The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #30 Warren Spahn

Toeing the rubber at #30 is starting pitcher Warren Spahn. There is a pretty convincing argument that Spahn is squarely in the conversation of the greatest pitcher of all time. Quite literally, there is an 85-year stretch where Spahn’s career was unrivaled. From 1915 to 2000, Spahn won 34 more games than any other pitcher and threw 26 more complete games than any other pitcher. He threw a minimum of 260 innings in 14 different seasons during this stretch, which is four more seasons than anyone else. Even more remarkable is that Spahn was a 13-time 20-game winner, which is the most in history. He led the league in wins eight times and complete games nine times, both are the most in history. Spahn was a 17-time all-star selection, which is five more than any other pitcher in history. His Black Ink and Gray Ink scores are the highest of any pitcher since 1930. Spahn’s durability showed up in the postseason as well. He is the only pitcher since 1912 to throw two 10-inning games in the World Series, including in Game 4 of the 1957 series, helping propel the Minneapolis Braves over the heavily favored New York Yankees. It’s fun to imagine what Spahn’s career might have looked like had he not missed three-and-a-half seasons of his prime serving in WWII.

Leave a Reply

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 If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.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.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *