Which team had the greatest pitching rotation of all time?

Question

I think a case could be made for the Braves teams of the mid to late 90s. THey had three likely hall of famers at their peak, plus Denny Neagle, who wasn't great but was very good for a few years.

Answer 1

Statistically, and not going as far back as the 19th century for various purposes, it would be the 1906 Chicago Cubs, the legendary team that went a record 116-36 (.763).

Brown (HOF) 26-6, 27 CG, 1.04
Pfiester 20-8, 20 CG, 1.51
Lundgren 17-6, 21 CG, 2.21 (the slacker of the starting staff)
Reulbach 19-4, 20 CG, 1.65
Taylor 12-3, 15 CG, 1.83, after arriving from St. Louis
Overall 12-3, 13 CG, 1.88, after arriving from Cincinnati
Wicker 3-5, 5 CG, 2.99, sent to Cincinnati in the Overall deal

And then, the bullpen, such as it was (every SP listed above also pitched in relief, which was rare -- 125 CG in 155 games played)
Beebe 6-1, 4 CG, 2.70, sent to St. Louis in the Taylor deal
Harper -- pitched one scoreless inning, the last of his career; also picked up from Cincinnati in a different deal.

League ERA == 2.62
Cubs ERA == 1.75
Cubs adjusted ERA == 150 -- that's a Cy Young candidate in a typical year, and the entire TEAM reached the mark.

And this was the BEST Cubs team of the era; they also posted team adjusted ERA in the 140s in 1905, 1907, and 1909, and fended off a bit of a dip in 1908 (110) by winning the World Series.

For sheer star power, the 1954 Indians look pretty good -- Early Wynn (HOF), Mike Garcia, Bob Lemon (HOF), Art Houtteman, and Bob Feller (HOF) near the end but still capable of putting up good numbers (this was his last noteworthy season), with Don Mossi and a creaky Hal Newhouser (HOF, 2-time AL MVP) in the bullpen. Team adjusted ERA == 132, tied with the 1997 Atlanta Braves for the best mark post-WW2.

Answer 2

Some ppl have said Atlanta, yeah they were great but they underachieved with just 1 WS ring. The A's of recent? Not even close they never won anything.

You have to go with proven teams. The 1971 Baltimore Orioles with four 20 game winning pitchers (put that in perspective to today, there was just 1 in the entire league last season). With that staff the Orioles went to the WS 3 straight seasons (69, 70, 71). Palmer, Dobson, Cuellar, and McNally all had 20+ victories for the same team in the same season. They did however lose the WS 4 games to 3. So you could go with the 1970 Baltimore Orioles who posted three 20 game winners (Palmer, Cuellar, and McNally) and went on to win the WS.

Easily the best staff of all time.

Answer 3

You can say what you want about the 1971 Orioles who I think were the last team to have 4-20 game winners, but I like that 1927 Yankees staff:

Waite Hoyt 22-7 2.63 ERA
Herb Pennock 19-8 3.00 ERA
Wilcy Moore 19-7 2.28 ERA (main reliever)
Urban Shocker 18-6 2.84 ERA
Dutch Reuther 13-6 3.38 ERA (1st half stats)
George Pipgras 10-3 4.11 ERA (2nd half stats)

Supposedly Reuther and Pipgras were platooned on the mound through most of the season so as not to offset the 4-man rotation concept, basically relegating them to one man in the rotation. And Wilcy Moore was their main reliever but won the second most games of the entire staff. If you look at it that way, the Reuther-Pipgras combo was 23-9 --- not too bad in those days.

Answer 4

Do't forget about the Astros a couple years ago they had Roy oswalt, Andy Pettite, and Roger Clemens and Brandon Backe Steroids aside that was a really good pitching staff probably not the best ever though but it was just a suggestion. If the Astros would have had a better offense they could have one the world series but they choked in the world series against the white sox but oh well they stll had a great pitching staff.

Answer 5

1971 Baltimore Orioles. 4 20 game winners. Some will say the Braves & they did have a great pitching staff but with all that pitching, I would think they would have more to show for it than 1 World Series title. Yes they did win many division titles & that itself is an awesome accomplishment but back then, their division was weak too.

Answer 6

Don't forget the 1954 Cleveland Indians,

SP Early Wynn 2.73 23 11
SP Mike Garcia 2.64 19 8
SP Bob Lemon 2.72 23 7
SP Art Houtteman 3.35 15 7
SP Bob Feller 3.09 13 3

Some of the names should be really familiar even to the younger fans.

Answer 7

1971 Orioles....Four twenty-game winners has never been equalled. Palmer, McNally, Quellar and Dobson set the pace for some equally talented relievers and also had some of the best hitters in the game behind them.

What a team!! Maybe some day my beloved Orioles will return to this level, but I will always be a fan because of teams like the '71 version.

Answer 8

I like the 86 Mets 108-54 record .
P Dwight Gooden
17-6, 2.84 ERA, 200 K
P Bob Ojeda
18-5, 2.57 ERA, 148 K
P Sid Fernandez
16-6, 3.52 ERA, 200 K
P Ron Darling
15-6, 3.52 ERA, 200 K
P Rick Aguilera
10-7, 3.88 ERA

Answer 9

Back in the 40's or 50's the Indians had a great staff that included Early Wynn, Bob Lemon. Bob Feller and Mike Garcia....been awhile but I think that once 3 of these guys won 20 games.....great pitchers in their time!

Answer 10

That's my pick too... I'm too young to have seen any great rotations from the past, but I can certainly remember the talent that was on that staff with Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and also Neagle... Who else was on that team? Did Steve Avery throw for them?