The 30 greatest left-handed pitchers in MLB history

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 29. Randy Myers

• 884 strikeouts
• 347 saves
• 3.19 career ERA

The first of a handful of relievers on this list, Randy Myers makes the cut right above of Al Leiter. Just a bit of a spoiler, the relievers are not ranked that high on this list, as starting pitching still takes precedent over a bullpen arm.

Myers had a 14-year MLB career that spanned across six teams. The team he spent the most time with was the New York Mets, playing the first five seasons of his career in Queens.

Myers led the league in saves three times in his career with his career-high for one season being 53. He had six seasons with 30 or more saves and another three seasons with 25 or more saves. He was voted to the Midsummer Classic four times in his career.

MUST-READ: The best closers in MLB history

Myers ranks third all-time in saves among left-handed relievers and received both Cy Young and MVP votes in his career. In fact, in 1997 Myers finished fourth in both Cy Young and MVP voting in the American League. Roger Clemons and Ken Griffey Jr won the awards, respectively.

Myers led the league in saves that season with 45 with an incredible 1.51 ERA. This is one of just 12 seasons in MLB history in which a reliever finished with 45 or more saves and an ERA of 1.51 or better.

No other reliever on this list accomplished that feat.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 28. Andy Pettitte

• 2,448 strikeouts
• 3.85 career ERA
• 60.2 career WAR

The New York Yankees legend was never consistently in the elite tier of starting pitching but he was reliable for the Bronx Bombers and put together a very impressive and extensive career that won him five championships with the Yankees.

Andy Pettitte is a three-time all-star and was named the MVP of the 2001 ALCS. Pettitte has his number retired by the New York Yankees and led baseball in wins in 1996 with 21.

Pettitte led the league in games three times in his career and for nearly a decade and a half Pettitte was a beacon of consistency. From 1995 until 2009 Pettitte had just two seasons with fewer than 30 games pitched.

Pettitte was second to just Greg Maddux in total starts and innings pitched in that time frame. He ranked seventh in total strikeouts in that span and was second among left-handed pitchers.

Pettitte is the all-time leader in both postseason starts with 44 and innings pitched with 276 and two-thirds. He is fourth all-time in postseason strikeouts and has a postseason ERA of 3.81.

Just like with Leiter, most of Pettitte’s prime years came in the heart of the steroid era, making his numbers all the more impressive. His best season was in 2005 with the Houston Astros. He started 33 games that season with a 2.39 ERA and 171 strikeouts.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 27. Jon Lester

• 2,397 strikeouts
• 3.60 career ERA
• 44.6 career WAR

Jon Lester and Andy Pettitte are very similar baseball players when you look at the trajectory of their career. Both are decorated winners, with Pettitte winning five World Series and Lester winning three (thus far) in his career.

Pettitte made three all-star teams, Lester has made five in his career. Pettitte won that ALCS MVP, Lester has the 2016 NLCS MVP to his name. Neither were ever in that elite tier of pitching, but they were as consistent as it comes and always provided valuable innings pitched.

Lester started 30 or more games in every single season from 2008 through 2019 and was on pace to start 30 games if there was a 162-game season in 2020. He has received Cy Young votes four times in his career, finishing fourth twice and second once.

From 2008 through 2018, Lester ranked second in starts behind Justin Verlander and fourth in total innings pitched. He ranked sixth in strikeouts and had the third-most among southpaws in that timeframe.

And he is one of the best postseason pitchers of all-time. Lester has a career 2.51 postseason ERA and has thrown 154 innings in the postseason.

Lester is 37 years old at the time of writing this and has signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals. It is unclear if the 2021 season is the last of his career.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 26. Tommy John

• 2,245 strikeouts
• 3.34 career ERA
• 61.6 career WAR

Many people now know the name Tommy John because of the elbow surgery that has become so frequent with MLB pitchers. This does a discredit to the first player to receive the operation, the actual Tommy John, who put together a tremendously long career with a pretty good prime.

For most of his career Tommy John was a good/great pitcher but was never elite. He was a consistent innings eater and was someone who could be trusted to keep his team in games with quality starts.

He debuted in the league in 1963 with the Cleveland Indians and played all the way until 1989, ending his career with the New York Yankees. John pitched until the age of 46, starting his career in the same year that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and ending it in the same year that George H. W. Bush was sworn into office.

He was a four-time all-star, once in 1968 with the Chicago White Sox and three-times from 1978 to 1980. The four-year stretch from 1977 to 1980 constituted the best years of John’s career as he entered his mid-to-late 30s.

John threw an incredible 975 innings in that four-year stretch with an ERA of 3.12. He received Cy Young votes in all of those years and finished second in 1977 and 1979.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 25. Jim Kaat

• 2,461 strikeouts
• 3.45 career ERA
• 50.5 career WAR

Like Jon Lester and Andy Pettitte, who were closely ranked on the list, Jim Kaat and Tommy John have some parallels between their career. Kaat debuted in 1959, four years before John debuted. John pitched until he was 46 in 1989, Kaat pitched until he was 44 in 1983.

Like John, Katt was never in the elite category in pitchers and his career numbers are very similar to John. In fact, if we just look at the numbers listed, it might seem silly to have him listed over John, who has a better career ERA, more career WAR and slightly fewer strikeouts.

The claim to Kaat’s fame is the Gold Glove award. Kaat won an astonishing 16 Gold Glove awards on top of his three all-star appearances and his World Series win in 1982. Greg Maddux, who won 18 Gold Gloves, is the only player to win the award more than Kaat.

The best seasons of Katt’s career came in 1965 and 1966. In those two years, Katt threw a combined 569 innings (that is insane) with a 2.78 ERA. He received MVP votes in both seasons, finishing fifth in 1966.

Kaat was an Iron Man by every sense of the name. He is 25th all-time in innings pitched and is fourth among left-handed pitchers with one of the pitchers ahead of him being Tommy John.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 24. Fernando Valenzuela

• 2,074 strikeouts
• 3.54 career ERA
• 41.5 career WAR

The overall numbers behind Fernando Valenzuela’s career may indicate that he should be lower on this list. He has the seventh-fewest strikeouts and the seventh-worst career ERA among the left-handed starting pitchers on this list.

His prime was short-lived and the second half of his career was not fantastic. However, the impact he had on the game of baseball and MLB, in general, is still being felt today. Plus, his prime was a truly special time as he was a dominant pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

John and Kaat carved out long careers in which they were able to accumulate great stats but the best version of Valenzuela is better than all of the pitchers below him. His short prime hurts him from getting higher on this list, but the numbers in those years were fantastic.

Valenzuela is the first player on this list to win the Cy Young award, winning it in his rookie season nonetheless in 1981. From 1981 to 1986, Valenzuela was one of the best pitchers in baseball and put together a prime stretch better than any other six-year stretch on this list to this point.

He started exactly 200 games in that six-year stretch with a 2.97 ERA, 1,258 strikeouts and an accumulative 26.1 WAR. That is an elite prime and gets him the edge over the others already on the list.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 23. Ron Guidry

• 1,778 strikeouts
• 3.29 career ERA
• 47.8 career WAR

This is another perfect example of not having a very long career but having a dominant prime. Just like Valenzuela, Guidry did not put together a long and drawn-out elite career, but when he was at his best he was really good.

Even better than Valenzuela, hence why he is one spot ahead of him on this list. Can you pick up on the trend of putting similar players next to each other on the list?

Guidry’s prime run was in a very similar time as Valenzuela’s. His best seven-year stretch was from 1977 to 1983 and he was fantastic in those seasons. He started 204 games (appearing in 224) with a 2.96 ERA and 1,213 strikeouts.

He won the Cy Young in 1978 and finished second in MVP voting behind Jim Rice. He was a finalist the next year as well as in 1985, when he had a bit of a resurgence at the age of 34.

Overall, Guidry led the league in ERA twice, was a four-time all-star, a five-time Gold Glove winner and won two World Series with the New York Yankees.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 22. David Price

• 1,981 strikeouts
• 3.31 career ERA
• 39.4 career WAR

Another active player makes the list in David Price. It may seem strange to put Price this high on the list and there might be a bit of recency bias but like Guidry and Valenzuela, when Price was at his best, he was really good.

The 2012 American League Cy Young has been a finalist for the award three times as well as being an all-star five times. Winning a Cy Young is a big deal and finishing second in two other years is still very impressive.

There is a bit of projecting in this as well. Price did not play in 2020 but he is set to pitch in 2021 and at 35 years old we can likely predict him to pitch at least 2-3 more seasons.

Price should reach 2,500 strikeouts if all goes as planned, which is something that nobody on the list has yet accomplished.

Price has led the league in ERA twice in his career and has so many great seasons that are hard to ignore. Price has six seasons in which he had a sub-3.50 ERA with at least 180 innings pitched. In today’s era of baseball that is extremely impressive.

If Price does not pitch another inning in his career then he probably should be a bit lower on this list. However, with what he has accomplished thus far and the room for him to grow, he comes in at 22.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 21. Chuck Finley

• 2,610 strikeouts
• 3.85 career ERA
• 57.9 career WAR

Chuck Finley has the highest career ERA on this entire list, so why does he come in at 21st ahead of nine other players? It is because he ranks sixth all-time among southpaws in total strikeouts with 2,610 and has accumulated a career WAR just under 60.

We have talked about pitchers with long careers and pitchers with fantastic primes. Finley is somewhere in between. He did not have as long of a career as John or Kaat but he also did not have as good of a prime as Price, Guidry, or Valenzuela.

However, he racked up the strikeouts at a historic rate and was a consistent innings eater. He may not have had the best ERA, but he pitched late into games and kept his teams in games.

Finley is a six-time all-star and led the league in innings pitched in 1994 as well as complete games in 1993, in which he recorded an astonishing 13 complete games in one season.

Finley debuted in 1986 and pitched until 2002 and is one of the last examples of a dying breed. He ranks 11th in complete games since 1986 with only two left-handed pitchers ahead of him.

Mark Langston is someone who had a very similar career and pitched with Finley, but he did not make the cut because of his ERA, which was worse than Finley’s.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 20. Jerry Koosman

• 2,556 strikeouts
• 3.36 career ERA
• 53.6 career WAR

Longevity and solid pitching. Jerry Koosman was never elite, but he was better than others before him on this list for a long time and that is what led to his placement as the 20th-ranked left-handed pitcher of all-time despite only having two all-star berths to his name.

Koosman is the first player on the list thus far to not rank in the bottom 10 in either ERA or strikeouts. Among the players listed in the top 30, Koosman ranks 10th in total strikeouts and 14th (among starters) in ERA.

All of the players listed before Koosman ranked below him in at least one of the two categories.

It looked as if Koosman was going to have a Hall of Fame-caliber career, at least after his first two full seasons it did. Koosman was an all-star both years, finished with a 2.08 and 2.28 ERA and threw over a combined 500 innings.

Things started to level off and Koosman got lost on some really bad New York Mets teams but he had great years that were all-star-worthy that may have gotten more attention if he was on a good team.

Koosman finished with a sub-3.30 ERA seven times in his career. He was someone who would have benefitted from the modern game, as his career FIP was lower than his ERA, indicating that he was not the luckiest of starting pitchers.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 19. Cole Hamels

• 2,560 strikeouts
• 3.43 career ERA
• 59.4 career WAR

Cole Hamels has quietly been one of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all-time and does not get the credit he deserves. Perhaps it is because there are several recently or currently active players that rank ahead of him that stole the limelight, but for a long time, Hamels was really good.

Hamels never won that illustrious Cy Young award and you might be surprised to hear that he has never even been a finalist for the award. He has been an all-star four times and has an NLCS and a World Series MVP to his name.

So why does he rank so high? The NLCS and World Series MVP definitely help his case. He was absolutely incredible for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and without him, they may not have won the World Series. He started five games in that run and allowed a combined seven earned runs in 35 innings (1.80 ERA) with 30 strikeouts.

The Phillies won every single game that he pitched in the playoffs that year.

And despite the lack of accolades, Hamels just has a really good resume. He is one of a handful of pitchers to cross the 2,500-strikeout mark and has one of the lower ERAs on this list thus far.

He may not have the Cy Young that David Price has but he has a better postseason resume and better accumulative numbers. He averaged 4.2 WAR a season for 14 seasons. That is impressive.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 18. Frank Tanana

• 2,773 strikeouts
• 3.66 career ERA
• 57.2 career WAR

Frank Tanana is a blend between having a really good prime and having a long career. Tanana stuck around for long enough to accumulate all-time numbers but also had a really good stretch that is similar to others on this list.

Tanana never won the Cy Young award but he certainly was good enough to win the award when he was at his best. He really could have won the award in any of the years from 1975 to 1977, in which he had a sub-3.00 ERA in all three seasons.

He finished fourth in 1975, third in 1976 and ninth in 1977. The 1977 voting was extremely flawed and the fact that Tanana was all the way at ninth made no sense. He led the entire American League in ERA yet received only 2% of the voting share.

It literally makes zero sense. This is one of those voting blunders that I cannot even explain. Perhaps it was because he was not even the biggest name on his own team (Nolan Ryan) and the Angels were a losing team? Tanana had a better ERA, WAR (which was not available back then) and WHIP than any of the other players to get votes. He was third in strikeouts.

Regardless, Tanana’s career was still great. He spent 21 years in the bigs and has the fifth-most strikeouts among any pitcher on this list, albeit his career ERA is ranked fairly low compared to others on this list.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 17. Aroldis Chapman

• 905 strikeouts
• 276 saves
• 2.25 career ERA

We are starting to get into some relievers with the best group of left-handed relievers all ranked relatively close together compared to their starting counterparts. Closers are important and while they don’t get the accumulative numbers such as WAR or strikeouts, their impact is widely felt.

And when you really break it down, Chapman is right up there with Kenley Jansen as the best closer of this generation. He has been consistently really good for a decade now, something that is really hard for pitchers to do as closers typically have such a short shelf life.

Chapman has toned his velocity down a tad but he still pumps gas and is one of the most intimidating pitchers to face in MLB. He has been an all-star six times, even receiving Cy Young and MVP votes one time in his career.

From 2012 until 2019 Chapman had just one season in which he did not record 30 saves and in that same timeframe the worst ERA that he finished with after the season was 3.22. He had an ERA below 2.00 three times in that stretch.

Nobody compares to the duo of Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman that we were spoiled, who also subsequently raised the bar, but Chapman deserves credit as the best left-handed reliever of this generation and one of the best left-handed relievers of all-time.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 16. John Franco

• 975 strikeouts
• 424 saves
• 2.89 career ERA

Another reliever makes the cut and spoiler alert: by my estimations, he is the second-greatest left-handed relief pitcher of all-time. He edges out Aroldis Chapman for the 16th spot on this list and it certainly is well-deserved.

Franco has the most saves of any left-handed reliever in baseball history and has impressive career numbers to go with it. He currently has more strikeouts than Chapman, albeit Chapman should pass that at some point in his career. His 2.89 ERA is also impressive, although not as good as Chapman’s.

The big number is the saves and that is the most important. Franco has 148 more saves than Chapman does in his career and while Chapman should eventually pass him, that is enough to give Franco the edge for the time being.

Franco was an all-star four times in his career and was named the Rolaids Reliever of the year twice. He led the league in saves three times in his career and finished with eight seasons with 30 or more.

He had some seasons later in his career that hurt his overall numbers but from 1986 to 1997 he was the best closer in baseball. In that span, Franco had a 2.61 ERA with 343 saves.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 15. Billy Wagner

• 1,196 strikeouts
• 422 saves
• 2.31 ERA

Billy Wagner is the greatest left-handed relief pitcher of all-time and it is a shame that he is not getting the traction he deserves to get into the Hall of Fame. He still has time on the ballot but voters need to get over the closer stigma and give Wagner his due credit.

Wagner finished two saves behind Franco for the most by a left-handed pitcher but he had far better career numbers. His ERA was much better and the strikeout advantage is comparable to an entire season for a starting pitcher.

Wagner was named the Rolaids Reliever of the year just once but he did make the All-Star Game seven times in his career. Outside of getting hurt and pitching poorly in 2000, Wagner dominated the league during the steroid era, which was not easy to do.

Wagner finished with 30 or more saves nine times in his career, including the last season of his career at the age of 40, and finished with 40 or more saves twice. He is sixth on the all-time saves list and if he did not get hurt in 2000, then he would likely rank fourth all-time.

You may have noticed that the three highest-ranked relievers on this list were all ranked next to each other. That is on purpose. While Wagner has a Hall of Fame case, we do have respect for the overall workload of being a starting pitcher. Thus, it seemed fitting to rank the best left-handed reliever of all-time smack-dab in the middle of the list right at 15.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 14. Johan Santana

• 1,988 strikeouts
• 3.20 career ERA
• 51.7 career WAR

Johan Santana is one of the biggest recent what-ifs in MLB history. If Santana would have never gotten hurt, he might have found himself in the top 10 of this list. Santana was tremendous when he was at his best. He just did not put together the longevity to rank higher.

Santana’s numbers from 2002 to 2010, from age 23 to 31, were remarkable. In a stretch of nine seasons, Santana led the league in ERA three times, won two Cy Young awards and was an all-star four times (when, quite frankly, he probably should have been an all-star every single season in that stretch).

Over that near-decade, Santana posted a 2.90 ERA, 1.076 WHIP and struck out 1,785 batters. He also led the league in strikeouts three times.

Then, he got hurt. Santana had to get anterior capsule surgery (the same surgery Julio Urias recently had) on his throwing shoulder. He missed all of 2011 and came back in 2012, but was not the same.

However, he was able to put the perfect stamp on his career with the only no-hitter in New York Mets history in 2012. He finished the year making 21 starts with a 4.85 ERA.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 13. Mickey Lolich

• 2,832 strikeouts
• 3.44 career ERA
• 48.0 career WAR

Mickey Lolich certainly racked up the strikeouts and that is what got him so high on this list. He was oh-so-close to cracking the elusive 3,000-strikeout club and while he does not have the accolades that Johan Santana had, he had a much longer tenure in the big leagues.

Lolich debuted in 1963 and pitched in the big leagues until 1979, missing all of the 1977 season. Lolich was the definition of a workhorse, going 12 consecutive seasons with at least 30 starts, even starting 40 games in a handful of those campaigns.

Lolich led the big leagues in strikeouts once and cracked the elusive 300-strikeout mark that not many pitchers get to. He was an all-star three times, received MVP votes three times and was a Cy Young finalist twice in his career.

Lolich does seem a bit out of place this high on the list but his longevity and how much he pitched is impossible to ignore. We have to look at all of the factors and to be a workhorse for that long, and a good one at that, is worth mentioning.

Lolich has the fourth-most strikeouts of any left-handed pitcher on this list while having a better ERA than nine of the starters on here. That combination gets him this high.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 12. Hal Newhouser

• 1,796 strikeouts
• 3.06 career ERA
• 62.7 career WAR

The player with the best leg kick of all-time comes in as the 12th-best left-handed pitcher of all-time. Hal Newhouser is the first Hall of Famer to
make the list and it might seem absurd to have him this low but that is simply a testament to how many great left-handed pitchers there have been throughout the years.

The thing that hurts Newhouser the most, at least compared to his peers, is the strikeouts. Newhouser only recorded 1,796 strikeouts, and with us factoring in every detail in these rankings, it led to him ranking lower than you would expect.

He was still one of the most dominant pitchers of his era. Newhouser has two MVPs to his name (before the Cy Young was around) and led the entire league in ERA twice. He was a seven-time all-star, accomplished the pitching triple crown (as did Santana) and won the 1945 World Series.

Newhouser’s best years were from 1942 to 1949. In that stretch, he posted a 2.56 ERA with a 1.242 WHIP. All seven of his all-star appearances came in that span.

He was not as great outside of his prime but he still put together one of the most decorated careers by a left-handed pitcher all-time. His career ERA is the fifth-lowest on this list.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 11. Vida Blue

• 2,175 strikeouts
• 3.27 career ERA
• 45.1 career WAR

How Vida Blue is not a Hall of Famer is beyond me. You could debate Blue vs. Newhouser all you want and I would be perfectly fine with ranking Newhouser ahead of Blue, but the fact that he is not a Hall of Famer is ridiculous.

