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)

Now that we know which pitchers were the best at staying in the strike zone and limiting walks, we can look at more stats.

FIP (Fielding Indepent Pitching)

1. Jacob deGrom 2.62 FIP (1326.0 IP)
2. Clayton Kershaw 2.76 FIP (2577.0 IP)
3. Pedro Martinez 2.91 FIP (2720.0 IP)
4. Chris Sale 2.92 FIP (1582.2 IP)
5. Stephen Strasburg 3.02 FIP (1470.0 IP)
6. Max Scherzer 3.09 FIP (2663.0 IP)
7. Corey Kluber 3.10 FIP (1577.1 IP)

FIP is similar to ERA, but it focuses solely on the events a pitcher has the most control over — strikeouts, unintentional walks, hit-by-pitches and home runs. The stat measures a pitcher’s effectiveness in an accurate way

WHIP (Walks plus Hits plus Innings Pitched)

1.      T1. Jacob deGrom 1.00 WHIP (1326.0 IP)
2.      T1. Clayton Kershaw 1.00 WHIP (2577.0 IP)
3.      2. Chris Sale 1.04 WHIP (1582.2 IP)
4.      3. Pedro Martinez 1.05 WHIP (2720.0 IP)
5.      4. Max Scherzer 1.07 WHIP
6.      T5. Stephen Strasburg 1.10 WHIP (1470.0 IP)
7.      T5. Gerrit Cole 1.10 WHIP (1650.1 IP)

WHIP is a very important stat when comparing pitchers because it shows how good a pitcher is at getting outs while not allowing walks or hits of any kind.

One last stat to go over.

K-BB%. How often does the pitcher get a strikeout opposed to a walk?

1. Chris Sale – 25.2% (1582.2 IP)
2. Jacob deGrom – 25.0% (1326.0 IP)
3. Max Scherzer – 23.1% (2663.0 IP)
4. Gerrit Cole – 22.7% (1650.1 IP)
5. Stephen Strasburg – 22.3% (1470.0 IP)
6. Yu Darvish – 21.4% (1488.0 IP)
7. Pedro Martinez – 21.2% (2720.0 IP)

Using these six stats, you could accurately pick some of the best starting pitchers out. Obviously, it won’t be perfect but let’s continue.

Jacob deGrom appeared in five of these leaderboards along with Chris Sale and Max Scherzer.

Stephen Strasburg appeared in four, along with Pedro Martinez.

Clayton Kershaw appeared in three, along with Gerrit Cole.

Greg Maddux appeared in two, along with Yu Darvish.

These pitchers remain in the discussion. Let’s compare them.

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.