about 5 years but Koufax was mediocre his first few years and had less than half the wins of Spahn
Spahn was a 23 game winner 23-7 at age 42
In his forties he matched Juan Marichal pitch for pitch of shutout innings for l6 innings
Spahn was used as a pinch hitter on the days he didn't pitch, he had more homers in his career than any other left hand pitcher ever and very close to the all time pitcher home run hitter who was right handed
Spahn had 363 victories and I believe more 20 win seasons or at least consecutive 20 win seasons than anyone If his career hadn't been shortened by serving our country in WWII he probably would have had 440 wins
He was a humble man who may have invented the screw ball He had stuff (speed) when he was young but was smart enough to use savy to win games when he was older by location, movement and keeping batters off balance

Answer 2

There were a lot pitchers like Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson and Cy Young who pitched during the early years of Major League Baseball that put up some impressive numbers. However if those same pitchers where here today I'm sure they would be not as dominate against today's hitters.

More impressive and truly tested were pitchers like Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Sandy Koufax and Warren Spahn.

But the pitcher that has impressed me most in this generation would have to be Randy Johnson. The intimating stare he would give the batter and the over power fast ball and sliders that were virtually unhittable. He may be the last pitcher to ever strike out 300 batters in a season.

Answer 3

How has no one said Walter Johnson yet?

It really depends on whether you're speaking of peak performance or career performance. The perfect (and obvious) example is that Sandy Koufax has to be considered among the best pitchers at his PEAK, but you can't possibly rate him with pitchers like Walter Johnson, Clemens, Spahn, Mathewson, or Cy Young for his entire career.

By the way, anyone who believes the best of all time is "Nolan Ryan" is in love with strikeouts. Check out Nolan Ryan's career record, especially his winning percentage, how many walks he allowed, and his barely-above-average career ERA. The only possible counter is that "he pitched for bad teams," but plenty of pitchers on bad teams have been much more successful than he was. Strikeouts don't = the best pitcher. Strikeouts are just one way (albeit the most dominant) to get a batter out. Sometimes, you have to trust your defense.

Ryan also had a lot of no-hitters, but both of those facts come largely from his velocity. He never learned control, or even fully how to pitch. Check out how many times Ryan won the Cy Young... (by the way, the answer is zero). Nolan Ryan received less support in Cy Young voting than noted legends Dan Quisenberry and Rick Sutcliffe.

Seriously, try telling a baseball expert that Ryan was the best pitcher of all time and the guy (or girl) will pat you condescendingly on the back and walk past you to speak with adults.

Answer 4

The best pitcher and most dominant in his prime was Sandy Koufax. With a 100mph fastball and maybe the best curveball the game has ever seen he was close to unhittable on his best days, which was most of the time. When Players such as Joe Morgan, Mays, Bench, Aaron, Frank Robinson, and many others who faced Koufax say he was the best, who are we to take exception to their call? I have been to a lot of ball games over the years and have seen many of the great pitchers such as Seaver, Ryan, Gibson, Carlton, and many others and if any of you would have had the opportunity to see Koufax pitch 30+ times, like I have, you would know exactly what I mean. During his career as a Dodger in LA the average attendance increased by 15,000 fans on the days he pitched and the ballpark was electric on those days and he very seldom let the fans down.

Answer 5

The pitcher's job is to prevent runs, and the most effective way to do that is to keep runners off base. ERA tells us (imperfectly, but it's pretty good and easy to find) the first one, adjusted ERA tells us how performances stack up across history, and WHIP tells us the second part. Not captured within either, but good to know, is strikeout ability -- any out is good, but there are times the team REALLY needs a strikeout, and some guys are markedly better at the whiff than others.

My top three are Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, and Roger Clemens, for the reasons cited above; and when he's done, Pedro Martinez might very well shoulder his way into this little group. I tend to value season performances over career totals, because the season is the base unit of the game -- the annual goal is to win the title -- but a great career will tend to have a lot of great seasons within it. Johnson, Grove, and Rocket personify pitching greatness.

Ryan, for all his fans and worshippers -- and yes, I saw him pitch, often, usually on tv but sometimes live, and he was electric -- wasn't very good at keeping men off base. And that is his downfall, and why I will never consider him the best ever. At strikeouts, sure. At preventing hits, yes. But overall? Those record (by a mile) 2795 walks clobber him.

Answer 6

This would APPEAR to be a no brainer...they named an award after him..... Cy Young. It is next to impossible to compare past accomplishments against current ones; techniques are tweaked, players train differently, medical science (legal, of course) imporves the players health and extends their longevity AND effectiveness over their careers, etc., etc., etc.

Now, having said that, I will say this: players like Satchel Paige, John W. Donaldson (played for 22 years, and was one of the most feared pitchers in the ***** Leagues), Smokey Joe Williams (struck out 20 white players in a 1914 exhibition game), and others were not afforded a true opportunity to test their skills, and therefore be measured, against pithcers who are historically known as the "greatest" pitchers of their generation. I dare say that if Major League baseball had been an integrated affair in its earliest days, we might have a Rube Foster award instaed of a Cy Young award.

Answer 7

Lots of choices, all good, but I'd have to divide it into four categories:

Right-handed Starter: Nolan Ryan
Left-handed Starter: Sandy Koufax

Right-handed Reliever: Goose Gossage
Left-handed Reliever: Billy Wagner

I know I'm leaving a lot out, but questions like this do. Satchel Paige may be the best right-handed starter ever, but unfortunately you asked for Major League pitchers, and Paige never got to pitch in the majors, though he dominated the ***** League for over 2 decades.

Answer 8

If he had performed in manhattan, he could have been up there alongside with DiMaggio and Mantle in human beings's minds. yet being in St. Louis injury him fairly. 3 good issues i will upload to those above - you haven't any longer heard "Take me Out to the Ballgame" until you have heard "the guy" play it on his harmonica. My father, who like me, is a existence long die demanding Cubs fan, will tell all people who asks (and a few who do no longer) that Musial replaced into the excellent ballplayer he ever observed. exceedingly intense compliment once you evaluate him to Aaron, Mays, Mantle , and intensely intense compliment coming from a Cubs fan. ultimately, his 3000th hit got here as a pinch hitter in a interest at Wrigley. very almost the different participant could have asked to no longer hit, so as that they might attain that milestone at domicile.(Understandably so) yet Musial knew he replaced into needed, and got here by with a double. (Any baseball fan could get of project to take heed to Harry Caray's call of it - in all hazard between the proper 5 calls of all time.)

Answer 9

koufax...carlton from the left....maddux and martinez from the right...what whould ryan do against those broomsticks and handlebar mustaches in the 1900 era? anyway my opinion is over a five year period.... hey wait a minute how about tom seaver... check out his lifetime stats.. single digit losses and extremely low era..playting in the biggest market on lousy met teams..with ryan, he should of won more with his great stuff... he became a better pitcher in his fortys then he was in his twenty and thirties...i remember the collapse in the 86 playoffs with the mets and astros,, final game couldnt hold on to an eight run lead...

Answer 10

I have to say Nolan Ryan. But this is a hard question because there are so many great ones. Cy Young, Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and the list goes on and on. I give it to Ryan because he had it all, a fast ball, curve, slider, changeup, etc... He also set new and broke so many old records. He has the record for 7 no-hitters. The express was the nickname given to him and he was.