During his 17-year major league career, spent mostly with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics, Eddie Plank was often overshadowed by some of the other top pitchers in the game, some of whom pitched for the same team as him. Plank never led the American League in any major pitching category, and, for quite a few seasons, he had to compete with fellow A’s pitchers Rube Waddell, Chief Bender, and Jack Coombs for preeminence on his own team’s staff. However, Plank won at least 20 games eight different times, twice compiling as many as 26 victories. He was a 20-game winner five times between 1902 and 1907, winning 19 games the other season.
Plank performed at a particularly high level in 1904, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1911, and 1912, winning at least 23 games in five of those six seasons, and finishing with an ERA no higher than 2.26 in any of them. In 1909, the one year he failed to win 20 games, he may have been the most effective, compiling an ERA of 1.76 while winning 19 games. In each of those six seasons, as well as one or two others, he was among the five best pitchers in the game.
Plank ended his career with 326 victories, the third highest win total of any lefthanded pitcher in baseball history, behind only Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton. He also compiled an outstanding earned run average of 2.35. In addition to winning at least 20 games eight times, Plank finished with at least 16 victories six other times. He also finished with an ERA under 2.50 thirteen times.
“Three Fingered” Mordecai Brown’s 14-year major league career included stints with seven different teams. However, Brown’s peak seasons were spent with the Chicago Cubs, on some of the greatest teams of the first decade of the 20th century.
Although overshadowed by the great Christy Mathewson, from 1906 to 1910 Brown was a truly great pitcher, second only to the New York Giants righthander among National League hurlers. In each of those five seasons Brown was a 20-game winner, and, in four of the five, he surpassed 25 victories. He also finished with an ERA of less than 2.00 in each of those seasons. Brown’s ERA of 1.04 in 1906 was the lowest of the 20th century, and he followed that up the next four seasons with marks of 1.39, 1.47, 1.31, and 1.86. In fact, his career ERA of 2.06 is the third lowest ever. Brown led the N.L. with 27 wins in 1909, after winning 29 games the previous year, and he also led the league in shutouts and complete games twice each. He was a 20-game winner a total of six times, won as many as 17 games two other times, and finished with an ERA under 2.00 six times. Brown ended his career with 239 victories, against only 130 defeats.
Nolan Ryan
When the baseball writers elected Nolan Ryan to the Hall of Fame in 1999, naming him on 491 of the 497 total ballots cast (a percentage of 98.79, the second highest ever attained by any player), few people disagreed. After all, in his 28 major league seasons, Ryan struck out more batters (5,714) and threw more no-hitters (7) than any other pitcher in baseball history. He finished with an ERA under 3.00 eight times, twice surrendering less than 2.50 runs per contest, struck out over 300 batters six times, fanned more than 200 another nine times, and threw more than 300 innings twice. Ryan was an eight-time All-Star who led his league in ERA twice, shutouts three times, and strikeouts eleven times. His six seasons with more than 300 strikeouts, and 15 years with at least 200 Ks, are both major league records.
At his best, Ryan was one of the most dominating pitchers ever. There is no disputing that he belongs in the Hall of Fame. What is debatable, however, is whether or not he truly deserved to be ushered in with such alacrity, and in such overwhelming fashion. For Ryan’s career was marked with inconsistency since he often failed to pitch at the dominating level his strikeout totals and no-hit performances would seem to indicate.
While it is true that Ryan won 324 games during his career, he also lost 292, finishing with a winning percentage of only .526, the second lowest of any starting pitcher ever elected to the Hall of Fame. Some might argue that he had the misfortune of playing on bad teams throughout his career, but that was not entirely true. While many of his peak seasons were spent with a below average California Angels team from 1972 to 1979, the Angels became a contender during the latter portion of his tenure there. Following the free agent signings of players such as Don Baylor, Joe Rudi, and Bobby Grich, they were a solid team his last few years with the team, and even won their division in 1979. That year, Ryan’s record was 16-14, and he finished just 10-13 the previous year.
Ryan signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros in 1980 and spent the next nine seasons with that franchise. With Ryan, Houston won the division in both 1980 and 1986. In those two seasons, he compiled records of 11-10 and 12-8, respectively. Thus, Ryan’s rather mediocre winning percentage cannot be attributed solely to the fact that he spent a good portion of his career pitching for average teams. He was erratic and, especially early in his career, prone to issuing an inordinate number of bases on balls.
