The Best Pitching Seasons Ever

Sometimes when you are looking at a bunch of statistics, a player will have a year that just makes you pause and ponder just how good that player was in that particular season.  Many times I have found myself looking at pitching statistics, and one year will jump out above all others.  Throughout all baseball eras, pitchers have had seasons that are mind boggling to say the least.  I'm going to discuss some of those years that I have read on a player's stat sheet here, in no particular order.

I will discuss some of these seasons with a few extra statistics you may not know.  RSAA(Runs Saved Against Average) is the amount of runs that a pitcher saved vs. what an average pitcher would have allowed.  This statistic will be used to determine the "extra wins" that pitcher was able to get vs what the average pitcher would have won that season.  These statistics come from the  Lee Sinins Sabermetric Encyclopedia, which lists them to determine what the best pitching seasons were.  Some of the seasons I list are not on their list but I think are worthy of mention.

Old Hoss Radbourn's 1884 Season

Old Hoss Radbourn is a hall of fame pitcher for good reason.  Despite the fact that he pitched in the dead ball era when ERAs were lower and a lot of guys looked great, he stood out as one of the very top pitchers.  His 1884 is the season that jumps off the page for me.  In that season, he won 59 games to 12 losses, with a 1.38 ERA in 678.2 IP, 441 strikeouts and a 207 ERA+ which is park adjusted.  Another awesome stat is that he made 73 starts and had 73 complete games!  All of those statistics lead the league.  I know this is deadball era but all of these stats are amazing even when compared to other deadball era pitchers.  This was a truly great pitching performance.

Cy Young's 1901 Season

Cy Young was a true link between early baseball and baseball as it was progressing forward into the 1910's.  As hitters became better, statistics for pitchers began to drop to more normal levels.  Cy Young's 1901 was an outstanding season for it's time.  He went 33-10 with a 1.62 ERA and 217 ERA+.  He started 41 games with 38 complete games and a league leading 5 shutouts.  He struck out a league leading 158 while issuing just 37 walks(league leading 0.9 BB/9).  He posted a 0.972 WHIP that lead the league.  His RSAA was 72, which lead to 4.23 extra wins.  The best pitcher award is named after Hall of Famer Cy Young for good reason.

Ed Walsh & Christy Matthewson's 1908 Seasons

I feel this is clearly Christy's best season of his career.  He lead the league in the following categories:  Wins(37), ERA(1.43), Games(56), Starts(44), CG(34), Shutouts(11), Saves(5; a lot back then not having actual relief pitchers), IP(390.2), K(259), Batter's Faced(1469), ERA+(168), WHIP(0.827), BB/9(1.0) and K/BB(6.17).  They didn't have awards, but it's almost certain if they did he would have won something. 

As for Ed Walsh, he was incredible for the White Sox in 1908.  He lead the league in: Wins(40), Games(66), Starts(49), CG(42), Shutouts(11), Saves(6), IP(464), K(269), Batter's Faced(1755) and K/BB(4.80).  Again if there had been awards, he would have been right there with Matthewson and may have won it over Christy.  Would have been interesting to see how the voters would have decided who had the better season.  Two years later, Ed Walsh may have had the most undeserved season in MLB history.  He posted a 1.27 ERA and 0.82 WHIP but suffered 20 losses.

Walter Johnson's 1913 Season

Walter Johnson is another hall of fame pitcher who had many great seasons.  He had some seasons where he may have bested some of his statistics from 1913, but in no other season was he as dominant over the league as 1913.  In 346 IP he went 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA and 259 ERA+.  He posted a 0.78 WHIP and had 246 strikeouts to just 38 walks(he averaged 1.0 BB/9).  In 36 starts he had 29 complete games and 11 shutouts.  He was rewarded for this season, winning his first of two career MVP awards for his efforts.  Walter's RSAA for that season was 75, and it lead to him winning an extra 5.26 games over what the average pitcher would have won.  An amazing season for sure.

Grover Cleveland Alexander's 1915 Season

It is really difficult to decide whether 1915 or 1916 was a better season for Alexander.  I am going with 1915 very slightly over 1916 by a micrometer.  In 1915, Alexander lead the league with 31 wins to just 10 losses.  He also lead the league in IP(376.1), ERA(1.22), CG(36), Shutouts(12), K(241), batters faced(1435), ERA+(225), fewest H/9(6.1), lowest WHIP(0.842), highest K/9(5.8), K/BB(3.77).  He had many great seasons but this, overall, is his best of them all.

