Baseball's Top 10 Pitchers
Pedro Martinez, Warren Spahn, Bob Gibson, Carlton & Whitey Ford
Apr 8, 2007
These rankings are based on a composite career score (CCS) based on the pitchers' career wins, earned run average, years leading major pitching categories, career WHIP, number of Cy Young Awards and/or MVP Awards won, postseason performace and a host of other relevant factors. All of these facts and figures were carefully considered in ranking Baseball's Top 10 Pitchers since 1950. Here are Baseball's Greatest Pitchers of the modern era:
10. Whitey Ford: New York Yankees
The Chairman of the Board was one of the three best World Series pitchers in history.
His has the most World Series wins, with 10, and the most strikeouts in Fall Classic History. In 22 World Series games, Ford posted a 2.71 ERA, and at one point, he pitched 33 2/3 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run. That is the best ever.
Combine that with the second highest winning percentage for a pitcher with 200 decisions, the 1961 Cy Young Award, six World Series rings, and a Baseball Hall of Fame induction, and Whitey comes in 10th among pitchers since 1950.
9. Bob Gibson: St. Louis Cardinals
Gibson is another of the three greatest World Series pitchers in history. In nine World Series starts from 1964-1968, Bob Gibson was 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA and 93 strikeouts. That’s an average of 10.3 Ks per nine innings. In 1967, he won three complete games against the Boston Red Sox and posted a 1.00 ERA for the Series. He won the MVP Awards of that Classic to go along with the trophy he had already won in the 1964 Series.
Truly one of the game’s most intimidating pitchers, Gibson finished his career with 254 Wins, over 3,000 strikeouts, 2 Cy Young Awards and a 1981 Baseball Hall of Fame induction.
8. Steve Carlton: Philadelphia Phillies
Having a 300 game winner with four Cy Young Awards ranked eighth on this list would be a disgrace were it not for the incredible quality of the top seven pitchers. Steve Carlton was amazing. In the 1972 season, the Phillies won only 59 games. That certainly wasn’t Carlton’s fault. He won 27 games, had an ERA of 1.97 and struck out 310 batters. All told, he won 46% of the Phillies games that year, which is the best such winning percentage of all time.
Carlton finished his career with 329 career victories, 4,136 strikeouts, and he won the clinching game in the 1980 World Series. Steve Carlton was always a clutch pitcher. In four World Series with the Phillies and Cardinals, Lefty had a 2.56 ERA and struck out well over a batter an inning. Steve Carlton was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
7. Warren Spahn: Atlanta Braves
Because of World War II, Warren Spahn did not really start his career until he was already 25 years old. Spahn still won 363 games, the most by any pitcher since 1930. Along the way, he had thirteen 20-win seasons, over 2,500 strikeouts, and a now unthinkable 382 complete games. Perhaps the story that best defines Spahn is his 1963 duel with Giants Hall of Famer ,Juan Marichal. Spahn was 43 years old at the time, yet he pitched 15 scoreless innings. Marichal matched him each and every inning. By the way, Spahn lost the game when he gave up a solo home run to Willie Mays in the bottom of the 16th inning.
6. Pedro Martinez: Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets.
The statistics tell the story. Pedro has a career record of 206-92. That gives him the highest winning percentage in Major League Baseball history for pitchers with over 200 career decisions. Pedro also has the best ever career adjusted ERA, which measures the pitcher’s career ERA against his League’s ERA over the pitcher’s entire career. On average, throughout his career, Pedro’s ERA has been 1.68 points below the league average. Martinez could still end up higher on this list. He is only 35 years old and therefore has a few years to add to his already impressive record.
