Tread woke up and chose violence today.

This isn't hard. His name is Pedro Jaime Martinez.

Just a reminder that Nolan Ryan has the all-time career lowest allowed Batting Average (.204), Slugging % (.298), and HR/9 (0.5), of any starting pitcher in the modern era. As ridiculous as his strikeout numbers are, also keep in mind that they were achieved during a time during which the league strikeout percentage was nearly half of what it is today. For example, his 1973 season strikeout total would be *649 Ks* at today’s strikeout rate of 23.2%. All while regularly pitching 150-200+ pitches per start, frequently through pain, injury, & fatigue, and until his age 46 season. Not his fault he played on crappy teams with poor coaching, hitting, and fielding. 🐐

I’m glad you chose Pedro Martinez as number one. Having seen a number of his games, his dominance was off the charts. He pitched with swagger having the insanely good stuff to back it up. He had a chip on his shoulder left over from the dodgers passing on him thinking him too small to be a starter like his brother Ramon. He spent the rest of his career proving them wrong. Pedro has freakishly long double jointed fingers, which enabled him to excel with any pitch, including a devastating change that came from so far back in his hand. To watch Pedro pitch was a beautiful experience.

Great video! You should follow it up by giving some technical and mechanical analysis as well as so we can really see what made these legends tick

Steve Carlton “Lefty” over 4136 strike outs, Cy Young Award four times: in 1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982.

The greatest pitcher in history is Cy Young. The amount of complete games with no relief pitcher and 511 wins are absolute insanity. There's no greater stat than a W for a pitcher, especially watching the other team with their heads down at the end of the game and sending them packing with a complete game.

I actually have no disagreements with this list. Great job!

What were the four criteria? I also noticed that Sandy Koufax was the oldest pitcher on the list: a guy that older folks saw in their youth. There is nobody before the 60's. Now the years of the late eighties though the early 2000's was the golden age of great pitching with Clemens, Maddux, jJohnson and Martinez all in my top ten . But when I listened to some of your numbers; they were face value statistics which violates the dictum of Bill James which is "Batting stats and pitching stats do not indicate the quality of play, merely which part of that struggle is dominant at the moment."-Bill James I heard ERA mentioned and FIP mentioned. Both have to be viewed in context. If we put hitting in the context of Hank Greenberg's, Lou Gehrig's Babe Ruth's, Jimmie Foxx's and Hack Wilson's RBI totals then all the great hitters would be from the 20's and 30's Using a control like offensive WAR puts more modern payers like Mays and Aaron and Yastzremski on equal footing. WAR put Carl Yastzremski's 1967 season on the same footing as Babe Ruth's 1927 season with a 12.6 to a 12.4 for Yaz for third and fourth highest WARs of all time for single seasons for position payer www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_bat_season.shtml So stats like WAR and standard deviation are more valuable because they follow the dictum of the late Bobby Bragan , an MLB player, manager and executive when he said on the subject of percentages; "Say you were standing with one foot in the oven and one foot in an ice bucket. According to the percentages people, you should be perfectly comfortable." which speaks to quality of the league. That way you can find league quality with out the arrogant assumption that "players are better today," a statement that generally goes unproved as if no proof is needed. Now following that advice from Mr. Bragan, Mr. James and others. I see Walter, Johnson, Lefty Grove and Roger Clemens as the three best pitchers of all time, and that Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez were in the wings for fourth ad fifth best. I had every guy in your top 7 in my top 13 except Koufax who I ranked unapologetically 65th.. But not even to mention Lefty Grove was a major flaw. He got better numbers than all six guys who made my list of the seven guys on your list. Koufax just is over-rated and you were polite to rate him that high.

Id take Maddux all day. Especially now a days when seems like your facing 100 everyday. That sick movement on his pitches and the art of pitching and deception. Num 2 P. Martinez and #3 R. Johnson. But great video regardless!

Kershaw is my fav pitcher of all time

The first min of the video, Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson didn't make this list. Then next they say with all due respect, Nolan Ryan didn't make it. How exclusive is this list?

