The JB Random Report All Time Pitching Staff 4/26/12

In a week where the Yankees just lost a potential #2 starter in Michael Pineda for the year, and an ex-Met threw a perfect game for the White Sox, what more appropriate subject to tackle than pitching?

There is no aspect of the game of baseball more affected by time, rule changes and epochs than pitching. The mound has been heightened, then lowered, then heightened again. It has also been pushed back a few feet and inches over the years.

The most significant of all rule changes however, came in 1920. While pitching for the Yankees, Carl Mays had two pitches he was famous for: the submarine and what was known as a spitball. That is, a ball that has somehow been altered to effect its movement. Pitchers spit tobacco on balls or put some type of lubricant on them, effecting their movement but also making the ball harder to see because it was dirty. Inevitably someone got hurt.

With Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman at the plate, Mays threw a pitch that hit him in the head, killing him. Almost over night the advantage in baseball had gone from pitchers to hitters, as all baseballs now had to be in pristine condition and white so that the hitters could see it clearly. Whereas only a few balls were used in a game during the first 50 years of the game, for the past 80 years on average, about 30-70 balls are used per game.

That’s the main reason why pitchers with more victories than the ones chosen for this all-time staff did not make the team. So names like Christy Mathewson, Pud Gavin, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and the man with the most major league wins of them all, Cy Young, will unfortunately be excluded. One because they played mostly in the spitball era, and also because they were allowed a lot more starts back in those days; the five man rotation being a fairly recent phenomena in baseball. Also keep in mind that the Cy Young Award was first given in 1956 and giving the award in each league began in 1967. So here it is…

The JB Random Report All-Time Pitching Staff:

The Starters:

Nolan Ryan-Right Handed Pitcher (1966-1993) Wins-Losses: 324-292 Earned Run Average: 3.19 Strike Outs: 5714 Saves: 3. His fastball was regularly clocked at 100 miles per hour. Ryan dominated hitters for 27 seasons on his way to 5,714 strikeouts, an all-time record. During four decades of work, he only won 20 games in a season twice, but totaled 324 wins and a host of major league records. Most notable of his milestones are seven no-hitters and 12 one-hitters. The eight-time All-Star fanned a single-season record 383 batters in 1973, the same year he won 21 games but was overlooked for the Cy Young Award. Awards or not, he is still my number 1 starter. A lifetime baseball man, he is now part owner of the Texas Rangers who have made two straight World Series appearances under him.

Sandy Koufax-Left Handed Pitcher (1955-1966) W-L: 165-87 ERA: 2.76 SO: 2396. For a period of 5 years, Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher you ever saw. How can a pitcher with less than 200 wins even make this team let alone start? Let me count the ways...He won 25 games three times, captured five straight ERA titles, and set a new standard with 382 strikeouts in 1965. He retired totally in his prime but with growing concern for the health of his pitching arm, probably due to his lack of control early on in his career. His fastball and lights-out curve enabled him to pitch no-hitters in four consecutive seasons, culminating with a perfect game in 1965. He posted a 0.95 ERA in four World Series, leading the Dodgers to three championships.

Roger Clemens-RHP (1984-2007) W-L: 354-184 ERA: 3.12 SO: 4672. 7 Cy Young Awards and 1 Most Valuable Player Award. Second only to Nolan Ryan in strikeouts, and like Ryan pitched well even in his forties. “The Rocket” was a tough competitor with an awesome fastball and six 20 win seasons. When his career is put into perspective, he will probably have many advocating his position as the greatest pitcher of all time. Ok I am not addressing the obvious because he has yet to be convicted of anything, but even without the whole steroid controversy, when you put his career into perspective, he still has a Hall of Fame career. Certainly voters are struggling with inducting him and he does have to be accountable for that, but he is still great.

Warren Spahn-LHP (1942, 1945-1965) W-L: 363-245 ERA: 3.08 SO: 2583. “Spahnnie” is the winningest left-hander in history with 363 victories. He was a 20-game winner 13 times, including six years in a row; and led the National League in wins eight times and complete games nine times. Over his 21-year career, he hurled two no-hitters and won the 1957 Cy Young Award. Like most players of his era, he lost years to military service due to World War II (try to get Alex Rodriguez or Barry Bonds to do that now). His military service was as outstanding as his pitching as he earned both the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his actions.

Walter Johnson-RHP (1907-1927) W-L: 417-279 ERA: 2.36 SO: 3508. OK so he did pitch during the spitball era, but not for as many years as the pitchers I excluded. There were no sophisticated measuring devices in the early 1900s, but Walter Johnson's fastball was considered to be in a class by itself. Using a sweeping sidearm delivery, the “Big Six” (named for the powerful locomotive trains of the era) fanned 3,508 over a brilliant 21-year career with the pathetic Washington Senators, and his 110 shutouts are more than any pitcher. Despite playing for losing teams most of his career, he won 417 games - second only to Cy Young on the all-time list - and enjoyed 10 successive seasons of 20 or more victories. To post those numbers and such a low ERA on such bad teams meant that you had to be the greatest pitcher of your era because you were winning games almost by yourself. In 1924 he finally did get his one World Series ring, beating the NY Giants.

