The 40 Greatest Pitchers In MLB History, Ranked
If you asked 100 baseball fans to tell you who the greatest MLB pitcher of all time is, you may just get 100 different answers. Bob Feller? Tom Seaver? Lefty Grove? The Babe would definitely be in there… That’s why the debate about the GOAT pitcher has been ongoing for decades! But now we’re here to settle the argument once and for all — with nothing but cold, hard facts. Will your favorite be at number one?
The stats presented here have been collected from MLB.com. To qualify for the ranking, a pitcher needs to have pitched in at least 800 games. The final ranking was then determined by each pitcher’s WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched). Any ties were split by strikeouts.
Honorable mention: Carl Hubbell
One name conspicuous by its absence from this ranking is Carl Hubbell. The man pitched in nine All-Star games, won MVP twice, and even got welcomed into the Hall of Fame. On top of that, he still holds the record for the most consecutive wins by a pitcher. Oh, and did we mention the time he struck out five Hall of Famers in an All-Star game? So Hubbell is undoubtedly one of the GOATs, but the stats just weren’t in his favor this time around.
40. Javier Lopez
Games Played: 839
Innings Pitched: 533.1
Hits: 484
Runs: 227
Earned Runs: 206
Home Runs: 26
Hit Batsmen: 27
Walks: 235
Strikeouts: 358
WHIP: 1.35
39. Mike Stanton
Games Played: 1178
Innings Pitched: 1114
Hits: 1086
Runs: 523
Earned Runs: 485
Home Runs: 93
Hit Batsmen: 33
Walks: 420
Strikeouts: 895
WHIP: 1.35
38. Alan Embree
Games Played: 882
Innings Pitched: 774
Hits: 744
Runs: 429
Earned Runs: 395
Home Runs: 95
Hit Batsmen: 20
Walks: 293
Strikeouts: 691
WHIP: 1.34