Who is the best MLB pitcher over the last 35 years?

There has always been a discussion around the best pitcher that Major League Baseball has ever seen. However, this would be hard to compare due to totally different eras of the sport. In this article, we will be looking back to the last 35 or so years to determine who the best MLB pitcher has been.

The MLB pitchers that will be mentioned in this article are from 1988-present and only those who are qualified will be considered. We will say 1,000 innings or more would qualify.

MLB pitching leaders since 1988 by various statistics

Earned run average (ERA)

1. Clayton Kershaw – 2.48 ERA (2577.0 IP)
2. Jacob deGrom – 2.52 ERA (1326.0 IP)
3. Jose Rijo – 2.82 ERA (1379.2 IP)
4. Pedro Martinez – 2.95 ERA (2720.0 IP)
5. Chris Sale – 3.06 ERA (1582.2 IP)
6. Greg Maddux – 3.06 ERA (4821.1 IP)
7. Max Scherzer – 3.12 ERA (2663.0 IP)

These are hard to judge because of the difference in innings pitched, but you get a solid idea of which pitchers limit runs, nonetheless. With that being said, let’s dive deeper into this.

Strikeouts (K/9)

1. Chris Sale – 11.10 K/9 (1582.2 IP)
2. Jacob deGrom – 10.91 K/9 (1326.0 IP)
3. Yu Darvish – 10.81 K/9 (1488.0 IP)
4. Max Scherzer – 10.73 K/9 (2663.0 IP)
5. Randy Johnson – 10.57 K/9 (4103.0 IP)
6. Stephen Strasburg – 10.55 K/9 (1470.0 IP)
7. Gerrit Cole 10.53 K/9 (1650.1 IP)

While these pitchers generated lots of swings and misses, there are much more that goes into a pitcher than strikeouts. This does give you an idea of dominance, however.

Limiting the walks: Which pitcher had/has the most control (BB/9)

1. Bret Saberhagen – 1.60 BB/9 (1749.0 IP)
2. Brad Radke – 1.64 BB/9 (2448.0 IP)
3. Greg Maddux – 1.71 BB/9 (4821.2 IP)
4. Jon Lieber – 1.73 BB/9 (2086.2 IP)
5. David Wells – 1.79 BB/9 (3166.1 IP)
6. Curt Schilling – 1.85 BB/9 (3079.0 IP)
7. Roy Halladay – 1.88 BB/9 (2692.2 IP)

Comparisons

• Jacob deGrom (1326 IP, 2.52 ERA, 10.91 K/9, 2.06 BB/9, 2.62 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 25.0% K-BB)
• Chris Sale (1582 IP, 3.06 ERA, 11.10 K/9, 2.08 BB/9, 2.92 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 25.2% K-BB)
• Max Scherzer (2663 IP, 3.12 ERA, 10.73 K/9, 2.35 BB/9, 3.10 FIP, 1.07 WHIP, 23.1% K-BB)

According to the stats, Jacob deGrom is the better overall pitcher of the three. Note that Scherzer has over 1,000 more innings pitched however. Between Sale and Scherzer, the edge goes to Sale. However, Scherzer has pitched much more innings.

Let’s now compare the pitchers that took up four spots on the leaderboards.

• Stephen Strasburg (1470 IP, 3.24 ERA, 10.55 K/9, 2.41 BB/9, 3.02 FIP, 1.10 WHIP, 22.3% K-BB)
• Pedro Martinez (2720 IP, 2.95 ERA, 10.04 K/9, 2.42 BB/9, 2.91 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 21.2% K-BB)

According to the stats, the edge would seemingly go to Pedro Martinez. Note that Martinez has pitched over 1,250 more innings than Strasburg.

Let’s compare the pitchers who took up three spots.

• Clayton Kershaw (2577 IP, 2.48 ERA, 9.79 K/9, 2.19 BB/9, 2.76 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 21.4% K-BB)
• Gerrit Cole (1650 IP, 3.23 ERA, 10.53 K/9, 2.31 BB/9, 3.13 FIP, 1.10 WHIP, 22.7% K-BB)

According to the stats, it appears that Kershaw would beat out Gerrit Cole.

And lastly, let’s compare the pitchers that took up two spots.

• Greg Maddux (5008 IP, 3.16 ERA, 6.06 K/9, 1.80 BB/9, 3.26 FIP, 11.6% K-BB)
• Yu Darvish (1488 IP, 3.50 ERA, 10.81 K/9, 2.90 BB/9, 3.46 FIP, 21.4% K-BB)

And according to the stats, Maddux, even though he pitched almost 4,000 more innings than Darvish has so far in his career, seems to have the better stats.

Weighting the Stats

Before I come to a decision, it would be best to weight the stats. To do this, I will list which stats are more valued or more important, starting with most valued

1. FIP, out of the nine pitchers in the discussion, Jacob deGrom leads in FIP
2. ERA, out of the nine pitchers in the discussion, Clayton Kershaw leads in ERA
3. K-BB, out of the nine pitchers in the discussion, Chris Sale leads in K-BB
4. BB/9, out of the nine pitchers in the discussion, Greg Maddux leads in BB/9
5. K/9, out of the nine pitchers in the discussion, Chris Sale leads in K/9

My Opinion

In no way am I saying that this list is touting that one pitcher is better than the other. These are just based on stats from the last 35 years. Many of the players included here have not finished their careers out yet, so the innings pitched differential is large.

Top 8 pitchers from the last 35 years (excluding innings pitched, purely stat based)

1. Chris Sale
2. Jacob deGrom
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. Pedro Martinez
5. Max Scherzer
6. Stephen Strasburg
7. Greg Maddux
8. Gerrit Cole

Factoring in innings pitched and my personal predictions for the rest of these players careers, this would be my top 8 pitchers from the last 35 years (minimum 1,000 innings pitched so far).

1. Jacob deGrom
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Pedro Martinez
4. Max Scherzer
5. Chris Sale
6. Greg Maddux
7. Gerrit Cole
8. Stephen Strasburg

Honorable Mentions:

• RHP Justin Verlander (3163 IP, 3.24 ERA, 9.10 K/9, 2.50 BB/9, 3.36 FIP, 18.0% K-BB)
• RHP Roy Halladay (2749 IP, 3.38 ERA, 6.93 K/9, 1.94 BB/9, 3.39 FIP, 13.5% K-BB)
• LHP Randy Johnson (4135 IP, 3.29 ERA, 10.61 K/9, 3.26 BB/9, 3.19 FIP, 19.8% K-BB)
• LHP Johan Santana (2025 IP, 3.20 ERA, 8.83 K/9, 2.52 BB/9, 3.44 FIP, 17.2 K-BB%)
• RHP Curt Schilling (3261 IP, 3.46 ERA, 8.60 K/9, 1.96 BB/9, 3.23 FIP, 18.1 K-BB%)

Who do you think should have made the list? Let us know in the comments section below.