The Top Ten List: The Top Ten Starting Pitchers

By Will-He-M


This turned out to be, by far, my most thorough List. I began by splitting the Starting Pitchers into four eras, to ensure that I didn't leave anyone out. These periods each had some distinct features, though the dates sometimes overlap:

1850-1939: The Dead-Ball Era
1940-1960: The War Years
1961-1983: The Expansion Era
1984-present: The Power Hitting Era

In the event an individual pitcher's career spans two eras, he gets considered only within the era in which he played the majority of his seasons.

The Dead-Ball Era

I feel that so many aspects of the game have changed that it's especially difficult to quickly cobble together this particular Top Ten List. Even assemblimg ten candidates from this era was tough, with so many greats being left off the final List.

Winning the MVP Award in the days before the Cy Young Award existed wasn't enough to secure a spot on the list for Lefty Grove (1931) or Dizzy Dean (1934). The special Eds, as they weren't really known, or Ed Walsh and Eddie Plank both won championships after the turn of the century, but now it's a hundred World Series-ziz-iz...'s later and neither guy stands out anymore. Winning the Triple Crown wasn't enough to get Tim Keefe (1888) or Charley Radbourn (1884) onto the final draft, especially when I couldn't even make room for four-time Triple Crown winner, Grover Cleveland Alexander (1915-1917, 1920).

The War Years

This was, in my opinion, the weakest era for pitching. I actually only had eleven bona fide candidates for the Top Ten and tried in vain to find a few more guys to add to the mix. There simply were no players in the same class as the top ten or eleven. I think a lot of this had to do with the War itself, which led to many good pitchers retiring after only 3-7 years. Among the guys who did excel, there still ended up being many good players left off the final List.

Guys like Bob Lemon and Whitey Ford, who were each was named the AL's Pitcher of the Year on three occasions. Or how about Hal Newhouser and Robin Roberts who each won the award twice. Jim Bunning was no slouch, but he failed to make the List. One of the most appropriately named and earliest winners of the Cy Young Award was none other than Early Wynn, but that didn't propel him past the final cuts. The same goes for Don Drysdale, who won the following year's Cy Young. Winning the 1940 Triple Crown was impressive, but Bob Feller couldn't find room in the top grouping either. Perhaps the hardest cut I had to make was Sandy Koufax, who owns a veritable showcase of trophies and awards. But no Top Ten Award.

The Expansion Era

This era saw many things change from the earlier days, as the development of bullpens and pitch counts began to alter the way a pitcher made his living. It's very noticable how Complete Game totals began to shrink, though not yet to the degree of today's pitchers. Also, this era saw the development of the 5-man rotation. In years past, teams often went with a 4-man rotation and in some cases, a 3-man rotation.

Judging pitchers from this era against their forefathers was not easy and highly subjective. I was once again forced to leave out several great players, such as Dave Stieb and his World Series ring, or Gaylord Perry and his pair of Cy Youngs. Don Sutton and Jim Palmer dominated the 70's, but couldn't make the all-century rotation. Juan Marichal was an early Latino ace who came close to making the List, but fell just short like his contemporary, Bob Gibson. I couldn't believe that I did not find a place for Fergie Jenkins, but in the end he was off the List as well.

The Power Hitting Era

When attempting to reduce this era's sub-List into it's own Top Ten, I found myself stuck on the top fifteen. Unlike the other eras, where there were clear-cut great pitchers, the Modern Era produced not as many greats, but far more very good pitchers. What hurts this era when it comes to comparisons to earlier days, is the fact that bullpens, pitch counts and 5-man rotations have now become as big a part of the game as starting pitchers themselves, who are no longer relied upon to shoulder the burden.

Not since I compiled the Catchers List, have I felt the extraordinary need to include a long "Honourable Mention" roll call, so that I can at least give some credit to the many, many very good pitchers of this era. One funny thing I noticed with this era's candidates was that the majority of the players I considered had played for the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, New York Yankees or the Baltimore Orioles at some point.