The Relievers:

Whitey Ford-LHP (1950, 1953-1967) W-L: 236-106 ERA: 2.74 SO: 1956. The “Chairman of the Board” was the greatest pitcher on the great Yankees teams of the 1950s and early '60s. His lifetime record of 236-106 gives him the best winning percentage (.690) of any 20th century pitcher. So I don’t wanna hear accusations of favoritism, or as I like to call it, Yankeeism. He led the American League in victories three times, in ERA and shutouts twice, and won the 1961 Cy Young Award. But the main reason why he is on this team and the first man out of the bullpen is his World Series numbers. If one of your starters should have a bad outing, you need the best pitcher you have capable of pitching under pressure to relieve him, and there is no greater pressure in baseball than the World Series. And in the World Series, the Chairman still holds many records, including 146 innings pitched, 10 wins and 94 strikeouts. He also pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings in the Fall Classic.

Greg Maddux-RHP (1986-2008) W-L: 355-227 ERA: 3.16 SO: 3371. The best fielding pitcher of his day with 18, that’s right, 18 Gold Gloves, still had 4 Cy Young awards and over 300 wins to go with them. He was the best location pitcher I ever saw. He never overpowered you with his fastball, but struck you out looking as he painted the corners.

Bob Gibson-RHP (1959-1975) W-L: 251-174 ERA: 2.91 SO: 3117 SV: 2. They say that he could strike you out with just a stare. Often accused of rough play, he once said “I never meant to hit anyone, but if I did, I hit ‘em.” For 17 seasons with the Cardinals, Bob Gibson established himself as the very definition of intimidation, competitiveness, and dignity. He had five 20 win seasons and was one of the best athletes to ever play the game (he once played basketball for the Harlem Globetrotters). In 1968 he was named both the National League Cy Young Award winner and MVP, partly by posting a 1.12 ERA, the lowest figure since 1914. And as far as being a big-game pitcher (another non-stat that will get you on this team), Gibson posted World Series records of seven consecutive wins and 17 strikeouts in a game, and was named World Series MVP in 1964 and 1967. All these awards went on to accompany his 9 Gold Gloves.

Robert “Lefty” Grove-LHP (1925-1941) W-L: 300-141 ERA: 3.06 SO: 2266. Robert Moses “Lefty” Grove was the backbone of the Philadelphia Athletics' dynasty of 1929 to 1931, with an awesome 79-15 record over those three Triple Crown (that’s Wins, Strikeouts and ERA) seasons. He topped the American League in wins four times, winning percentage five times and strikeouts seven consecutive times. Most impressive, are his nine ERA titles, easily the greatest total in history. He won 112 games for the then minor-league Baltimore Orioles, in addition to his 300 major-league victories.

Why Its Not:

Steve Carlton? This was a tough one because this is the 4^th all time leader in strikeouts and the best lefty pitcher since Warren Spahn. But he pitched in the National league at a time where I really don’t remember any overpowering hitters that he faced on a consistent basis except for Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, and they were in a different division. Grove pitched against DiMaggio, Gehrig, and Hank Greenberg in the same division and in their prime and still won 300 games.

Bob Feller? I never liked this asshole because of this classic quote about Jackie Robinson, “He's tied up in the shoulders and can't hit an inside pitch to save his neck. If he were a white man, I doubt if they would even consider him big league material, except perhaps as a bat boy.” I guess Feller had his eyes closed as Jackie Robinson compiled Hall of Fame numbers in only 9 seasons and pretty much taught the major leagues how to win games with speed and skill instead of just power. But his ignorance and racism aside, he was a great pitcher, just not for this team. He is a number one starter on any team that does not contain the guys I chose.

The Closers:

Mariano Rivera-RHP (1995-Present) W-L: 75-58 ERA: 2.22 SO: 1118 SV: 607. Simply put, the greatest closer in the history of the game, and the greatest closer in the history of post-season baseball as well. There is NO better big-game closer in the history of the game, period. Here is his post season line, including last year: W-L: 8-1 ERA: 0.70 SO: 110 SV: 42, and that’s in 141 innings pitched. Now that’s just sick. A 12-time All-Star and 1999 World Series MVP, he has yet to win a Cy Young for some reason. I hate to base anything on just numbers, but in this case the numbers speak so loudly for themselves that they are impossible to ignore.

Dennis Eckersley-RHP (1975-1998) W-L: 197-171 ERA: 3.50 SO: 2401 SV: 390. During the first half of his 24-year big league career, Eck won over 150 games primarily as a starter, including a no-hitter in 1977. Over his final 12 years, he was the best closer of his era, saving nearly 400 games mostly for the Oakland A's who won 4 division titles during his tenure. He won both the Cy Young and MVP in 1992. The only pitcher with 100 saves and 100 complete games, Eckersley dominated opposing batters during a six-year stretch from 1988 to 1993, in which he struck out 458 while walking just 51.

Why Its Not:

Trevor Hoffman or Lee Smith? Both for the same reason actually. Smith was once the All-time leader in career saves. Hoffman also held that moniker until Mariano surpassed him last year, but that’s not the main reason why they didn’t make the team. A closer has to have a totally different mentality than any other pitcher, because he comes in during a situation where his team needs him the most, a high pressure situation. He has to do a lot of work in a short amount of time. Sure he is only pitching one or maybe two innings at the end of a game, but those are the most important innings. Mariano has done all of that for the Yankees and more, where as Hoffman never actually saved as many big games for the Padres. Well truthfully no one has saved as many big games for anyone as Mariano has for the Yankees. Eckersley has also more than proven his worth both in the playoffs, and in the regular season games that have mattered most. When it comes to closers, that’s what you have to do.