Ryan’s career earned run average of 3.19 was good, but hardly spectacular, especially when one considers that he spent most of his career pitching in good pitchers’ parks. New York’s Shea Stadium and Houston’s Astrodome were both very favorable for pitchers, and the ballparks in California and Texas were quite fair, to say the least.
In spite of his 324 victories, Ryan was a 20-game winner only twice, and he won as many as 16 games only six other times. He never led his league in wins, and he never won the Cy Young Award. In fact, in only three seasons could a legitimate case be made for him being among the five best pitchers in the game. In 1973, pitching for the Angels, he finished 21-16, with a 2.87 ERA, 383 strikeouts, and 26 complete games. That year, he finished second in the American League Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer. The following year, he finished 22-16, with an ERA of 2.89, 367 strikeouts, and another 26 complete games. That year, he finished third in the Cy Young voting, with the award going to Catfish Hunter. With the Astros, during the strike-shortened 1981 season, Ryan won 11 games, against only 5 losses, and led the league with a 1.69 ERA in finishing fourth in the N.L. Cy Young balloting. Although he did finish in the top five in the voting two other times, in no other season would he have been ranked among the five best pitchers in baseball. During the first half of the 1970s, pitchers such as Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Jim Palmer, Catfish Hunter, and Ferguson Jenkins were all better. Later that decade, Seaver, Carlton, and Palmer were joined by Ron Guidry. At different times during the 1980s, Guidry, Jack Morris, Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela, and Roger Clemens were more consistent winners.
In short, Nolan Ryan is one of the most overrated players in baseball history. Strikeouts and no-hitters are quite glamorous, and they tend to leave a lasting impression on those who witness them. But the game is all about
winning
, and there were many pitchers who were superior to Ryan in that regard. Throughout most of his career, Walter Johnson pitched for teams that were inferior to those Ryan played on. Yet he was able to compile a lifetime winning percentage of .599—73 points higher than Ryan’s mark. Other outstanding Hall of Fame pitchers such as Dazzy Vance, Burleigh Grimes, and Robin Roberts also spent large portions of their careers pitching for mediocre teams. Yet, they too compiled winning percentages that were much better than Ryan’s (Vance’s was .585; Grimes’ was .560; Roberts’ was .539). A truly great pitcher should be able to win the vast majority of his games, even if the team he plays for is not particularly strong. That is something Ryan was unable to do during his career. Thus, he should not even be ranked among the 20 greatest pitchers of all-time. Ryan was a very good pitcher. He just wasn’t as good as the BBWAA made him out to be when it made him the second most popular choice in the history of the Hall of Fame voting.
Ed Walsh
Chicago White Sox righthanded spitball artist Ed Walsh spent 14 seasons in the major leagues, and was a top-flight pitcher in only seven of those. In the other seven seasons, he failed to win more than eight games. However, in virtually all of the other years, he was among the top two or three pitchers in the American League, and one of the five best in baseball. As a result, he would have to be considered a legitimate Hall of Famer.
Walsh won more than 20 games four times, compiling win totals of 24 in 1907, and 27 in both 1911 and 1912. In each of those seasons, he was among the five best pitchers in the game. However, Walsh was clearly the best pitcher in baseball in 1908. That year, he finished 40-15 with an ERA of 1.42, 269 strikeouts, 464 innings pitched, 11 shutouts, and 42 complete games. He finished with an ERA under 2.00 five straight seasons from 1906 to 1910, and his career mark of 1.82 is the lowest of any pitcher from the 20th century. In an era when hitters struck out far less than they would in future generations, Walsh also struck out more than 200 batters five times. In all, he led the American League in ERA twice, wins once, strikeouts twice, innings pitched four times, and shutouts three times. He ended his career with 195 wins, against 126 losses.
Joe McGinnity
In the first few years of the 20th century, no pitcher was more durable than “Iron Man” Joe McGinnity. Although his major league career lasted only ten seasons, McGinnity managed to win 246 games, while losing only 142, and he completed 314 of his 381 starts. It was not at all unusual for him to pitch both ends of a doubleheader, and he won a record three twin-bills in one month for the New York Giants in 1903.
