It takes time and consistent dominance, but 17 pitchers in baseball history have recorded victories against every major league franchise. Several pitchers are within one victory of this feat and can achieve this milestone this season.
On April 30, 2002 Al Leiter made baseball history by becoming the first pitcher to defeat all 30 major league franchises in his career. With 10 runs in support, he pitched seven innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks to ultimately come out with the victory.
Since then, only 16 others have followed after him in accomplishing this impressive feat.
The most recent one to do so was
Max Scherzerin 2016. With a
against his former team, the
, Scherzer pitched his way into the record books and completed his check list of defeated major league teams. Not to mention, he struck out an all-time record 20 batters in his start.
With the new season nearing three-weeks-old, there are several pitchers who are one victory away from joining Leiter and Scherzer. For J.A. Happ, CC Sabathia, Francisco Liriano, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jake Arrieta, this accomplishment is unachievable this season.
However, Bartolo Colon, Zack Greinke, Ervin Santana and Scott Kazmir can all defeat their one remaining team before the end of the season. Check out what it will take for these pitchers to reach the history books in this slideshow.