Lefty Grove's 1931 Season

Lefty Grove's 1931 was a great season.  In 30 starts, he posted 27 complete games with a league leading 4 shutouts.  He pitched 288 innings with a record of 31-4 and a 2.06 ERA.  He also lead the league in Ks with 175, 220 ERA+, and 1.077 WHIP.  He was rewarded with the 1931 MVP for this season.  His RSAA for 1931 was 75, which lead to 4.50 extra wins.  It's clear to see why he is a solid hall of famer.

Carl Hubbell's 1933 Season

In 1933, Carl Hubbell was very dominant over the league.  He lead the league in Wins(23), ERA(1.60), Shutouts(10), IP(308.2), ERA+(195), WHIP(0.982) and K/BB(3.32).  He was named the league's MVP with a 96% share of the voting.  He had other solid years but none as completely dominant as 1933. 

Bob Feller's 1940 Season

 

Feller had many great seasons, but 1940 really stands out.  He began the 1940 season with a no hitter against the Chicago White Sox.  He would go on to pitch two other starts that ended as 1 hitters.  He lead the league in Wins(27), ERA(2.61), Games(43), Starts(37), Complete Games(31), Shutouts(4), IP(320.1), K(261), Batters Faced(1304), WHIP(1.133), H/9(6.9), HR/9(0.4), K/9(7.3) and K/BB(2.21).  He finished 2nd in MVP voting, and definitely would have been awarded the Cy Young award if it had existed.

Hal Newhouser's 1945 Season

Hal Newhouser may have benefitted from many of the game's top players being gone to war, but we cannot discredit what he did from 1944 to 1946.  His 1945 season stands out the most and will be discussed here.  That season he was 25-9 with a 1.81 ERA, 195 ERA+, in 313.1 innings, which all lead the league.  In 36 starts, he pitched 29 complete games with 8 shutouts, all of which lead the league.  He struck out 212 batters, while also leading the league with 6.1 K/9 and a league low 6.9 H/9.  A year after winning his first MVP in 1944, he was rewarded with the MVP award again for his 1945 season.  Newhouser's 1945 RSAA was 59, leading to an extra 3.70 wins.

Sandy Koufax's 1965 Season

It's hard to pick just one season to call amazing from Sandy Koufax, since he had more than a few eye-popping seasons.  After looking over his stat sheet a lot, I have determined that I would say his 1965 was his best overall season.  He lead the league in the following categories:  Wins(26), ERA(2.04), IP(335.2), CG(27), K(382), Batter's Faced(1297), WHIP(0.855), fewest H/9(5.8), K/9(10.2) and K/BB(5.38).  He was awarded the Cy Young unanimously, taking 100% of the votes.  I believe if a great pitcher had a season like this in 2011, who already had a semi-great career up to this point, people would be seriously starting to talk about whether or not that pitcher was the greatest ever.

Denny McLain & Bob Gibson's 1968 Seasons

You cannot have a discussion about the greatest pitching seasons in MLB history without discussing Bob Gibson's 1968 season.  He went 22-9 with a microscopic 1.12 ERA, which was the lowest ERA since the deadball era.  His ERA+ was 258.  In 304 IP, he struck out a league best 268 batters with a league low 5.8 H/9 and 0.853 WHIP.  He posted 28 CG and a league leading 13 shutouts.  He was awarded the Cy Young, the MVP and the Gold Glove award.  Many people will tell you that this was the most dominant season by a pitcher that they ever witnessed.

Denny McLain found similar success in 1968, which was deemed the "Year of the Pitcher".  McLain may have been the best example of a pitcher who benefited the most from the rules changes.  Prior to 1968 he average 12-8, 3.57 ERA a season.  In 1968, he lead the league in the following stats: Wins(31 to just 6 losses), Starts(41), CG(28), IP(336), Batter's Faced(1288) and K/BB(4.44).  He posted other great statistics that didn't lead the league, like a 1.96 ERA and 0.905 WHIP.  Despite leading the league in HR allowed(31), his HR/9 stayed below 1.0(0.8).  He also posted a high 280 K that did not lead the league, but is very respectible.  He was rewarded with the Cy Young and MVP awards for his effort.  This became the first year since 1924 that pitchers won all of the league's MVP awards.