Blue has more career strikeouts than Newhouser, had a longer career and still has a very good ERA. He was a workhorse by every sense of the word and he is one of very few pitchers to win the MVP award and the Cy Young award in the same season.

Blue spent four years on the ballot and never received 10% of the vote. Yes, his numbers are not bonafide Hall of Fame worthy, but they are better than some of the players that are already inducted.

He has more strikeouts, innings pitched and a better WHIP than Hal Newhouser and has a better career WAR than Jack Morris and Catfish Hunter.

Not only was he the American League MVP and Cy Young in 1971, but he is a six-time all-star and three-time World Series champion.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 10. C.C. Sabathia

• 3,093 strikeouts
• 3.74 career ERA
• 62.5 WAR

C.C. Sabathia not only had a great prime like some of the players lower on this list, but he also has the longevity factor as well. Sabathia spent two decades in the league and was a serviceable starting pitcher in all of those years. That is what gets him so high on the list and should get him into Cooperstown.

There is one end-all argument to Sabathia making the Hall of Fame for anyone skeptical: he struck out 3,000 batters. There are only three players (not counting Sabathia) that have struck out 3,000 batters and are not in the Hall of Fame.

Justin Verlander (active), Curt Schilling and Roger Clemens are the three. Schilling and Clemens have their obvious reasons for why they have not been voted into the hall yet, so it is safe to say that Sabathia should like his chances.

Only two left-handed pitchers in MLB history have struck out more batters than Sabathia has and while his ERA is not the best, his accolades make up for it.

The 2007 American League Cy Young has six all-star appearances to his name as well as being named the MVP of the 2009 ALCS. Sabathia was the ace the Yankees needed in 2009, allowing eight earned runs in 36.1 innings (1.98 ERA) with 32 strikeouts.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 9. Carl Hubbell

• 1,677 strikeouts
• 2.98 career ERA
• 68.2 career WAR

Carl Hubbell is one of the older players on this list as he barely makes the live-ball cut-off that we established. Hubbell debuted in 1928 and pitched in the big leagues until 1943 at the age of 40 and was never really that bad of a starting option.

Hubbell’s strikeout numbers are really low compared to the other southpaws that are this high on the list but that is more indicative of his era than anything. While his era did not help with strikeouts, it does help with ERA, as pitchers from this era naturally have lower ERAs.

That does not make what Hubbell accomplished any less impressive, though. Hubbell’s 2.98 career ERA is actually the second-lowest among any pitcher on this list. He led the league in ERA three times, so he was even great compared to his peers.

Hubbell won two MVP awards, was named an all-star nine times and led the 1933 New York Giants to win the World Series. That was the first of Hubbell’s MVP seasons.

Hubbell is a name that does get lost in the history books and most modern baseball fans probably are not familiar with the Hall of Fame southpaw. That does not matter, though, as he is still a top 10 left-handed pitcher of all-time.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 8. Whitey Ford

• 1,956 strikeouts
• 2.75 career ERA
• 57.1 career WAR

Carl Hubbell has the fourth-lowest ERA among the starting pitchers on this list and Whitey Ford has the third-lowest. Ford came into the league in 1950, which was a harder era to pitch in than when Hubbell pitched, and beat-out Hubbell in just about every metrics but career WAR.

Ford struck out more batters, had a better career ERA and had the accolades to match. Ford does not have any MVPs to his name but he did win the Cy Young award in 1961 and was named an all-star an astonishing 10 times.

Even more remarkable than his 10 all-star appearances is just how much Ford won with the New York Yankees. Ford won six World Series with the Bronx Bombers and was the team’s ace for most of those wins. He led the league in ERA twice and has a World Series MVP to his name.

Ford lost two years of his early career as well due to military service. His numbers would have been even more impressive and he would have well-cleared the 2,000 strikeout mark.

With a 2.75 career ERA and a 2.71 career ERA in the postseason, Ford is undoubtedly one of the greatest starting pitchers of all-time.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 7. Tom Glavine

• 2,607 strikeouts
• 3.54 career ERA
• 80.7 career WAR

Tom Glavine spent a long time in the major leagues. Glavine pitched for a total of 22 seasons from 1987 to 2008 and spent 17 of those seasons with the Atlanta Braves. Glavine was one-third of the insanely talented Braves starting rotations that also featured Greg Maddux and John Smoltz.

