Top 30 Pitchers; Mariano Rivera; best single game
Mariano Rivera’s career may be over. Best reliever in history. So where does he rank among all pitchers?
Next month is the anniversary of the single best pitched game in baseball history. Doc Ellis pitching a no-hitter while tripping on LSD
Second best game was Pedro Martinez 17-strike out, one-hitter against the Yankees on September 10, 1999
For a career, measuring pitching success is pretty straight forward. How well are they able to stop the other team from scoring and how much time do they spend doing it. Innings pitched and ERA+ are the best stats, using only those stats and adjusting for the fact that sports performance generally increases from one generation to the next is mostly all required to make this list
Top 30 Pitchers in History (post-1900, Cy Young would be between 10 and 15)
1 Roger Clemens What I wrote two years ago is still true A unanimous Cy Young award in 1986, 20 years later he had the lowest ERA of the 21st century. In between there were six more years he was the best pitcher in the league, another seven years he was a legitimate ace and an additional eight years he was a solid contributor. Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson can’t match that; without exaggeration, that’s essentially double what Sandy Koufax did
2 Walter Johnson
3 Tom Seaver
4 Lefty Grove
xx Satchel Paige
5 Greg Maddux
6 Pete Alexander
7 Randy Johnson
8 Bob Gibson
9 Warren Spahn
10 Christy Mathewson
Paige is the fourth or fifth best pitcher in history. That’s clear to see. Won’t give him a ranking because I would have no clue where to rank the second or third best pitchers from the Negro Leagues. In just 10 years after segregation ended five black players began their careers who are still ranked among the top five at their position (Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson). Hard to believe Smokey Joe Williams doesn’t deserve consideration for a place in the top 20. Yet I wouldn’t have a clue where to put any others
That list took only a few minutes and I’m confident it is correct and willing to support it. The next 20 are so close. Would take hours to separate. If you care to know the exact order, just check out baseballreference and compare ERA+, IP and peak values. Maybe I’ll re-write this later when I have the ability to sit for hours. Instead, groups of five, in chronological order, number 11-15:
Carl Hubbell, Bob Feller, Robin Roberts, Steve Carlton, Pedro Martinez
16-20:
Sandy Koufax, Whitey Ford, Juan Marichal, Jim Palmer, Tom Glavine
21-25:
Ed Walsh, Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins, Nolan Ryan, John Smoltz
26-30:
Mordecai Brown, Phil Niekro, Bert Blyleven, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera
