The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #20 Walter Johnson

Chugging in at #20 is “The Big Train” Walter Johnson. Johnson’s combination of peak and longevity is the gold standard for starting pitchers as he maintained his elite production for two decades, winning two MVPs and permanently stamping his name at the top of baseball’s historical leaderboards. Johnson’s 417 wins are the most since Major League Baseball formed in 1903 and trail only Cy Young since baseball’s inception.  Johnson is second all-time in WAR trailing only Babe Ruth. He’s #1 all-time in shutouts, leading the league a record seven times. He’s third all-time in innings, 5th in complete games, and 9th in strikeouts, leading the league a record 11 times. He’s also 7th all-time in adjusted ERA and 11th in WHIP. Johnson was ahead of his time especially due to his proclivity for the strikeout. He was the only pitcher to debut before 1959 to reach 3,000 career strikeouts and the only pitcher in the first 81 years of Major League Baseball to reach 3,500 career strikeouts. He led the league in strikeouts for a record eight consecutive seasons. Johnson was at his apex from 1910 to 1919 when he won 20 games for 10 consecutive seasons with an ERA+ of 183. During this run, Johnson set the record for most consecutive 25 win seasons (7) and tied the record for the most consecutive 27 win seasons (4). Johnson had 10 seasons in which he started at least 28 games and had an ERA under 2.00. No other pitcher has thrown more than six. Johnson threw at least 320 innings in nine consecutive seasons. Since Major League Baseball’s inception, no other pitcher has even thrown more than six in total. Johnson produced nine seasons in which he started at least 27 games with a WHIP less than 1.00. No other pitcher in Major League Baseball history did it more than six times. Johnson led the Washington Senators to a World Series appearance in 1925 and a World Series title in 1924. He entered the 9th inning of Game 7 of the ’24 series and pitched four scoreless innings on one day’s rest as the Senators prevailed in the longest Game 7 in World Series history.

The 100 Greatest in 100 Days #21 Lefty Grove

Next up at #21 is Philadelphia A’s and Boston Red Sox ace Lefty Grove. There is no question that Grove is on the shortlist of greatest pitchers of all time. Depending on what we emphasize, he might be the greatest. No pitcher led the league more in major statistical pitching categories. He led the league in ERA and adjusted ERA+ nine times, WAR for pitchers eight times, and winning percentage five times—all the most in history.  Grove won the 1931 AL MVP during this stretch with one of the great seasons ever recorded by a pitcher, going 31-4 and leading the league with a 217 ERA+. Grove’s 1931 season is the only one in history with at least 31 wins and fewer than 5 losses. Although the Cy Young Award didn’t exist during Grove’s career, there’s every reason to believe that he would’ve won six consecutive Cy Youngs from 1928-1933 which would be two more than the current record for consecutive Cy Youngs. During this stretch, he became the only pitcher in history with six consecutive seasons of at least 20 wins and no more than 10 losses. Grove compiled four seasons with at least 24 wins and fewer than nine losses which is the most all-time. No other player has more than two. There have only been four seasons with at least 28 wins and fewer than six losses in history, Grove has two of them. He’s the only pitcher in history with four consecutive seasons of at least 24 wins and no more than 10 losses. He’s the only pitcher in history with 300 wins and fewer than 150 losses, and he has the highest winning percentage in MLB history among pitchers with at least 240 career wins. He owns the highest ERA+ of all-time among pitchers with at least 3,000 career innings. Grove led the Athletics to three consecutive World Series appearances including back-to-back titles in 1929 and 1930. In 51 1/3 and World Series innings, he posted a 1.75 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP.

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 314th 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.