This from Joe Posnansk: You will ask why I bring this up. Well, here’s why: I think Lefty Grove is the most underrated player in baseball history. Why? Because he’s the one player I know who is permanently underrated. It doesn’t matter how many people point out that he might be the best pitcher in baseball history. It doesn’t matter how many times you point out his preposterous numbers. It doesn’t matter. He stays in the shadows of baseball history. Here are the latest results from an ESPN poll on the best left-handed pitcher of all time (pointed out by brilliant reader Mickey): 1. Sandy Koufax, 58% 2. Randy Johnson, 20% 3. Warren Spahn, 9% 4. Steve Carlton, 8% 5. Lefty Grove, 5% Now, look, all five of those pitchers were great. And this is not a poll of baseball experts of anything, this is everyone - hardcore baseball fans, softcore baseball fans (?), people who think every fly ball is a home run, people who scream balk when a pitcher whirls to throw to second, kids who have been following baseball since May of 2007, people who have not seen a baseball game since 1973 and wonder why there aren’t be more players like Felix Milan. And so, you can understand the results. Koufax has become mythical. Unit is about to win 300. Spahn is the answer to the trivia question, Which lefty won the most games? Carlton, well, he was called “Lefty” and he played more recently and more people have probably heard of him than Grove. Which is bloody remarkable, I would just like to point out: Steve Carlton: .574 winning percentage, 115 ERA+. Lefty Grove: .680 winning percentage, 148 ERA+. That doesn’t seem especially close, does it? Carlton was a great pitcher, no doubt, but this is a bit like someone asking for the best lefty hitters ever, and someone picking Rod Carew over Babe Ruth. The thing about Grove is not just that he’s better than anyone on the list. He beats all of them at their own game. What I mean is, well, Steve Carlton is probably best known for his amazing 1972 season, when he won 27 games for a last place team. It’s one of the greatest seasons in baseball history: Most wins, best ERA, most strikeouts, best ERA+, best strikeout to walk ratio. Incredible. Well, Grove probably had two or three years that were better than that. Take 1930 - which was not Grove’s best season - he had the most wins, best ERA, most strikeouts, best ERA+, best strikeout to walk ratio, best WHIP and, oh yeah, he also led the league in saves. I realize it was a different era, and saves were not even a statistic. However, I would like to say that again: He also led the league in saves. Sandy Koufax is known for his great peak from 1963-66. And it was remarkable. He had a 1.86 ERA over those four years, and had more strikeouts than innings pitched. But, you have to point out that he was pitching in one of the greatest pitching parks ever, from a mound roughly the height of the Chrysler Building, in the greatest pitcher time since Deadball. Truth is, Grove’s peak from 1929-1932 might have been even better. Koufax: 92-27, .782 winning percentage, 1.86 ERA, 1,192 innings, 1,228 Ks, 172 ERA+. Grove: 104-25, .806 winning percentage, 2.56 ERA, 1,146 innings, 742 Ks, 176 ERA+. You will notice that Grove’s ERA is quite a bit higher, but his ERA+ is better and his winning percentage is better. That’s because he pitched in a hitters’ ballpark in a hitters’ era. But here’s the truly amazing thing: While those four years more or less make up Koufax’s career, Grove went 24-8 the year BEFORE his peak, and he went 24-8 the year AFTER his peak. Spahn’s calling card was durability and his ability to win games. He won 20 or more game an amazing 13 times. Incredible. But here’s how many times he won more than 23 games in a season: Zero. Grove did it five times. Spahn was an amazing old pitcher - from age 35 to 42 he won 167 games with a 119 ERA+. Grove, from ages 35-39, reinvented himself as a pitcher. And he went 83-41 with a 174 ERA+. Think about that for a minute … for those five years, as an old pitcher, Grove had a better ERA+ than Sandy Koufax’s peak." forums.collectors.com/discussion/724129/underrated-players This is what maybe the finest expert about the subject now working says. And we both agree. I cannot see how anybody could pick Koufax or the other three pitchers over Grove. If the guys who put this flawed list up want to defend it, I am ready, and I am certainly ready to deconstruct Pedro Martinez and show how much better Grove was than your numero uno. i

It’s Nolan Ryan. He was on such bad teams that one year he had a 2.28 era and was 19-16. He started pitching in the late 60s and pitched through the roid era. If he wasn’t on such crappy teams we would have at least 400 wins. It’s not even close actually when I think about it.

Love the video! I am surprised you never mentioned Warren Spahn, however he did have a "high" career era of 3.09 but a surprisingly high fip of 3.46.

As impressive as these all time greats are, none of them ever came close to matching Orel Hershiser's 59 consecutive scoreless innings streak (plus 8 inn, including postseason). And Hershiser followed that streak up with one lasting 21 1/3 innings in the playoffs! It's hard to imagine that streak ever getting surpassed. And no, I'm not claiming that Orel Hershiser should be on this list, just that his particular feat might be the most impressive within the pitching realm in history.

That you don’t like Nolan Ryan Clayton Kershaw is a good pitcher But he’ll never reach Ryan’s records

Is MLB licensing cheaper to show video of Seaver in a Pale Hose uniform?

lincecum for sure

If I had one game to win it would be Bob Gibson!

