Table of Contents
The Greatest Pitchers of All Time (Top 10)
Baseball’s best pitchers, such as Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson, to name a few, are the legendary pitchers who every batter dreaded facing. We have included in this list the top ten pitchers of all time who have glorified baseball and set a new standard in the game. Pitching is the lifeblood of baseball.
The game begins with pitching, and the start shapes the in-field setting for each particular team.
A good pitcher is a lovely combination of accuracy, focus, strong arms, velocity, mental toughness, and mobility.
Many great pitchers have graced Major League Baseball (MLB).
It wasn’t simple to narrow down all of the great pitchers from multiple generations to ten.
To do so, we had to evaluate huge amounts of data while keeping historical differences in mind.
This list was inspired by Bleacher Report and ESPN.
In this list, we will name the top ten pitchers of all time. Let’s get this party started!
The 10 Greatest Pitchers of All Time
Bob Gibson’s Pack
Robert Gibson, better known as Bob Gibson, was a baseball pitcher.
He was born on November 9, 1935, and died at the age of 84 on October 2, 2020. He died of pancreatic cancer.
Similarly, Gibby spent 17 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1959 to 1975.
He never played for another MLB team after that.
He won 251 games, struck out 3,117 batters, and had a 2.91 ERA.
He had multiple career highs, but the pinnacle came in 1968 when he posted a 1.12 ERA and struck out 17 batters in Game 1 of the World Series.
When Bob retired in 1975, he was second only to Walter Johnson in career strikeouts.
His post-retirement life was equally centered on baseball, with him teaching and mentoring Cardinals players.
Gibson was named to the All-Star team nine times and won the World Series twice.
He was named CY Young Award winner twice and National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1968.
In 1981, the baseball player was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Similarly, his contribution to baseball went beyond pitching.
He led a civil rights drive in MLB to end segregation and provide all players access to the same clubhouse and hotel rooms.
His efforts earned St. Louis the distinction of being the first sports team to abolish segregation.
Greg Maddux, No. 9
Gregory Alan Maddox is a retired baseball pitcher from the United States.
He currently works as a college baseball coach.
At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the pitching coach mentors players.
Maddux played for teams such as the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres throughout his professional baseball career, which lasted from 1986 to 2008.
Maddux was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 1984 MLB draft.
Prior to joining the MLB, he played in the American Legion.
Maddux has a 355-227 win-loss record.
He had a 171 batting average, with four seasons batting 200 or above.
Similarly, he averaged five home runs and 84 RBIs.
His outstanding pitching mechanism has always been lauded by his contemporaries and experts.
He won 20 games twice in 1992 and 1993, 19 games five times, 18 games twice, and 16 games once in 1994.
He also won four ERA championships.
With 18 victories, Maddux also maintains the MLB record for most seasons finishing in the top ten.
Similarly, he holds the record for having the most Golden Gloves with 15.
In the 1990s, he won more games than any of his contemporaries, becoming one of only ten pitchers to have 300 wins and 3,000 strikeouts.
Furthermore, he is the only pitcher to have more than 300 victories, over 3,000 strikeouts, and fewer than 1,000 walks all at the same time.
On January 8, 2014, Maddux was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He is now a special assistant to the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs general managers.
Roger Clemens, No. 8
William Roger Clemens was a baseball pitcher.
He began his professional baseball career in 1984, after being picked in the first round of the 1983 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox.
He previously played for the University of Texas in Austin, where he went 25-7 in two All-American seasons.
After playing for the Toronto Blue Rays, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and Boston Red Sox, his career ended in 2007.
Clemens is widely recognized as one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history.
He has 354 victories, a 3.12 ERA, and 4,672 strikeouts, which ranks third all-time.
He is the only pitcher in MLB history to begin a season with a 20-1 win-loss record.
In 2003, he also recorded his 300th victory and 4,000th strikeout in the same game.
Furthermore, Clemens is the first pitcher in MLB history to have over 350 wins and strike out over 4,500 batters.
He’s also had a couple of 20-strikeout games.