Guys like Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Dennis Martinez, Mike Mussina, Roy Halladay, David Wells, Jimmy Key, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling, Johan Santana, Dwight Gooden, Orel Hershiser, Bret Saberhagan, David Cone, Kevin Brown, Kevin Appier, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Finley, Jose Rijo, Fernando Valenzuela, Jamie Moyer, Sid Fernandez and Mark Langston, to name a select few. The list could go on and on. Literally.

Unfortunately, I was restricted to picking only the Top Ten Starting Pitchers of All-Time:

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10. Christy "Big Six" Mathewson (New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds 1900-1916)
635 GP, 373-188, 2.13 ERA, 434 CG, 79 SHO, 4780.2 IP, 844 BB, 2502 K

Won 6th and 7th of 20 National League Triple Crowns; 8th and 10th of MLB's 36 (1905, 1908)
4x National League Wins Crown winner (1905, 1907, 1908, 1910)
5x National League Strikeout Crown winner (1903-1905, 1907, 1908)
5x National League ERA Crown winner (1905, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1913)
Inaugural Hall of Fame class (1936)

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9. Tom "Terrific" Seaver (New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox 1967-1987)
656 GP, 311-205, 2.86 ERA, 231 CG, 61 SHO, 4782.2 IP, 1390 BB, 3640 K

Holds MLB record for consecutive Strikeouts with 10 (April 22 1970)
National League Rookie of the Year (1967)
SI Sportsman of the Year (1969)
3x National League Cy Young Award winner (1969, 1973, 1975)
2x TSN National League Pitcher of the Year (1969, 1975)
3x National League Wins Crown winner (1969, 1975, 1981)
5x National League Strikeout Crown winner (1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976)
3x National League ERA Crown winner (1970, 1971, 1973)
World Series Champion (1969)
12x All-Star (1967-1973, 1975-1978, 1981)
Hall of Fame (1992)

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8. Warren Spahn (Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants 1942-1965)
750 GP, 363-245, 3.09 ERA, 382 CG, 63 SHO, 5243.2 IP, 1434 BB, 2583 K

4x TSN National League Pitcher of the Year (1953, 1957, 1958, 1961)
MLB Cy Young Award winner (1957)
8x National League Wins Crown winner (1949, 1950, 1953, 1957-1961)
4x National League Strikeout Crown winner (1949-1952)
3x National League ERA Crown winner (1947, 1953, 1961)
World Series Champion (1957)
14x All-Star (1947, 1949-1954, 1956-1959, 1961-1963)
Hall of Fame (1973)

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7. Roger "Rocket" Clemens (Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Houston Astros 1984-2007)
709 GP, 354-184, 3.12 ERA, 118 CG, 46 SHO, 4916.2 IP, 1580 BB, 4672 K

Holds MLB record for most Cy Young Awards (7)
Holds MLB record for Strikeouts in a game with 20 (April 29 1986, September 18 1986)
Won 12th and 13th of 15 American League Triple Crowns; 31st and 32nd of MLB's 36 (1997, 1998)
American League MVP (1986)
TSN Player of the Year (1986)
6x American League Cy Young Award winner (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001)
National League Cy Young Award winner (2004)
5x TSN American League Pitcher of the Year (1986, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001)
4x American League Wins Crown winner (1986, 1987, 1997, 1998)
5x American League Strikout Crown winner (1988, 1991, 1996-1998)
6x American League ERA Crown winner (1986, 1990-1992, 1997, 1998)
National League ERA Crown winner (2005)
All-Star Game MVP (1986)
2x World Series Champion (1999, 2000)
11x All-Star (1986, 1988, 1990-1992, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003-2005)

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6. Walter "The Big Train" Johnson (Washington Senators 1907-1927)
802 GP, 417-279, 2.17 ERA, 531 CG, 110 Shutouts*, 5914.2 IP, 1363 BB, 3509 K

Holds MLB record for career Shutouts (110)
Won 3rd, 4th and 5th of 15 American League Triple Crowns; 11th, 14th and 17th of MLB's 36 (1913, 1918, 1924)
2x American League MVP (1913, 1924)
6x American League Wins Crown winner (1913-1916, 1918, 1924)
12x American League Strikout Crown winner (1910, 1912-1919, 1921, 1923, 1924)
5x American League ERA Crown winner (1912, 1913, 1918, 1919, 1924)
World Series Champion (1924)
Inaugural Hall of Fame class (1936)

