The Best Pitchers in Baseball History

There have been several great pitchers that have excelled during the long history of Major League Baseball. Some of these individuals dominated over an extended period of time while others were very successful over a shorter span. The best pitchers in baseball history often were the premier players on a bad ball club, making the things they managed to accomplish even more amazing.

  1. Cy Young

    • Cy Young joined the National League's Cleveland Spiders in 1890 at the age of 23 and pitched in the majors until he was 44 years old in 1911. Young won at least 20 games in a season 15 times and at least 32 during five separate seasons on his way to a record 511 victories against a record 316 losses. The award for the best pitcher in each league annually bears his name.

    Walter Johnson

    • Walter Johnson won 417 games with the moribund Washington Senators from 1907 through 1927. The right-handed Johnson owns the record for the most shutouts with 110, and he won 30 games twice and 20 games 10 other times during a single season.

    Christy Mathewson

    • From 1903 through 1914 Christy Mathewson won at least 22 games every year, including four seasons with no fewer than 30 wins on his way to 373 triumphs. He was 37-11 in 1908 and in 1905 won three World Series games against the Philadelphia Athletics, allowing no runs in any of the wins.

    Sandy Koufax

    • Left-hander Sandy Koufax had the four greatest seasons of any pitcher since the early part of the 20th century. Koufax used his fastball and curveball to win 97 games against just 27 losses from 1963 through 1966 before being forced to retire at the age of 30 due to an arthritic pitching elbow.

    Nolan Ryan

    • Nolan Ryan pitched for 27 seasons, collecting the most strikeouts and the most walks of any pitcher to play in the big leagues. His 5,714 strikeouts helped him to 324 wins while his 2,795 walks often contributed to his 292 losses. He threw a record seven no-hit games as well.