Walter Johnson & Warren Spahn are the 2 most complete (including hitting & fielding) pitchers of all-time. Spahn has the most career SHO (63) of any live ball (post 1920) 300 game winner. Tom Seaver is the greatest expansion (post 1961) pitcher & has the lowest career ERA (2.86) of all live ball 300 game winners. Walter Johnson won 25 games with an ERA under 2.00 in 7 consecutive seasons. He won 38 1-0 games & won 20 on a losing team 5X & no other pitcher did it more than twice since 1900. As a hitter he had a career total of 41 triples which is more than ARod, Pujols, Griffey & Cabrera each had in their careers. There should be at least 2 top 10s. Keep in mind that pitchers are first & foremost baseball PLAYERS. Therefore, pitchers who were not batters or did not play entire games need not apply for all-time top 10s. MLB NL/AL (since 1901) Top 10: 1- W.Johnson 2- W.Spahn 3- C.Mathewson 4- L.Grove. 5- G.C.Alexander 6- B.Feller 7- T.Seaver 8- M.Brown 9- S.Koufax 10- R.Roberts. All-time all top level leagues: 1- W.Johnson 2- W.Spahn 3- C.Mathewson 4- L.Grove 5- G.C.Alexander 6- B.Feller 7- T.Seaver 8- S.Paige 9- C.Young 10- A.Spalding.

Respect to this list, Pedro on top & Maddux & Seaver in the mix....but did i miss Bob Gibson??? Do i need to watch again?

Oh yeah i am ready for this

Gimme an Andy. S or R I don't care.

Nolan Ryan is number one ever.It’s silly to leave him out of any group of all time greats.

This is a list that I took great pains to compile, and I think has a better grasp of historical as well as theoretical analysis. there is no meaningful way to much separate Walter Johnson, Lefty Gove and Roger Clemens. The guys in the video were right. Clemens peak was a little lower. And at least the guys in the video admit that they weight peak more heavily. BUT it is a one dimensional (efficiency) which is why Pedro is over-rated. In context, Walter Johnson from 1912-16 set an incredible standard that unless you understand it will go unnoticed. Maybe the smartest man who ever lived, John Stuart Mill said "He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that." On Liberty (1859) chapter. 2. While the pitchers selected by the committee were among the best, there was nobody before Sandy Koufax, and that is parochial. Baseball is an old game and human beings have not evolved as much or as quickly as the authors would pretend. ." ...................................PEAK-5..... ROTC GOAT .......SCORE 1. Walter Johnson 395 388 783 2. Lefty Grove 379 392 771 3. Roger Clemens 368 395 763 4. Randy Johnson 381 378 759 5. Cy Young 371 384 755 6. Pedro Martinez 380 371 751 7. Pete Alexander 377 372 749 8. Tom Seaver 350 376 726 9. Kid Nichols 340 383 723 10. Greg Maddux 367 351 718 11. Christy Mathewson 366 346 712 12. Curt Schilling 349 361 710 13. Clayton Kershaw 344 349 693 14. Bob Gibson 362 322 684 15. Phil Niekro 338 325 663 16. Justin Verlander 293 369 662 17. Roy Halliday 320 330 650 17. Max Scherzer 332 318 650 19. Bert Blyleven 294 355 649 20. Mike Mussina 264 375 639 21. Stan Coveleski 346 277 623 22. Robin Roberts 344 275 619 23. Zack Grienke 258 360 618 24. Ferguson Jenkins 291 323 614 25. Bret Saberhagen 308 304 612

Randy!

I don't get how Steve Carlton never makes these lists. He checks all the boxes. He's at least ahead of Ryan, Gibson and Koufax. Not even honorable mention seems crazy.

Great video, but Maddux should have been number one

pedro is not #1. how many complete games did he have. and leaving bob gibson and tom seaver is just nuts

Ryan>Kershaw. What's Kershaw's record in the postseason?? I'll wait.

Koufax was a great pitcher but i think some others had longer career and better numbers not in the hall

Top 10 relatively in order 1. Pedro 2. Randy 3. Maddux 4. Clemens 5. Koufax 6. Seaver 7. Kershaw 8. Satchel 9. Walter 10. Nolan

Ryan was the best I ever saw. Followed by Marichal then Johnson

Doc is a notable mention

Just wondering why Nolan Ryan wasn't on this list in your opinion?

So he’s just gonna take the all time strikeout leader out of the all time list

STEVE CARLTON IS THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, PERIOD

Choosing 4 contemporaries all at the top shows a remarkable lack of perspective. Just like saying cy young and w Johnson and Mathewson and grove and Alexander would be.

No Bob Gibson…..give me a break.

Interesting piece. I've never seen an actual deep dive breakdown of the top tier like this. I wonder if a Koufax and Gibson lose some ranking points just cuz they pitched mainly before the mounds were lowered and strike zones tightened. As a youngster in the 70s and 80s, Nolan Ryan seemed to be the marquee name of that era, to go along with his coveted baseball card. After Ryan, I recall Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer, Steve Carlton, and Don Sutton getting much of the hype. I don't follow the game as closely now, but I wonder why the 'finesse' non-power arms like a Greg Maddox seem such a scarcity nowadays(or am I wrong)? Do scouts focus predominately on power arms?

Like most of these lists you miss the greatest pitcher of all time, Robert Moses Grove. Here is my argument that to the rational mind should sway your opinion. lefty Grove pitched "exactly the same number of innings in his best eleven years (1928-39 excluding 1934) as Martinez did in his career (2827). Here is a comparison of their numbers: .........................................Lefty Grove..................Pedro Martinez Win lost record...................235-82...........................219-100...... ERA....................................2.73...............................2.93............. ERA+..................................168...............................,154.............. WAR...................................95.7.................................86.1.......... WAR per 250......................8.46................................7.61........... Grove is also the only pitcher since 1920 to have two peaks over 40.0 (46 from 1929-33 and 42.6 from 1935-39). He won nine ERA titles, nine ERA+ titles; eight FIP titles; eight strikeout to walk ratio titles. Ignorance of baseball history and the modern conceit without evidence to back it up are the general reason that Grove gets left off. I can compare Grove with any of the other six pitchers and only one, Roger Clemens stands up to him. If you looked at numbers then you picked the wrong ones. Here is a video that does a better job (this one was pretty good except for the Grove slight) here is a better one about lefties kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hsWZfJd42pbZo6s.html

Bro ofc you don't do stats cuz if you add that it's Nolan Ryan and it's not even close 😭

Steve Carlton he won 27 games with the worst team in baseball that year 1972 Phillies

It's Koufax at number 1 and then let the rest battle it out.

u cant count todays pitchers because they rarely throw more than 5 innings

Most strikeouts in history.. I get he had no Cy youngs..but people argue that...and he had 7 no hitters..with other accolades

Ryan is

Cy Young is the greatest he pitched more inning than anyone.

How would the stats of Kershaw, Maddux, Johnson, Clemens and Martinez look if they played in an era when elite pitchers threw 15+ complete games a season?

I've seen them all and Sandy Kofax is the GOAT without a doubt.

If Degrom could stay healthy he has Pedro talent level but his arm cant keep up with what his body wants it to do

78 pitch shutout.

Pedro. Johnson. Clemens. Maddux. Kershaw. The best ones I saw pitch

Tom Seaver

It's Walter Johnson. The problem with Pedro is six or seven seasons pitching 30 games, 7 innings/game just isn't good enough. It's shocking how light his stats are really. I've often wondered how older pitchers would do if you retroactively ONLY counted the first 100 pitches of their games. I suspect they'd have around 10% less decisions, 10% lower ERA and around 25-50 points higher on their winning percentages. But that's just guess work. The 90s/00s were just such a weird, weird time statistically in baseball. My top ten: 1. Walter Johnson 2. Tom Seaver 3. Lefty Grove 4. Roger Clemens 5. Greg Maddux 6. Cy Young 7. Clayton Kershaw 8. Sandy Koufax 9. Bob Gibson 10. Grover Alexander. Give or take, you could switch one of two a spot up or down and I wouldn't care. I dunno maybe you could put Martinez around 10th if you really wanted.

Maddux and Glavine im a braves fan ! No my favorite was ryan and the big unit

There can Only be 1, and that is Nolan Ryan!

What steroids should I take to be like roger Clemens?

You put Clayton Kershaw in the video and took Walter Johnson out? Dumbest thing I’ve ever seen

Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and Greg Maddox I would all put ahead of Pedro Martinez hands down. Ryan also pitched 27 seasons... he was dominating for years... his peak was his whole career. Martinez's "7 year peak" is MID at best.

Satchel Paige.

Clemens is the greatest pitcher of all time, there’s no debate.

Seaver makes your cut, but Gibson doesn't? Ridiculous. You know nothing about baseball.

ball knower

Mariano Rivera should be on this list even as a closer

What made Pedro so good? Actually

You sir, don't know baseball. Just another list of recency bias. Pretty sad really, nice try but read a book

Nolan Ryan

Easy tim lincecum

The absolute insanity in any rationale of leaving Ryan off. Can’t find a stretch of dominance? Look at his Ks per season. Can’t find a peak? That’s because he was throwing no hitters into his 40s! 😂. And steroids don’t matter in Clemens case because everyone was doing them?! 😂

First

💯

Seems to me #1 is wide 🔥🔥🔥open there isn’t much debate to who is the greatest QB all time or nba player or even hitter (Barry bonds). Will be very interesting to see if someone can reach that level when the game is getting to a point where there limiting innings on guys

Just ignore the fact that he took down Don Zimmer during a benches clearing incident in the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees

This narrator stinks..

What about Addie Joss what about Walter Johnson what about Christy wake up man

Gibson changed the pitching game. Easily number 1

Kershaw is top 2. It's him and Pedro there isn't anyone else in the conversation for GOAT.

Nolan Ryan