10 Greatest Pitchers

1. Walter Johnson nicknamed "The Big Train" joined the Washington Senators when they were the worst team in the American League. Soon he turned the team into the best by winning at least 20 games every season. In one season he had 33 wins, 303 strikeouts, and a 1.39 ERA (Earned Run Average). This young man would soon be known as the best pitcher ever to play the game. Walter was inducted in 1936 with 416 wins, 279 loses, a 2.17 ERA, 801 games played, and 3,508 strikeouts.
	2. Christy Mathewson was a very educated and intelligent pitcher. He spent 17 years in the major leagues and gained the recognition of being the best pitcher in the National League. Mathewson had 12 straight 20-win seasons, which is very amazing and had the most outstanding performance in the World Series. He was inducted in 1936 with 373 wins, 188 loses, a 2.13 ERA, 634 games played, and 2,502 strikeouts.
3. Cy Young was spotted warming up by throwing at a wooden fence. They call him "Cy" because what he did when he threw at that fence was exactly what a cyclone would do. He always had the most wins, strikeouts, and the lowest ERA. Cy had six straight seasons with 20 or more wins, which is also outstanding. Cy was inducted in 1937 with 511 wins, 316 loses, a 2.63 ERA, 906 games played, and 2,803 strikeouts.
	4. Sandy Koufax in five years led the National League in ERA and complied a 111-34 record. In 1962, he pitched his first no-hitter. He won both the MVP and the Cy Young award that year. Koufax tossed two more no-hitters in his career including a perfect game. He was inducted in 1972 with 165 wins, 87 loses, a 2.76 ERA, 397 games played, and 2,396 strikeouts.
5. Robert Grove is acknowledged as the greatest left-handed pitcher ever, hence the name Lefty. He topped the American League in wins 4 times, winning percentage 5 times, strikeouts 7 times, and ERA 9 times. In 1931 Grove was at his best with a 31-4 record and a, .886 winning percentage. He received the first MVP award given to an American League player. Lefty was inducted in 1947 with 300 wins, 141 loses, a 3.06 ERA, 616 games played, and 2,266 strikeouts
	6. Bob Feller fanned 18 batters in a game but had the new record for total walks in a season-208. In 1946 he won 26 games and had 348 strikeouts. In his career, Bob had 3 no-hitters and 12 one-hit games. He was soon nicknamed Rapid Robert because of his fastball. Bob was inducted in 1962 with 266 wins, 162 loses, a 3.25 ERA, 570 games played, and 2,581 strikeouts.
7. Steve Carlton set a record with 4 Cy Young awards by winning over 300 games in 24 seasons and second on the all-time strikeout list. Carlton’s best post-season came when he went 1-0 in the playoffs and 2-0 in the World Series. Steve was inducted in 1994 with 329 wins, 244 lose, a 3.22 ERA, 741 games played, and 4,136 strikeouts.
	8. Bob Gibson had 9 200+ strikeout seasons in his career. He was a very successful World Series pitcher and had a single game record of 17 strikeouts in one series game. In 1968 Gibson won both the MVP award and the CY Young award with a record of 22-9, 268 strikeouts, and a NL record of 1.12 ERA. He was not a bad batter with 24 career lifetime home runs and had 9 consecutive Gold Glove awards. Bob was a tremendous athlete. He was inducted in 1981 with 251 wins, 174 loses, a 2.91 ERA, 528 games played, and 3,117 strikeouts.
9. Warren Spahn won more than 20 games in 13 seasons of his 17-year career. In 1947, he won 21 games and had a 2.33 ERA. In 1949 Warren led the National League in wins and strikeouts and again the year after that. Spahn won 22 games in 1951, 23 in 1953, 21 in 1954, and 20 in 1956. He developed a lot of new pitches in his career. Warren was inducted in 1973 with 363 wins, 245 loses, a 3.09 ERA, 750 games played, and 2,583 strikeouts.
	10. Nolan Ryan became the 20^thpitcher in Major League history to win 300 or more games. Ryan is currently #1 on the all-time career strikeout list with 5,114 of them. He achieved this at the age of 43, 6 weeks after throwing his 6^th no- hitter, which is a record. Ryan was one of the hardest throwing pitchers in history. He was inducted in 1999 with 324 wins, 293 loses, a 3.19 ERA, 807 games played, and 5,114 strikeouts.