From 1988 until 2007 Glavine started no fewer than 25 games in a season and started fewer than 30 games in just three of the seasons. Glavine was one of the best pitchers of this entire era and his accolades certainly prove it.

Glavine has two Cy Youngs to his name. He won his first award in 1991 with a 2.55 ERA and won seven years later at the age of 32 with a 2.47 ERA. He ironically never led the league in ERA during his long 22-year carer.

Glavine was named to the National League All-Star Team 10 times and was a massive reason why the Atlanta Braves finally got over the hump and won the only World Series of their long playoff streak in 1995. Glavine was named World Series MVP after two great starts with a combined 1.29 ERA.

Glavine’s ERA is a little high compared to others this high on the list, but his long list of accolades as well as his strikeout total make him one of the seven-greatest southpaws of all-time.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 6. Lefty Grove

• • • 2,266 strikeouts
    • 3.06 career ERA
    • 106.7 career WAR

Yes, you read that right. We are getting into the triple-digits in WAR and spoiler alert: Lefty Grove actually has the most WAR of any left-handed pitcher in the history of MLB. However, because of the other numbers, the overall accolades and the era he played in, he finds himself with five southpaws ranked ahead of him.

Two of those lefties ahead of him have eclipsed 100 WAR as well.

Grove spent 17 years in the league from 1925 to 1941 and really was the best pitcher in the league at this time. Carl Hubbell was also excellent but Grove was clearly the best pitcher in the league and that shows with his accolades and accomplishments.

Grove was an all-star six times, led the league in ERA a staggering nine times and accomplished the pitching triple crown twice. He won two World Series, was a one-time MVP and has forever been cemented in the Hall of Fame.

Grove led the league in strikeouts in each of his first seven seasons and posted an ERA below 3.00 an unbelievable nine times. Grove also represents this era of baseball perfectly as he always pitched late into games. He led the league in complete games three times and in total, had 298 in his career.

Baseball is obviously much different now than it was back then with bullpens but that is absolutely insane. For comparison’s sake, there were 45 complete games in all of MLB in 2019.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 5. Warren Spahn

• 2,583 strikeouts
• 3.09 career ERA
• 100.1 career WAR

This is where it gets fun. Really, the top six on this list are in a league of their own and can be rearranged by anyone depending on what they value in the rankings. While it is fair to say that Grove is not the best southpaw of all-time, anyone in the top-five can lay stake to that claim. Including Warren Spahn.

Spahn’s career was remarkable and traversed across three different decades. Spahn made his MLB debut in 1942 and pitched all the way until 1965. What is even more remarkable when you look at his numbers is the fact that he really did not start his big-league career until 25 because of World War II.

Spahn’s age 25 season in 1946 was his first full season and he pitched until he was 44 and for most of those seasons, he was one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Spahn led the league in ERA three times, led in complete games nine times (he has 382 in his career) and led in strikeouts four times. He has the ninth-most strikeouts on this list and the seventh-lowest ERA.

Most incredibly, Spahn has 17 all-star nods to his name (14 different seasons, as some years there were two all-star games played). That is the most in MLB history for a pitcher.

There is a reason why he is fifth, though. He only (and it feels weird saying only to this) won one Cy Young award and he does not rank in the top five in either strikeouts or ERA, which hurts his case as the southpaw GOAT.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 4. Sandy Koufax

• 2,396 strikeouts
• 2.76 career ERA
• 48.9 career WAR

If Sandy Koufax’s career did not end prematurely at the age of 30, he probably would be the number one pitcher on this list. Yes, his career WAR is much lower than every other pitcher this high. But his prime was unlike anything else we have seen in baseball and it is a shame to the baseball world that he could not put together another decade or so of dominance.

Koufax, a six-time all-star, led the league in ERA in five consecutive seasons from 1962 to 1966. The highest ERA he had in that span was a 2.54 ERA and he had a sub-2.00 ERA three times. Most pitchers make an all-time list for one season that good.

Koufax won three Cy Young awards in that five-year stretch and was named the National League MVP in 1963 — the same season in which he threw 11 complete game shutouts.