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5. Steve "Lefty" Carlton (St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins 1965-1988)
741 GP, 329-244, 3.22 ERA, 254 CG, 55 SHO, 5217.1 IP, 1833 BB, 4136 K

Won 17th of 20 National League Triple Crowns; 29th of MLB's 36 (1972)
4x TSN National League Pitcher of the Year (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982)
4x National League Cy Young Award winner (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982)
4x National League Wins Crown winner (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982)
5x National League Strikeout Crown winner (1972, 1974, 1980, 1982, 1983)
Gold Glove Award winner (1981)
2x World Series Champion (1967, 1980)
10x All-Star (1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1979-1982)
Hall of Fame (1994)

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4. Greg "Mad Dog" Maddux (Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres 1986-2008)
744 GP, 355-227, 3.16 ERA, 109 CG, 35 SHO, 5008.1 IP, 999 BB, 3371 K

4x National League Cy Young Award winner (1992-1995)
4x TSN National League Pitcher of the Year (1992-1995)
3x National League Wins Crown winner (1992, 1994, 1995)
4x National League ERA Crown winner (1993-1995, 1998)
18x Gold Glove Award winner (1990-2002, 2004-2008)
World Series Champion (1995)
8x All-Star (1988, 1992, 1994-1998, 2000)

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3. Randy "Big Unit" Johnson (Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants 1988-present)
613 GP, 303-166, 3.29 ERA, 100 CG, 37 CG, 4131.0 IP, 1497 BB, 4869 K

Won 19th of 20 National League Triple Crowns; 34th of MLB's 36 (2002)
TSN American League Pitcher of the Year (1995)
American League Cy Young Award winner (1995)
4x National League Cy Young Award winner (1999-2002)
4x American League Strikeout Crown winner (1992-1995)
5x National League Strikeout Crown winner (1999-2002, 2004)
American League ERA Crown winner (1995)
3x National League ERA Crown winner (1999, 2001, 2002)
World Series MVP (2001)
Babe Ruth Award (2001)
World Series Champion (2001)
10x All-Star (1990, 1993-1995, 1997, 1999-2002, 2004)

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2. Nolan "The Ryan Express" Ryan (New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers 1966-1993)
807 GP, 324-292, 3.19 ERA, 272 CG, 61 SHO, 5386.0 IP, 2795 BB, 5714 Strikeouts*

Holds MLB record for career Strikeouts (5714)
Holds MLB record for Strikeouts in a season with 383 (1973)
Holds MLB record for No-Hitters (7)
Holds MLB record for career Hits/9 (6.6)
TSN American League Pitcher of the Year (1977)
9x American League Strikeout Crown winner (1972-1974, 1976-1979, 1989, 1990)
2x National League Strikeout Crown winner (1987, 1988)
2x National League ERA Crown winner (1981, 1987)
World Series Champion (1969)
8x All-Star (1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1989)
Hall of Fame (1999)

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1. Denton "Cy" Young (Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, Boston Americans, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Naps, Boston Rustlers 1890-1911)
906 GP, 511-316*, 2.63 ERA, 749 Complete Games*, 76 SHO, 7354.2 Innings Pitched*, 1217 BB, 2803 K

Holds MLB record for career Games Started (815)
Holds MLB record for career Innings Pitched (7354.2)
Holds MLB record for career Batters Faced (30058)
Holds MLB record for career Wins (511)
Holds MLB record for career Losses (316)
Holds MLB record for career Complete Games (749)
Won Triple Crown in American League's inaugural season (1901)
Won first three American League Wins Crowns (1901-1903)
2x National League Wins Crown winner (1892, 1895)
National League Strikeout Crown winner (1896)
National League ERA Crown winner (1892)
World Series Champion (1903)
Hall of Fame (1937)

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That was the thirteenth installment in the fourteen-part series. To see the other lists, click here:

Catchers
First Basemen
Second Basemen
Third Basemen
Shortstops
Left Fielders
Center Fielders
Right Fielders
Designated Hitters
Utility Men
Pinch Hitters
Relief Pitchers

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