Rifling in at #83 is Cleveland great Bob Feller. Like many of the elite players of the 1940s, Bullet Bob’s career was interrupted by service in WWII. Feller missed three-and-a-half seasons just as he was establishing himself as the best pitcher in the world. It’s not hard to imagine Feller leading the league in wins for what would’ve been an unbreakable record of nine consecutive seasons had he been stateside for his entire career. In fact, he’d likely hold the records for most consecutive seasons leading the league in strikeouts and innings as well. Despite his lengthy absence from the majors, Feller put together one of the most impressive pitching careers MLB baseball has ever seen. He was the best pitcher in the American League the three years before left for the war and arguably in his first two full seasons after returning from the war. Feller is one of only 10 pitchers to throw at least 3,800 innings with an ERA+ of at least 122. He also led the league in strikeouts seven times, wins six times and innings pitched and games started five times each.

Landing at #85 on our list is Ferguson Jenkins. Fergie used his pinpoint control and tireless arm to become one of only six pitchers in MLB history (and only the second in the last 100 years) to throw 4,500 career innings with a WHIP less than 1.15 and a BB/9 of two or less. Fergie led the league in wins twice and finished in the top-3 seven times. He led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio and BB/9 five times, complete games four times, and finished in the top-10 in WHIP an astounding 13 times.  He won the 1971 NL Cy Young Award and nearly won it four more times finishing 2nd in 1967 and 1974 and 3rd in 1970 and 1972. Jenkins is the only player in MLB history to have at least 24 wins and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of at least 7.0 in the same season. He’s the only player in the last 100 years with at least 265 career complete games and a WHIP under 1.15. He’s the only player in the last 100 years with a season of at least 30 complete games and a BB/9 of 1.0 or less. He’s one of only three players in the last 100 years to lead the American League and the National League in wins. He’s the only player in the last 80 years with a season of 25 wins and a BB/9 of 1.2 or less, and he’s one of only four players in the last 100 years to win at least 115 games in both leagues.

At #86 on the list is The Hebrew Hammer Hank Greenberg. Like his fellow masher Johnny Mize, Greenberg missed a huge chunk of his peak serving in WWII. For Greenberg the cost was even more substantial as he would miss 4.5 seasons, limiting his career to just 1,394 career games, or the equivalent of 8.5 seasons worth of games. All Greenberg did during his short time in the league was put together one of the most extraordinary stretches in MLB history. Greenberg led the league in HRs, RBIs, and extra-base hits four times, total bases and walks twice, and slugging %, OPS, and runs one time each. He’s 6th all-time in slugging %. His 184 RBIs in 1937 are the 3rd highest single-season total in history and his 63 doubles in 1934 are the fourth most in history. He won the American League MVP in 1935 and 1940 and finished third in 1937 and 1938. Greenberg is one of only five players in history with three seasons of at least 150 RBIs. He’s the only player in history with a 50 home run season and a 60 double season. He’s also the only player in history with a 180 RBI season and a season of at least 58 home runs. It’s wild to think what Greenberg’s career would’ve looked like with the 2,200 at-bats he lost to the war.