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MLB’s Top 10 Best Pitchers of All Time

Who are the best pitchers of all time? These baseball players dominated the game with fastballs, endurance, patience and pinpoint accuracy. 

Best Pitchers of All Time 

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in America. It’s a national pastime, and the pitcher is considered the most important position in the sport. Let’s take a look at the best baseball pitchers of all time. 

10. Bob Gibson

Bob Gibson was a legendary pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals where he spent his entire career and won two World Series. He’s one of the best baseball pitchers of all time and was.known for his fierce competitiveness and intimidating presence on the mound.

In 1968, he had a record-breaking season, leading the league in ERA and complete-game shutouts, winning the NL MVP and his first Cy Young Award.

The MLB was forced to change the rules in an attempt to improve scoring. Gibson continued to excel however, striking out 274 batters in 1970 and earning his second Cy Young Award.

Gibson was a dominant force in the postseason, finishing with a 7-2 record, a 1.89 ERA, and 10.22 strikeouts per nine innings. The Cardinals retired his jersey number 45 in 1975, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

9. Tom Seaver

Tom Seaver, known as “Tom Terrific” or “the Franchise,” played for four different MLB teams during his career. He was an integral part of the New York Mets victory in the 1969 World Series and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.

One of the best baseball pitchers of all time, Seaver’s career was characterized by both longevity and dominance, and he holds the record for the most shutouts by a modern-era pitcher.

Seaver was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 1967 and made it to the All-Star game in ten of his first eleven seasons. Seaver also won three NL ERA titles, five strikeout titles and three Cy Young Awards.

8. Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux is one of the best baseball pitchers of all time and is the only pitcher in MLB history to win at least 15 games for 17 seasons in a row.

He holds the record for being the first pitcher to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards, and his 355 wins are the most by any pitcher in the modern era.

Maddux was known for his cool and calm demeanor on the field, as well as his incredible durability. He led the league in innings pitched from 1991 to 1995 and averaged 207 innings per season for his career.

In addition to his four Cy Young Awards and four NL ERA titles, Maddux made eight All-Star game appearances and he won a record 18 Gold Glove awards.

7. Sandy Koufax

Even though injuries impacted his career Sandy Koufax is one of the best baseball pitchers of all time. Between 1963 and 1966 was the last years of his career and was his prime, dominating the game and winning three Cy Young Awards and an MVP crown.

Koufax was almost untouchable in his final four seasons, despite pitching through pain and arthritis. He had a cumulative ERA of 1.86 from 1963 to 1966 and averaged 24.3 wins and 307 strikeouts per year, with a peak of 382 strikeouts in 1965.

He won the NL MVP and Cy Young Award in 1963, and again in 1965 and 1966. Koufax retired prematurely while still at the top of his game at the age of 30 due to severe arthritis.

6. Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens is considered one of the best baseball pitchers of all time following a 24-season career in the MLB.

He started his career with the Boston Red Sox before finishing at the Yankees, and he earned 11 All-Star selections, a record-breaking seven Cy Young Awards, an MVP crown, seven ERA titles, five strikeout titles, and the World Series twice.

Known for his ability to throw fast and accurate pitches, Clemens was intimidating and known to throw close to batters. Although never testing positive, he faced claims of alleged steroid use.

5. Christy Mathewson

Christy Mathewson was the first pitching star in the modern era of baseball. He simply dominated the league, playing for the New York Giants for 17 seasons. He led the team to victory in the 1905 World Series where he pitched three shutouts.

Combining both his power and composure, he had a career ERA of 2.13 and FIP of 2.22 over 4,747 innings, making him one of the best pitchers of his time.

Batters couldn’t contend with his pinpoint control and Mathewson won the strikeout title five times, had the lowest ERA in the league five times and lowest FIP eight times.

In 1905 and 1908, he won the NL pitching triple crown and finished his career with an NL-record 373 wins and .665 winning percentage.

4. Randy Johnson

When “The Big Unit,” Randy Johnson was drafted in 1985, he entered as the tallest player ever at 6-foot-10. He had a very successful 22-season career between 1988 and 2009.

He is one of only 20 pitchers in history to have a win against all 30 MLB franchises, and holds the record for being the oldest player to throw a perfect game, earning the achievement for the second time at the age of 40.

Johnson’s prime was between 1998 and 2002 whilst at Arizona, during which he won four consecutive Cy Young Awards.

He won five Cy Young Awards in total, as well as pitching in 10 All-Star games and was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series – Arizona’s first and only World Series win to date. Johnson’s also considered to be the best left handed pitcher of all time.

3. Pedro Martinez

Pedro Martinez was known for his exceptional control and dominant performances, most notably with the Boston Red Sox between 1998 and 2004.

Martinez won three Cy Young Awards, made eight All-Star teams and was a key member of the 2004 Red Sox team that broke the “Curse of the Bambino” by winning the World Series.

He is known for his impressive all-time WHIP and K/BB, and his WAR/IP ratio is the highest in history. Martinez retired with the fourth-highest winning percentage in MLB history.

Martinez was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015, and is one of the best pitchers of all time. In fact, Martinez between 1997-2003 is considered to be the greatest period of pitching in history.  

2. Cy Young

Cy Young was known for his hard-throwing ability and numerous records that still stand today making him our third best pitcher of all time.

He holds records that aren’t ever likely to be beaten: most career wins (511), losses (316) games started (815), innings pitched (7,356) and complete games (749).

In honor of his outstanding career the Cy Young Award was created in 1956. Young absolutely dominated his era leading the league in strikeouts twice, and had the lowest BB/9 fourteen times.

He won the ERA title twice and had the lowest WHIP seven times. Young finished his career with a 2.63 ERA, 2,803 strikeouts, 1,217 walks and a .617 winning percentage.

1. Walter Johnson

Walter Johnson, also known as ‘The Big Train,’ is the best pitcher of all time. Throughout his 21-year career with the Washington Senators, he set numerous records, including the most shutouts, second-most wins, fourth-most games played, and won the World Series in 1924.

Johnson is the only player to achieve over 400 wins and over 3,500 strikeouts. He earned two MVP awards, 417 wins in total with a .599 win percentage and 110 shutouts.

His longevity and dominance earned him the top spot on this list, earning five lowest ERA titles and nine lowest FIP titles.

From 5914.1 innings pitched he finished with a 2.17 ERA, 147 ERA+, 1.061 WHIP, 3509 Ks, 1363 BBs, 2.57 K/BB Ratio and a 5.3 K/9 Ratio.

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