The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #22 Mariano Rivera

Giving hitters nightmares at #22 is the Sandman Mariano Rivera. Rivera is the most dominant relief pitcher in baseball history, the most dominant pitcher in postseason history, and there’s a strong argument to be made that he’s the most impactful pitcher of all time. His 652 career saves are the most in history. Only one other reliever has even reached 500 career saves. His 205 career ERA+ is the highest in history and—in one of the most remarkable statistics in all of sports—the gap between Rivera and second place is equal to the gap between second place and 314^th place (min. 1,000 innings). Rivera’s career 1.00 WHIP is the lowest since the deadball ERA. It’s hard to believe that as dominant as Rivera was in the regular season, he was significantly better in the postseason. Among players who pitched at least 40 postseason innings, Rivera’s .71 ERA and .76 WHIP are the lowest of all time and by a significant margin. His 42 postseason saves are more than the next two players on the postseason saves list combined. His 8-1 postseason record is good for a .889 winning percentage which is the best in postseason history among pitchers with at least six decisions. Rivera is #1 all-time in Baseball Reference’s postseason win probability added statistic. His 11.7 mark is more than the next three on the list combined. He’s also #1 all-time in Baseball Reference’s championship win probability added stat with a crater size gap over second place. Rivera’s postseason dominance translated into seven World Series appearances and five World Series titles for the Yankees. He was named the 1999 World Series MVP and the 2003 ALCS MVP.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #23 Justin Verlander

Taking the mound at #23 is Tigers and Astros ace Justin Verlander. JV’s march to historic career numbers took an unexpected detour in 2020 as the COVID shortened season and Tommy John surgery robbed him of 68 starts over two seasons. Despite the setback, Verlander’s career remains one of the most unique in baseball history. During his Cy Young-winning season of 2019, he became the only pitcher in Major League Baseball history with a season of 220 innings and 300 strikeouts with less than a .81 WHIP. He has three seasons with 210 innings, 250 strikeouts, less than a 2.6 era, less than a .92 WHIP, and fewer than 10 losses; only one other pitcher even has two. He’s the only pitcher in history with back-to-back seasons of 210 innings, 290 strikeouts, and a WHIP less than .91. Only Randy Johnson has more seasons with 200 innings, 250 strikeouts, and fewer than 10 losses, and only Roger Clemens has more seasons with at least 30 starts and no more than 10 losses. His three no-hitters trail only Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax on the all-time list. JV won the 2011 AL MVP award and the Cy Young in 2011 and 2019. He was a Cy Young runner-up three times and produced seven top-5 finishes. He led the league in strikeouts five times, WHIP and innings four times, and wins three times. Verlander’s dominance carried into the postseason as he joins Clayton Kershaw as the only pitchers in postseason history with at least 180 innings and a WHIP no higher than 1.07. He’s third all-time in postseason wins and tied with Kershaw with the most strikeouts in postseason history. He led eight teams to the playoffs, made four World Series appearances, and was the final piece to Houston’s 2017 World Series championship team after coming over from Detroit in a late-season trade. He went 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA and a .647 in five regular-season starts with Houston and then won the 2017 ALCS MVP after giving up just one earned run in 16 innings against the Yankees.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #24 Max Scherzer

Powering into the list at #24 is the modern-day workhorse, Max Scherzer. Although Mad Max is still padding his resume, what he has accomplished so far is pretty remarkable. Over his first 12 seasons as a full-time starter, Scherzer won three Cy Young awards and finished in the top-5 seven consecutive seasons which is tied for the longest streak in history (Greg Maddux and Clayton Kershaw). He led the league in wins, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk ratio four times each, and strikeouts three times. Scherzer’s most impressive feats are the ones that nobody else has duplicated. He is the only pitcher in MLB history with at least four seasons with an era below 3.00, a WHIP below .97, and at least 265 strikeouts, and he did it in four consecutive seasons. Among pitchers with at least 2,000 career innings, Scherzer is the only pitcher in history with a K% above 28 and a BB% below 7.0. In his Cy Young-winning season of 2013, he became the only pitcher in history with at least 32 starts, a .875 winning percentage, and a K% over 28. Scherzer and Johan Santana are the only two pitchers in history to lead the league in WHIP and strikeouts three years in a row. Among pitchers with at least 2,000 career innings, he’s second all-time in strikeout-to-walk ratio and K/9. Scherzer was also a postseason force, leading Detroit and Washington to a combined seven playoff appearances over nine seasons, and holding the postseason record for career K/9 among pitchers with at least 110 innings. Scherzer led the Nationals to the 2019 World Series title, going 3-0 with a 2.40 ERA over 30 postseason innings.