The 5 Greatest Major League Pitchers of All-Time
The Best Major League Pitchers of All-Time
There is no doubt that one of the keys to any winning baseball team is a good pitching staff.
Strength in depth in the bullpen is one thing, but a genuine ‘Ace’ on your team is another.
Who are the greatest ‘Aces’ in MLB history?
Legendary Major League pitcher, Nolan Ryan
In this article, find out about the 5 greatest Major League pitchers. If you disagree feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments below.
1. Randy Johnson AKA The Big Unit
Career highlight stats
Pitching triple crown winner
10-time All-Star
World Series 2001 MVP, shared with Curt Schilling
During his 20-plus years in the majors, there is no doubt that his 6’10, 225-pound stature and long, curly hair were an intimidating presence on the mound.
Many who saw him play could argue that it worked, as he has the second-most career strikeouts in the history of the game at 4,875.
He is only one of three players above 4,500 strikeouts, none of whom are in the game.
He is behind Nolan Ryan, who recorded 5,714 strikeouts, and he’s just above Roger Clemens who had 4,672 strikeouts.
Johnson could have gone pro straight out of high school, as he was initially drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1982 draft.
However, he instead opted to go to college on a baseball/basketball scholarship at USC. He quit basketball after his sophomore year to focus solely on baseball.
The tallest pitcher in the history of baseball finally got drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1988, but he ended up in Seattle within one year.
Besides the Mariners, Johnson also played for the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and the San Fransisco Giants.
The only pitcher who has ever had more strikeouts than Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, had this to say about him in 1992:
“I told Randy he could be the most dominating pitcher in baseball if he would just work on his game. He was a lot like me when I was younger.”
Johnson won the pitching triple crown, which is when you lead the league in wins, strikeouts and ERA.
He was a 10-time All-Star, winning the World Series in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and also winning World Series MVP the same year, an award he had to share with Curt Schilling.
Johnson went 3-0 during the World Series game against the Yankees with 19 strikeouts in 17 ⅓ innings.
2. Nolan Ryan
Career highlight stats
Eight-time All-Star
Made 773 starts: the second-most in MLB
The lowest hits-to-nine-innings-pitched ratio in baseball history
In addition to being the all-time strikeout leader in baseball, Nolan Ryan is also the pitcher with the greatest number of no-hitters at seven.
There is no doubt he was a batter’s worst nightmare!
Hall of Famer Dale Murphy said about Nolan Ryan:
“He (Ryan) is the only pitcher you start thinking about two days before you face him.”
Something which is completely understandable, considering he had a fastball which often topped 100 MPH, something which has been echoed before in the media.
Reggie Jackson had this to say about facing Ryan’s fastball:
“I love to bat against Nolan Ryan and I hate to bat against Nolan Ryan. It’s like ice cream. You may love it (facing his fastball), but you don’t want it shoveled down your throat by the gallon.”
Ryan had a career which spanned 27 years, 1966-1993 to be exact.
Ryan’s career got off to a fast start, as in his first season he had 19 wins, 329 strikeouts and two no-hitters.
During his career, Ryan was selected to the All-Star game eight times, with 773 starts. He is currently second to Cy Young, who started 815 games.
He also has the lowest hits-to-nine-innings-pitched ratio in baseball history, at a rate of 6.56.
During his career, Ryan played for the Mets (1966-1971), Angels 1972-1979, Astros (1980-1988) and Rangers (1989-1993).
3. Sandy Koufax
Career highlight stats
Cy Young Award winner
National League Most Valuable Player of the Year in 1963
Played for the Dodgers his entire career
At the time, many thought that Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher of his era.
Hall of Famer Harry Hooper, a player from the same era as Koufax, had this to say about him:
“You name a better left-hander in the history of baseball and I’ll eat my hat.”
Koufax played for the Dodgers his entire career, which lasted from 1955-1966.
This means that technically he played for both the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers., as the club moved across the country in 1958.
Statistically, Koufax had his best year in 1963 when he went 25-5 with a 1.88 era.
That year he won both the Cy Young and National League Most Valuable Player of the Year.
While Koufax’s career only lasted 12 seasons, he finished in the top 10 in strikeouts 10 of those times and led the league four of those times, 1961 with 269, 1963 with 306 1965 with 382 and 1966 with 317.
Let’s hope that Harry Hooper never had to eat his hat. That sounds pretty disgusting.
4. Dennis Eckersley
Career highlight stats
More than 150 wins and saves
ALCS MVP winner in 1988 and 1992
CY Young Award winner in 1992
While Dennis Eckersley is mostly remembered for pitching with the Oakland A’s, he played for a number of other ball clubs too- and in his own sense, he had a unique career.
He is the only pitcher other than John Smoltz to have more than 150 wins and saves for his career.
The worst part of his career? No doubt giving that home run to Kirk Gibson. Yes, you’ve probably heard about that hit from Gibson in game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
However, that did not stop Eckersley from winning the series one of two he had, the other being in 1992.
There was very little doubt that Eckersley was going to be a success throughout his career.
“It was obvious to me Eckersley would be an outstanding pitcher,” said Bob Quinn, Cleveland’s minor league director during Eck’s tenure with the team.
“He had outstanding speed and intimidated you with a sidearm slider. But the thing that always impressed me – and I saw him pitch in the Texas League – was his makeup.
He has that extra ingredient that says he will excel. Not necessarily a perfectionist, but he wants nothing more than to beat you.”
Over the course of his 24-year career, he played for the Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians and the Saint Louis Cardinals.
However, Eckersley did not become a closer until the 1988 season.
He was initially a long reliever upon going to Oakland during the 1987 season, but when he got an elbow injury A’s manager Tony LaRussa opted to upgrade him to closer. This had optimal results.
Eckersley won ALCS MVP in 1988 and 1992 and he also won the CY Young Award in 1992.
He was also a six-time All-Star and two-time Rolaids Relief Award winner.
5. Clayton Kershaw
Career highlight stats
Gold Glove and Major League Player of the Year winner
Nine-time All-Star
One of the highest-paid athletes in the world
Of the five pitchers in this article, Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw is the only one whose story is still being written.
The pitcher came straight out of high school in Highland Park, Texas.
He won the pitching triple crown in 2020, leading the league in Earned Run Average every year from 2011-2014 and 2017.
He also won the Gold Glove and Major League Player of the Year, and he is a nine-time All-Star, making the All-Star team every year from 2011-2017 and during the 2019 and 2022 seasons.
In addition to his many baseball accomplishments, Kershaw was also ranked number 57 by Forbes as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes and he has endorsement deals on top of that.
Read more top 5 lists on our baseball blog
