Greatest Pitcher Ever

Greg Maddux

I'll admit it, i'm pitching biased. If you can't win, you can't score. So who was the best pitcher ever?

Ok, i'm going to start off by saying if a pitcher pitched before 1925 I consider their stats irrelevant. The game was not developed, the hitters weren't as good as they were later on. So people look at some of the old players and see they have 400 wins. It is very misleading. If a pitcher pitched the majority of their career before 1925 I refuse to compare them to someone today. To add on to the previous statement: How many great hitters can you name from the 1910's and how many can you name from the 1980's?

There are three pitchers in competition for the greatest pitcher ever. They are the following: Greg Maddux, Warren Spahn, and Nolan Ryan.

Greg Maddux pitched from 1986-2008. His career ERA is 3.16  and has 355 wins. His most dominant season was cut off due to the 1994 strike. With  25 starts under his belt Maddux had 16 wins with a 1.56 ERA and 202 innings pitched. The average OPS in 1994 was .747.

Warren Spahn

Warren Spahn pitched from 1946-1965. He recorded a career 3.09 ERA and has 363 wins in his career. Spahn's most dominant season was 1953. In that year he recorded a 2.10 ERA and 23 wins for the Milwaukee Braves. He pitched 265 innings that year and was dominant throughout. The league average OPS was .747 in 1953.

Nolan Ryan pitched from 1968-1993. Ryan recorded 324 wins and had a 3.19 ERA in that time. His most dominant season was 1972 when he pitched for the California Angels and had a 2.28 ERA, 19 wins over 284 innings pitched. The average OPS that season was .649.

Nolan Ryan

I know what you're saying: What about strikeouts? It doesn't matter how many strikeouts a pitcher gets as long as he gets the out. Strikeouts come into play when you evaluate relief pitchers. Just like a no hitter is nice to watch but the most important part is that the team got the win. So let us take out Nolan Ryan from the race because his ERA was higher in an era that had weaker hitters.

Warren Spahn and Greg Maddux are the competitors now. Maddux got 355 wins in 740 games. Spahn got 363 win in 714 games. Spahn pitched in a time where there was weaker hitters and Maddux pitched through the Steroid Era. Its hard to compare two pitchers who pitched 40 years apart, because there are so many intangibles.

Pud Galvin not
considered

For now I will declare this a tie between Warren Spahn and Greg Maddux, but slightly in favor of Maddux. Be sure to share your opinions in the comments.