When you look at the best seasons of all-time, Koufax’s name pops up often high up on the list. His run in the mid-60s was downright historic. Three Cy Youngs, an MVP, three World Series and the pitching triple crown three times.

He can only come in at number four on this list because he did not pitch past the age of 30 as his arm just ran out of gas. He fittingly ranks fourth after throwing four no-hitters, and one perfect game, in his storied career.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 3. Clayton Kershaw

• 2,526 strikeouts
• 2.43 career ERA
• 69.6 career WAR

I don’t think most MLB fans truly realize or appreciate the greatness that is Clayton Kershaw.

He officially comes in as the third greatest southpaw in MLB history and if he can have a good, not even a great, second half of his career, then he is on pace to be the greatest ever.

Let’s not forget that Kershaw is still only 32. If he gets his velocity back or develops a new pitch (the coveted change-up) then he could pitch another six-seven years in the league, three-four of which can still be at an all-star-level.

Kershaw is only three months older than Jacob deGrom, who is viewed as much younger by MLB fans. Prime Kershaw might be gone, but elite Kershaw could very well still be here.

Even if he does not win another award in his career he has already done enough to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer and quite frankly should be unanimous. Three Cy Young awards (six-time finalist), an MVP, the pitching triple crown, five ERA titles, eight all-star appearances, a World Series and doing it all in an era of baseball where ERA is inflated.

Kershaw has the lowest ERA in the dead-ball era for any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings pitched. He, Koufax and Pedro Martinez are the only pitchers with a career ERA below 3.00 with a strikeouts rate above 25% (Kershaw is 0.2% behind Martinez).

We should all be cherishing Clayton Kershaw and hoping that he continues to pitch at a high level to become the bonafide southpaw GOAT.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 2. Steve Carlton

• 4,136 strikeouts
• 3.22 career ERA
• 90.2 career WAR

Greatness and a long-lasting career. Steve Carlton had both and that is what makes him the second greatest left-handed pitcher in MLB history. Just imagine the kind of numbers Clayton Kershaw could compile if he plays 24 seasons like Carlton. That would mean that he’s barely halfway.

Carlton has the second-most strikeouts for a left-handed pitcher in MLB history, has the ninth-lowest ERA among starters on this list and has the second-most Cy Young awards, trailing just one player.

Carlton won four Cy Young awards, two World Series, the pitching triple crown, held the ERA title once, was a 10-time all-star and even has a Gold Glove in his mantle. He led the league in innings pitched five times, led in strikeouts five times and led in complete games three times.

Carlton’s prime is not as impressive as others on this list but it is still noteworthy and it has a 24-year-career on top of it. Carlton’s best seasons were from 1967 to 1982, where he posted a 3.00 ERA and struck out 3,388 batters.

Kershaw is either another three solid seasons or one more Cy Young from passing Carlton on this list, at least as far as I am concerned.

Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 1. Randy Johnson

• 4,875 strikeouts
• 3.29 career ERA
• 101.1 career WAR

Randy Johnson was a late bloomer in his MLB career. While it is extremely unlikely, just imagine if Kershaw had the kind of late-career that Johnson had. He would probably become the greatest player in MLB history. Johnson won a southpaw-record five Cy Young awards, all of which came at 31-years-old or later with four coming in his age 35-38 season.

Just like Carlton, Johnson enjoyed a very long career while also having that dominant prime that shot him up the ranks on this list. He pitched for a total of 22 years, threw 4,135.1 innings and struck out the most hitters by a southpaw with 4,875.

The only player in MLB history with more strikeouts is Nolan Ryan.

On top of Johnson’s five Cy Young awards, he also accomplished the pitching triple crown as he was named an all-star 10 times, led the league in ERA four times and was the 2001 World Series MVP. His stretch in which he won four consecutive Cy Young awards was remarkable.

At the age at which most pitchers retire, Johnson put together four seasons with an accumulative ERA of 2.48 while striking out 1,417 batters. He averaged 354 strikeouts in those four years.

Randy Johnson’s career just does not make sense, so it is fitting that he is named the greatest left-handed pitcher in MLB history.

Oh, and let’s not forget, he did something that nobody else on this list did and hit a bird mid-pitch.