Steve Carlton's 1972 Season

Steve Carlton won 329 games and four Cy Young awards, but no season he pitched was finer than 1972.  That season he lead the league in the following statistics: Wins(27 to just 10 losses), ERA(1.97, the only sub-2.00 ERA of his career), Starts(41), CG(30), IP(346.1), K(310), Batter's Faced(1351), ERA+(182) and K/BB(3.56).  He lead the league in hits allowed(257) but was still able to post the only sub-7.0 H/9(6.7) and only sub-1.00 WHIP of his career(0.993).  He also had the most shutouts of his career(8) although that did not lead the league.  He was awarded the 1972 Cy Young Award, his most dominant and statistically amazing one on his shelf.

Ron Guidry's 1978 Season

 1978 was a crazy year for baseball in the American League.  The Yankees over-came a 14 game deficit they had in June to defeat the Red Sox for the crown and eventually won the World Series.  One of the major reasons they did this, is because of the magical season of Ron Guidry.  He lead the league that year in: Wins(25 to just 3 losses), ERA(1.74), ERA+(208), WHIP(0.946) and H/9(6.1).  His 9 shutouts also lead the league and tied a Major League record for a left handed pitcher with Babe Ruth's 1916 season.  His 18 strikeouts vs the California Angels were also a Major League record until it was broken by Roger Clemens in 1986.  His solid non-league leading statistics were 248 strike outs, 273.2 IP and 16 complete games.  He was awarded the Cy Young and finished 2nd in MVP voting.

Dwight Gooden's 1985 Season

Dwight Gooden could have been one of the greatest of all time.  He just had a lot of demons he could never get past.  However, he gave us his 1985 season as proof that he could have been legendary.  That season he lead the league in:  Wins(24 to just 4 losses), ERA(1.53), CG(16), IP(276.2), K(268) and ERA+(229).  Although he did not lead the league in WHIP, this was his only sub-1.00 WHIP of his career(0.965) and his highest shutout total of his career(8) which amazingly did not lead the league.  He also posted the highest K/BB of his career(3.88) and his lowest H/9 of his career(6.4).  He was outstanding and was rewarded with the Cy Young Award.

Mike Scott's 1986 Season

Mike Scott had a few flashes of greatness once he arrived in Houston, but did not really put together a long stretch of good and great seasons.  He did however give us his 1986, in which he was about as great as they came.  He lead the league in: ERA(2.22), Shut outs(5), IP(275.1), K(306, by far his most ever), ERA+(161), WHIP(0.923), H/9(5.9 which is outstanding), K/9(10) and K/BB(4.25).  He far and away outshined his teammate and future hall of famer Nolan Ryan, who put up mediocre statistics that season to say the least.  Scott carried that team all the way to 1st place and a berth in the NLCS, coming up short of the World Series.  He was awarded the Cy Young for 1986.

Greg Maddux's 1992-1994 Seasons

 In 1992, Greg Maddux lead the league in Wins(20), Starts(35), IP(268), Batter's Faced(1061), ERA+(166) and HR/9(0.2).  He had a low WHIP(1.01) a low H/9(6.8), and 9 complete games with 4 shutouts.  In 1993, he lead the league in ERA(2.36), Starts(36), CG(8), IP(267), Batter's Faced(1064), ERA+(172) and WHIP(1.049).  He had other good numbers for HR/9(0.5) and 20 wins.  In 1994, Maddux lead the league in Wins(16), ERA(1.56; microscopic!), CG(10), Shutouts(3), IP(202), Batter's Faced(774), ERA+(271), WHIP(0.896), H/9(6.7) and HR/9(0.2) in the strike shortened season.  In all three of theses years, he was awarded the Cy Young.  He also won the Gold Glove in all of these incredible years.

Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson's 1995 Seasons

Greg Maddux was really unhittable in many seasons, but especially 1995.  He lead the league in: Wins(19 to just 2 losses!), ERA(1.63), CG(10), Shut Outs(3), IP(209), ERA+(262), WHIP(0.811, lowest of his career), HR/9(0.3), BB/9(1.0) and K/BB(7.87).  His 181 K/23 BB jumps right off the page to me and really stands out.  His K/9 were the highest of his career that season at 7.8.  Realizing that this season occurred during the point when players may have began really starting to use steroids, this season becomes even more special.  When talking to any baseball fan who remembers the 90's, if you ask them what the best season you saw by a pitcher, many people will list Greg Maddux's 1995.