Similarly, he is the recipient of other notable trophies, including the American League Cy Young Award, All-Star Game MVP Award, and American League MVP Award.
Clemens was also inducted into the Boston Red Sox and Pawtucket Red Sox Halls of Fames in 2014 and 2019.
He has not yet been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nonetheless, he is regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
Clayton Kershaw, No. 7
Clayton Edward Kershaw is a baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball.
In the 2006 MLB draft, he was chosen seventh overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers’ No.22 starter is a left-handed pitcher.
Clayton was the youngest player in MLB when he made his debut in 2008, and he retained that title for a year.
In 22 games, 21 of which he started, he finished with a 4.26 ERA.
On several occasions, the left-handed strikeout has been compared to Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.
Kershaw led MLB in ERA five times, becoming the first pitcher to do it four years in a row from 2011 to 2014.
He has also led the National League in wins three times and strikeouts three times.
He was an All-Star eight times from 2011 to 2019, excluding 2018, World Series Champion in 2020, National League MVP in 2014, National League Cy Young Award thrice, and many other honors.
Kershaw’s teammates have referred to him as a “perfectionist” for his abilities on the field.
Furthermore, he is not your typical baseball pitcher. He is a humanitarian who has been actively involved in voluntary work for many years.
Kershaw also got the Roberto Clemente Award and the Branch Rickey Award for his outstanding off-field performance.
He and his wife started “Kershaw’s Challenge” and wrote a book to generate funds to build an orphanage in Zambia.
Sandy Koufax is number six
Sanford Koufax was a baseball pitcher with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 through 1966.
The Brooklyn Dodgers signed him for a large sum at the time, which he chose to put toward his university tuition if his baseball career did not pan out.
In his 12-year career, Koufax went 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games, and 40 shutouts.
He became the first pitcher to allow fewer than seven (6.79) hits per nine innings pitched and strike out more than nine (9.28) batters per nine innings.
Similarly, Koufax is only the second pitcher in baseball history to have two games with 18 or more strikeouts.
He was also the first pitcher to record eight games with 15 or more strikeouts.
His postseason record was as impressive, with a 4-3 record and a 0.95 ERA in four World Series appearances.
Throughout his career, he received numerous accolades.
He became the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards, as well as the first pitcher to win a Cy Young Award unanimously.
Koufax was also a six-time All-Star and the National League MVP in 1963.
In 1972, he was the youngest player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, at the age of 36.
Martinez, Pedro
Pedro Jaime Martinez, a Dominican-American former baseball pitcher, played in Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2005.
He was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Montreal Expos, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Mets, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Martinez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers in 1968.
From 1997 to 2003, Pedro was at the pinnacle of his career, establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball history.
When he retired, he had 219 wins and 100 losses, giving him the fourth-highest winning % in MLB history.
He had a 2.93 ERA and 3000 strikeouts in his career.
He is the only pitcher in history to have over 3,000 career strikeouts while pitching less than 3,000 innings.
He is an eight-time All-Star, the winner of three Cy Young Awards, and the American League MVP runner-up.
Martinez also has the lowest single-season WHIP in MLB history, 0.737, set in 2000.
Similarly, he has the lowest single-season FIP in live-ball ERA history, with 1.39 in 1999.
He guided the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series triumph in 86 years. In his first year of eligibility, the baseball player was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Martnez was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on February 1, 2018.
four. Cy Young
The renowned Cy Young Award, which has been won by almost every pitcher on this list, is named after American professional baseball star Denton True “Cy” Young.
Cy Young established a legacy that will never be duplicated in the history of baseball pitching.
As a result, the Cy Young Award is given to the best pitchers in each MLB league.
Young’s professional baseball career began in the Tri-State League and progressed to the National League.
In 1890, he joined the Cleveland Spiders (now the Cleveland Indians, the Spiders’ Major League successors).
In his debut, he threw a three-hit 8-1 triumph over the Chicago Colts.
He also played for the St. Louis Perfectos / Cardinals, the Boston Americans / Red Sox, the Cleveland Naps, and the Boston Rustlers.
He also worked as a manager with the Boston Americans.
