The 10 Greatest Starting Pitchers of All Time

After 149 years of Major League Baseball, there have been countless stories and showcases of pitchers that ranged from rookies to the all-time greats. Narrowing down the best to only 10 was one of the hardest things we’ve had to do, but this is our attempt at the 10 greatest pitchers of all time!

Tom Seaver (1967 – 1986)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 311
Career Loses: 205
Innings Pitched: 4783
ERA: 2.86
K/9: 6.8

A true National League force and one of the most consistent starting pitchers had to have been Tom Seaver. The winner of 3 Cy Young Awards was an All-Star for 12/13 years was a fan favorite and overall powerhouse on the mound.

Bob Gibson (1959 – 1975)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 251
Career Loses: 174
Innings Pitched: 3884.1
ERA: 2.91
K/9: 3.10

Gibson was one of the most prominent pitchers in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite his unbelievable talent on the mound, he was also known as the best hitting pitcher. In an era where pitchers were seen as automatic outs, Gibson was good enough that he would occasionally be used for pinch hitting. You would think he put as much time in the batting cages as the pitchers mound! His most famous season was in 1968 when he was so dominant that he caused the MLB to lower the pitcher’s mound and reduce the strike zone!

Clayton Kershaw (2008 – Present)
Career Stats
Career Wins: 144
Career Loses: 64
Innings Pitched: 1935
ERA: 2.36
K/9: 9.86

Clayton Kershaw is regarded as the modern-day Sandy Koufax. (Note Sandy didn’t make this list because his career lacked the longevity to justify a spot, and as we’ve said, narrowing this list down has been very difficult). Kershaw led the major leagues in ERA for 3 straight seasons and was one of the few pitchers to earn the MVP award (2014). His career is still in progress and his regular season numbers have been undoubtedly the best since 2008. His one fault is his inconsistent postseason results, which plagued him and pushed him higher up on the list. Though as we’ve stated there’s certainly still time to climb the charts!

Satchel Paige (1948 – 1965)

Career Stats (Majors, Minors, and Negro League)
Career Wins: 146
Career Loses: 64
Innings Pitched: 2671.1
ERA: appx 2.50
K/9: appx 6.8

Having to unfortunately, play most of his career in the negro league, Satchel Paige is still regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Earned Runs were not accounted for we can only estimate how many of the runs given up were earned. His runs per 9 innings were 3.10 and he posted a career ERA of 3.29 in the majors, after entering at the age of 42 (which was unbelievable).

Pedro Martinez (1992 – 2009)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 219
Career Loses: 100
Innings Pitched: 2827.1
ERA: 2.93
K/9: 10.04

What can we say about Pedro? The only man to ever lose a perfect game (really, that happened). He was one of the most dominating pitchers who was able to blow away even the most impressive sluggers in the steroid era. Between this blazing high 90s fastball and sharp 12-6 curve, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Steve Carlton (1965 – 1988)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 329
Career Loses: 244
Innings Pitched: 5217.2
ERA: 3.22
K/9: 7.1

A man with tremendous stuff and the longevity to back it up, Steve Carlton was an absolute force in the 1970s. He’s 4th on the list of all-time strikeouts and 11th in win’s making him a true all-time great. He had one of the most dynamic breaking pitches in the game, leading him to 4 Cy Young Awards over the span of an impressive 24 years.

Cy Young (1890 – 1911)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 511
Career Loses: 316
Innings Pitched: 7534.2
ERA: 2.63
K/9: 3.43

There’s a reason the prestigious pitching award is named after him, Cy Young is the winningest pitcher of all time who has accomplished feats that no other has. He managed to throw 118 complete games over a span of just 5 seasons – which was unprecedented even in the early 1900s.

Greg Maddux (1986 – 2008)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 355
Career Loses: 227
Innings Pitched: 5008.1
ERA: 3.16
K/9: 6.06

Greg Maddux was nothing short of a pitcher’s pitcher. He was able to post incredible numbers during the steroid era with minimal “stuff”. With a fastball below 90, Maddux dominated the National League with pure control and witt. He would outsmart his opponents and is known as perhaps the greatest strategist to ever step on the mound. Include his incredible abilities to field his position, and you have one of the most impressive pitchers ever.

Randy Johnson (1988 – 2009)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 303
Career Loses: 166
Innings Pitched: 4135.1
ERA: 3.29
K/9: 10.61

A true lefty fireballer, Randy Johnson evolved from a wild and intimidating thrower to an elite pitcher. After moving to the Diamondbacks, he won 100 games (in 5 seasons) and struck out over 300 batters in each year. The Big Unit had one of the most devastating sliders of all time.

Walter Johnson (1907 – 1927)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 417
Career Loses: 279
Innings Pitched: 5914.2
ERA: 2.17
K/9: 5.34

Walter Johnson was an absolute beast in an era with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Prior to the tail end of his career, he was constantly posting sub-2 ERA seasons and basically set the standard for future pitchers.

Christy Mathewson (1900 – 1916)

Career Stats
Career Wins: 373
Career Loses: 188
Innings Pitched: 4780.2
ERA: 2.13
K/9: 4.71

Let’s put Christy’s career this way – his highest single-season ERA was 2.22 and he pitched 110 career shutouts. He had seasons with 30+ wins – numbers that will never be touched again.