Randy Johnson was also amazing in 1995. He lead the league in ERA(2.48), K(294), ERA+(193), WHIP(1.045), H/9(6.7), HR/9(0.5), K/9(12.3) and K/BB(4.52).  His team played well in his starts and got him to an amazing 18-2 record, just behind Greg Maddux's amazing record.  He also had 6 CGs and 3 shutouts.  He was lights out in the American League, which traditionally is tougher to pitch in because of the DH.  It is really difficult to determine who had the better year, so I won't.  Johnson was awarded the Cy Young for his efforts, and the Seattle Mariners made their first post season appearance ever after winning the AL West title, largely on the back of RJ, the Big Unit.

Pedro Martinez's 1997, 1999, 2000 & 2002 Seasons

I couldn't choose just one season and all three of these seasons are legendary.  In 1997, Pedro lead the NL in ERA(1.90), CG(13), ERA+(219), WHIP(0.932), H/9(5.9) and K/9(11.4).  He also posted 305 strikeouts and 4 shutouts to go with a 17-8 record on a 4th place team.  In 1999 moving to the American League's Boston Red Sox, he was unbelievable yet again.  That year he lead the league in Wins(23 to just 4 losses), ERA(2.07), Strikeouts(313), ERA+(243), WHIP(0.923), H/9(6.8), HR/9(0.4), K/9(13.2) and K/BB(8.46).  The next year in 2000 he lead the league in ERA(1.74), Shut outs(4), Strikeouts(284), ERA+(291), WHIP(0.737), H/9(5.3), HR/9(0.7), K/9(11.8) and K/BB(8.88).  He also had 7 complete games and went 18-6.  For all three of these seasons 1997, 1999 and 2000 he was awarded the Cy Young award and finished 2nd in MVP voting in 1999.  

In 2002, he found himself on the better end of greatness again, leading the league in ERA(2.26), strikeouts(239), ERA+(202), WHIP(0.923), H/9(6.5), K/9(10.8) and K/BB(5.98).  He finished 2nd in Cy Young voting pretty unfairly that year.  When comparing his season to Barry Zito's, you can clearly see that Pedro Martinez was much better.  It should be noted that Martinez pitched all of these great seasons during what is now called the steroid era.  Lots of players were hitting like they never had before due to steroid use and abuse.  To put up numbers like these during that era, it wouldn't be wrong to say it was the best stretch of pitching ever.

Randy Johnson's 1999-2002 & 2004 Seasons

Randy Johnson is one of the Top 10 greatest pitchers of all time.  He lead the league in strikeouts 9 times.  1999-2002 though was his best four season stretch of his career.  Starting in 1999, he lead the league in ERA(2.48), Starts(35), CG(12), IP(271.2), Strikeouts(364), Batter's Faced(1079), ERA+(186) and K/9(12.1).  In 2000 he lead the league in win %(.731), Starts(35), CG(8), Shut outs(3), Strikeouts(347), ERA+(181) and K/9(12.6).  In 2001, he lead the league at ERA(2.49), Strike outs(372), ERA+(188), WHIP(1.009), H/9(6.5) and K/9(13.4).  In 2002, he lead the league at Wins(24), win %(.828), ERA(2.32), CG(8), IP(260), Strikeouts(334), Batter's Faced(1035), ERA+(197) and K/9(11.6).  For each of these seasons he was awarded the Cy Young.  Winning Cy's four years in a row had only been done one other time by Greg Maddux(1992-1995).

In 2002, Randy was back at it, leading the league at Starts(35), Strikeouts(290), ERA+(178), WHIP(0.90) and H/9(6.5).  He posted a low 2.60 ERA with 4 complete games and 2 shutouts.  His K/9 was 10.6 and his K/BB was 6.59.  His HR/9 was 0.7 during this steroid era season.  He finished 2nd in Cy Young voting that season, and everyone agreed he should have won over Roger Clemens.  He was robbed of the Cy due to his 16-14 record, which should not have kept him from winning the Cy.  Like Pedro Martinez, all of these seasons were during the so-called steroid era, and that makes them even more amazing.

I have not seen any seasons after this that have just jumped off the page.  There have certainly been good Cy Young seasons by pitchers since 2002(Zack Greinke's 2009), Felix Hernandez' 2010), but nothing like these.  Will we ever see any more seasons like these or has MLB changed and are we going to see less and less all-time great seasons from pitchers?  I thought since the steroid era was really ending with all of the new testing that we'd see the re-emergence of the great pitcher seasons but it has not happened quite like these.  Maybe in the future and I would welcome it.  I have always liked pitching more than hitting.  I hope we see more great seasons like these.