The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #16 Pedro Martinez

Mastering the list at #16 is Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez. If Pedro had been just a little more durable, he would be the leading candidate in the “greatest pitcher of all-time” discussion. Even with just a shade over 2,800 career innings, Pedro dominated the game like no other pitcher in history. His 154 ERA+ is the highest ever among pitchers with at least 2,800 career innings. His 1.05 WHIP is the second-lowest in MLB history (min. 2,800 career innings). His .686 winning percentage is the 2nd highest in MLB history (min. 2,800 innings). He’s the only pitcher in MLB history with at least 215 career wins without losing more than 100 games. He’s the only pitcher in history with six seasons of at least 100 innings and less than a .95 WHIP. There have only been three seasons in history with at least 280 innings and a 240 ERA+ and Pedro has two of them. He joins Sandy Koufax as the only players in history to lead the league in ERA five consecutive seasons (min. of 18 games started). Pedro shares the record with Walter Johnson and Sandy Koufax with two seasons of at least 300 strikeouts and less than a .94 WHIP. In 1999, he became one of two players (Gerrit Cole) in history with 310 strikeouts in fewer than 215 innings. His 2000 season may have been the best season by a pitcher in baseball history, becoming the only pitcher ever to throw 200 innings with less than a .74 WHIP, and the only pitcher ever to throw 200 innings with a 290 ERA+. Pedro shares the record with three seasons of at least 180 innings and fewer than five losses, and two seasons with at least 20 wins and fewer than five losses. (Roger Clemens). He holds the record with five seasons of at least 180 innings and a 200 ERA+. Pedro won three Cy Young awards and probably should’ve won a fourth, if not a fifth. In 2004, Pedro helped lead Boston to its first World Series championship in 86 years with seven scoreless innings in Game 3 to put Boston up 3-0.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #17 Rogers Hornsby

Lighting up the list at #17 is Rogers Hornsby. While Babe Ruth was putting on a nightly fireworks display in the American League in the roarin’ 20s, The Rajah was lighting up the scoreboard in the National League. Although Hornsby’s numbers aren’t quite at the Babe’s level, Hornsby’s frequency atop the league leaderboard is unprecedented. No player led the league in offensive WAR and OPS+ more often. He also led the league in Baseball Reference’s adjusted runs, adjusted batting wins, and offensive win percentage more than any other player in history. Hornsby’s .358 career batting average is the second-highest of all-time and his 175 OPS+ is the 5th highest in history. Hornsby led the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage nine times, runs created eight times, and batting average and total bases seven times. He is one of only five players in history with at least a .434 on-base percentage and a .577 slugging percentage, and the company he shares that with—Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig—speaks for itself. In 1922, Rajah produced the only season in history with a .400 batting average and 450 total bases. Hornsby won the 1925 and 1929 NL MVPs and should’ve won in 1924 when he produced the only season ever with at least a .424 batting average and a .507 on-base percentage (min. of 100 at-bats). He also became the only player since Major League Baseball formed in 1903 to lead the league in runs, doubles, home runs, RBIs, hits, on-base percentage, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS+, and total bases in the same season. Hornsby won the Triple Crown in 1922 and 1925 joining Ted Williams as the only two-time triple crown winners.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #18 Mickey Mantle

Bursting onto the list at #18 is Yankee dynamo Mickey Mantle. Mantle’s career regular-season totals are somewhat muted by injuries, but his combination of per-game performance and playoff performance is unparalleled in history. His 172 career OPS + is the 7th most all-time and “The Mick” joins Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth as the only three players in history with at least a 172 OPS+ and 530 career home runs. He joins Barry Bonds and Mike Trout as the only three players in history with at least a 172 OPS+ and 150 career stolen bases. Mantle and Bonds are the only two players to debut after 1940 with a career on-base percentage of at least 420 and a slugging percentage of .557. Mantle is tied for 2nd all-time with three MVPs while also finishing runner-up three times and top-5 nine times. Mantle’s regular-season statistics are eye-popping on their own, but Mantle’s place in history really comes into perspective when we consider that he is arguably the greatest World Series performer of all time. Mantle led the Yankees to a World Series appearance in 12 of his first 14 seasons, including seven World Series titles. He holds the records for most career World Series home runs, RBIs, runs, total bases, and walks.