The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #68 Whitey Ford

Coming in at #68 is Yankees ace Whitey Ford. Ford’s .690 winning percentage is the second-highest in the modern era among pitchers with at least 1,500 career innings. He’s the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history to have at least a .690 winning percentage while throwing at least 3,000 innings, and he’s the only pitcher in history with at least 230 career wins with fewer than 110 losses. Ford won the 1961 Cy Young when he pitched one of only four seasons in MLB history with at least 25 wins with fewer than five losses. While Ford was a stellar regular season pitcher, it was his work in the World Series that defines his legacy. Ford is the only pitcher in history with six World Series rings and a World Series MVP. He holds the record for most career wins in the World Series with 10, three more than any other pitcher. He also holds the World Series records for games started, innings, and strikeouts. His 33 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings in the World Series are the most in history for a starting pitcher, and he’s the only pitcher in history to throw at least 14 innings without allowing a run in two different World Series.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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