Even nearly 70 years after his death, Young is regarded with great reverence. He truly is a baseball legend.
He had 511 MLB victories in his career.
Furthermore, he led his league to multiple triumphs and hurled three no-hitters, including the perfect game in 1904.
“Some may have believed that knowing how to curve a ball came first and foremost.
Experience, in my opinion, teaches the opposite.” Young then added,
“Any young pitcher with good control will become an effective curve pitcher much sooner than the pitcher attempting to master both curves and control at the same time.
” A curve is only a tool for control.”
In 1937, Young was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Randy Johnson, third
Randall David Johnson was a former American baseball pitcher who played for the Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, and St. Francisco Giants.
Randy was selected by the Montreal Expos in the second round of the 1985 MLB draft.
He made his debut in 1988 and finished his career in 2009.
He had 303 career victories, which was the fifth-most in MLB history for a left-hander.
Similarly, he struck out 4,875 batters, ranking second all-time on the left-handed club.
Johnson also has five of the top seven single-season strikeout totals by a left-handed pitcher in contemporary baseball history.
He is a ten-time All-Star and has won five Cy Young Awards.
Similarly, he is one of the top five pitchers in both the American and National Leagues to have pitched no-hitters.
Johnson also set a record by becoming the oldest pitcher over the age of 40 to throw a perfect game.
Furthermore, his.646 career-winning % is sixth among left-handers with at least 200 decisions.
His career highs include first place in strikeouts per nine innings pitched, third in hit batters, and tenth in hits allowed per nine innings pitched.
Similarly, Johnson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, in 2015.
Furthermore, he is the first member of the Hall of Fame to have his plaque represented in an Arizona Diamondbacks uniform.
Walter Johnson, No. 2
Walter Perry Johnson was a major league baseball pitcher.
From 1907 through 1927, he was a member of the Washington Senators.
He later managed the Washington Senators and the Cleveland Indians.
He was signed by the Washington Senators in 1907 when he was only 19 years old.
He is still regarded as one of the best and most dominant power pitchers in baseball history.
He set numerous baseball records for the time, some of which are still standing.
Johnson’s retirement will reach a century in the coming years, but he still holds the all-time record for career shutouts with 110.
Similarly, his 417 wins rank second all-time, while his 531 full games rank first.
He had a career strikeout total of 3,508 that stood for nearly 56 years.
He was the first player in his era to reach the 3000 strikeout plateau.
Johnson also holds the record for the most innings pitched among the 18 members of the 3,000-strikeout club.
He also has the fewest strikeouts per nine innings pitched, with 5.34 per nine innings pitched.
In 1936, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He was one of the first five inaugural members to be honored.
To this day, Walter Johnson is recognized for his legendary gentle temperament and great sportsmanship.
For good cause, he’s a legend!
Also, read Tony Bradley, Giannis Antetokounmpo Girlfriend, Raheem Mostert’s
Christy Mathewson is number one.
Christopher Mathewson, also known as Christy Mathewson, was a dominant baseball player who is currently recognized as the finest.
The American right-handed pitcher began his major league career in 1900 and lasted 16 years, until 1916.
He later played for the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Reds.
He then became manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
Mathewson was listed in the top ten all-time pitchers in various categories, including victories, ERA, and shutouts.
Similarly, he had 373 victories, a 2.13 ERA, 2,502 strikeouts, and a.665 winning %.
When he was 14, he began his semi-professional baseball career.
He also briefly played football with the Pittsburgh Stars of the original NFL.
Consider a player who is talented enough to play both football and baseball professionally.
Christy pitched three shutouts to help lead the Giants to victory in the 1905 World Series.
Mathewson, a devout Christian, did not pitch on Sundays due to his Christian convictions and a pledge to his mother.
During World War I, he was an athlete and army officer in the United States Army’s Chemical Warfare Service. He also tried his hand at writing.
Mathewson was one of the original five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.
More than a century has gone since his retirement, and his death will reach a century in the coming years, but Christy Mathewson lives on in the hearts of baseball fans. He is and always will be a baseball legend.