In his first four seasons, spent with the original Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Dodgers, McGinnity won 28 games twice, 26 games once, and 21 once. He had his finest seasons with the Giants, though, from 1903 to 1906, winning no fewer than 21 games, and topping the 30-mark twice. In fact, in 1904, McGinnity even surpassed teammate Christy Mathewson as the best pitcher in the National League. That year, he finished 35-8, to lead the league in victories, while also topping the circuit with a 1.61 ERA, 408 innings pitched, and 9 shutouts. Although McGinnity pitched in Mathewson’s shadow for much of his career, he was probably the league’s second best pitcher for much of the first decade of the 20th century. He led the N.L. in wins five times, ERA once, innings pitched four times, and complete games twice. Despite the relative brevity of McGinnity’s career, it would be difficult to questions his 1946 election to Cooperstown by the Veteran’s Committee.
Bob Lemon
In his 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, from 1946 to 1958, Bob Lemon pitched alongside some very fine pitchers. At different times during his tenure there, the Indians staff included the likes of fellow Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Early Wynn, tough righthander Mike Garcia, and the ill-fated Herb Score. Nevertheless, for most of his career, Lemon stood out as the ace of the Indians staff.
From 1948 to 1956, Lemon was one of the two or three best pitchers in the American League, and one of the five best in baseball. During that nine-year period, he won at least 20 games seven times, never failing to post at least 17 victories. Over that same stretch, he also completed more than 20 games seven times, and, during a pretty good era for hitters, finished with an ERA under 3.00 four times. He led the American League in wins three times, innings pitched four times, complete games five times, and shutouts and strikeouts once each.
Lemon’s first outstanding season was 1948, when he won 20 games for the first time, compiled a 2.82 ERA, and led the league with 10 shutouts. He was the A.L.’s best pitcher that year and again the following year, when he finished 22-10, with an ERA of 2.99 and 22 complete games. After winning 23 games in 1950, and another 17 the following year, Lemon had another outstanding year in 1952. That year, he finished 22-11 with a 2.50 ERA and 28 complete games. Only Bobby Shantz’s MVP season for the Philadelphia A’s prevented Lemon from being the best pitcher in the league that year. However, in 1954, Lemon had perhaps his finest season, winning 23 games, while losing only 7, compiling a 2.72 ERA, and leading the Indians to the pennant. He was clearly the best pitcher in the league that year.
During his career, Lemon was selected to the All-Star Team seven times and finished in the top 10 in the league MVP voting six times, making it into the top five on three separate occasions. He was one of the top pitchers of his day and a worthy Hall of Famer.
Robin Roberts
Righthander Robin Roberts was a dominant pitcher in only six of his 19 major league seasons. However, for those six seasons, Roberts rivaled Warren Spahn as the National League’s best pitcher, and was one of the five best hurlers in baseball.
Although he later pitched for the Orioles, Astros, and Cubs as well, Roberts’ best years were with the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he won at least 15 games ten times in 14 seasons. He was a 20-game winner each year from 1950 to 1955, winning as many as 28 games in 1952, and posting 23 victories three other times. In that 1952 season, Roberts was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. His won-lost record was 28-7, and he finished with an ERA of 2.59, 30 complete games, and 330 innings pitched. He was also among the two or three best hurlers in the game in each of the next three seasons, winning 23 games each year, finishing with an ERA under 3.00 twice, and throwing more than 300 innings and completing close to 30 games each year. Though his productivity declined considerably after 1955 due to the strain put on his arm by throwing more than 300 innings in six consecutive seasons, Roberts managed to win 286 games over his career (against 245 losses). Had the Phillies teams he pitched for in many of those seasons been stronger, his record would have been even better.
While Roberts’ career ERA of 3.41 is less than spectacular, the 1950s were a pretty good hitter’s era and Philadelphia’s Shibe Park was a good hitter’s ballpark. Still, he managed to finish with an ERA under 3.00 six times and complete more than 20 games eight times. Roberts was selected to the All-Star Team seven times and finished in the top 10 in the league MVP voting five times, making it into the top five twice. Roberts’ status as one of baseball’s dominant pitchers from 1950 to 1955, along with the fact that he won 286 games playing for weak teams throughout most of his career, clearly legitimize his place in Cooperstown.