Best Pitchers By Half-Decade: 1975-1999

As a historian, I like to have a record of which players and teams excelled in a given time period. I presume that many other people care about those records, too. Focusing on half-decades, I looked up the top five pitchers in FanGraphs' fWAR and RA9-WAR. For those of you who prefer bWAR, it's usually pretty close to RA9. I'll add some minimal commentary, but this isn't a deep dive where I went back and, like, broke down film of Orel Hershiser.

Previous articles:

Best Pitchers of 1900-24
Best Pitchers of 1925-49
Best Pitchers of 1950-74

1975-1979

Top 5 fWAR:

1. Tom Seaver, 29.1
2. Gaylord Perry, 27.5
3. Phil Niekro, 26.6
4. Bert Blyleven, 26.3
5. J.R. Richard, 25.9

The 1970s are positively stacked with Hall of Fame pitchers. The exception who breaks through here is James Rodney Richard, who pitched for the Houston Astros from 1971-80. A 6'8" fireballer, Richard was a little bit like a right-handed Randy Johnson, an intimidating power pitcher whose speed was even more fearsome because his release came some close to the plate. Richard was wild — he led the NL three times each in walks and wild pitches — but with a devastating fastball and an equally menacing slider: he also led the league twice in strikeouts and K/9. Nolan Ryan named Richard's the nastiest slider on his personal top 10 list. Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski said of Richard, "He threw as hard as anyone I had ever seen. It was scary." Fellow HOFer Joe Morgan agreed, "He had the greatest stuff I have ever seen and it still gives me goosebumps to think of what he might have become." Richard had a stroke when he was 30 years old and never pitched in the majors again.

He went 20-15 in 1976, for a team that finished under .500, and won 18 games for three seasons in a row after that, all on teams that hovered around .500. He was 10-4 in 1980 before the stroke, with a 1.90 ERA. He was named NL Pitcher of the Month for April, and started in the All-Star Game. Richard threw more than 300 strikeouts in each of his last two full seasons and led the majors in ERA (2.71) in 1979, his last full season. He had overcome his early wildness, and that year also led the National League in K/BB ratio. Richard was peaking when his career came to its abrupt end. The press mercilessly accused him of faking ailments in the weeks that preceded his stroke.

J.R. Richard died in 2021, reportedly due to complications from COVID-19. He was 71. In his major league career, Richard was 107-71, with a 3.15 ERA and 8.4 K/9.

The chapter on Richard in The Black Aces, by Jim "Mudcat" Grant with Tom Sabellico and Pat O'Brien, was helpful in writing this.

Top 5 RA9-WAR:

1. Jim Palmer, 38.6
2. Tom Seaver, 33.8
3. Dennis Eckersley, 28.8
4. Bert Blyleven, 28.6
5. Phil Niekro, 27.2

Before reinventing himself as a reliever in the second half of his career, Dennis Eckersley was a starter for the Indians (1975-77), Red Sox (1978-84), and Cubs (1984-86). He went 20-8 one year, made two All-Star Games, and led his league in K/BB ratio three times. From 1975-86, he went 151-128 with a 3.67 ERA. He pitched 100 complete games, including 20 shutouts and a no-hitter.

In 1987, the Athletics turned him into a reliever, and over the remaining 12 seasons of his career he went 46-43 with 387 saves and a 2.96 ERA. He made another four All-Star appearances, and finished among the top five in AL Cy Young voting and AL MVP voting three times each, winning both in 1992. Eckersley only pitched 80 innings that year, but he led the league in saves (51), with a 1.91 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. He averaged 10.5 K/9 and 8.45 K/BB, and he led all AL pitchers in Win Probability Added (4.76). He wasn't really the league's most valuable player, but he had a great year.

Eckersley retired following the 1998 season and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2004.

From 1975-79, Eckersley ranked among the AL's top 10 in ERA four times and in strikeouts every year.

Leaders

Innings: Phil Niekro, 1,553
Wins: Jim Palmer, 96-53
Strikeouts: Nolan Ryan, 1,337

Best RHP: Tom Seaver
Best LHP: Steve Carlton
Best Non-HOF: J.R. Richard

Angels southpaw Frank Tanana went 75-45 with a 2.88 ERA in this time period. By WAR, he's actually a little ahead of Steve Carlton as the greatest left-handed pitcher of the late '70s. Obviously, Carlton has more cachet, but his career has a weird shape: a legendary season in 1972, a good-not-great lull in the late '70s, then a resurgence in the early '80s, with two more Cy Youngs, in '80 and '82. During this five-year period, Tanana was better in every major rate stat.

Carlton pitched almost 200 more innings, and won the NL Cy Young in '77, but from 1975-79, his case over Tanana is shaky.

1980-1984

Top 5 fWAR:

1. Steve Carlton, 33.7
2. Dave Stieb, 22.8
t3. Fernando Valenzuela, 20.9
t3. Mario Soto, 20.9
5. Len Barker, 20.8

From roughly 1965-80, the majors were full of Hall of Fame pitchers, in or near their primes: Bob Gibson (1959-75), Jim Kaat (1959-83), Juan Marichal (1960-75), Gaylord Perry (1962-83), Phil Niekro (1964-87), Catfish Hunter (1965-79), Jim Palmer (1965-84), Fergie Jenkins (1965-83), Steve Carlton (1965-88), Don Sutton (1966-88), Nolan Ryan (1966-93), Tom Seaver (1967-86), and Bert Blyleven (1970-92).

By the early '80s, most of those pitchers were either past their primes or retired. There are exceptions, obviously: Carlton was still great, Blyleven was the number two pitcher on a World Series champion in 1987, and Ryan pitched a no-hitter as late as 1991. A few of the other still had gas in the tank, as well, but in general this dominant generation of pitchers all got old around the same time, leaving a vacuum that wasn't really filled until the '90s. Stieb and Valenzuela were very good pitchers. Soto was pretty good, too, and I guess Barker was alright, but they wouldn't normally qualify for a list like this.

Top 5 RA9-WAR:

1. Dave Stieb, 31.8
2. Steve Carlton, 28.3
3. Mario Soto, 23.2
4. Steve Rogers, 21.3
5. Jack Morris, 21.2

Stieb was an All-Star in four of these five seasons.

Leaders

Innings: Steve Carlton, 1,302 1/3
Wins: Steve Carlton, 88-47
Strikeouts: Steve Carlton, 1,189

Best RHP: Dave Stieb
Best LHP: Steve Carlton
Best Non-HOF: Dave Stieb

I alluded to this above, but the shape of Steve Carlton's career is so weird. 1972 is clearly his best season. He goes 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA and 310 strikeouts, wins the triple crown, and wins the Cy Young. That season, he earns 11.1 fWAR, 12.1 bWAR, and 13.0 RA9-WAR.

For the next seven years, he's a good pitcher, but not really elite, his '77 Cy not withstanding. And then in the early '80s, after his 30th birthday, he's the best pitcher in baseball again.

From 1968-72, Carlton made four All-Star Games in five years. Then he made just two All-Star teams over the next six seasons, followed by four more in a row starting in 1979.

Before 1975, Carlton led his league in innings pitched twice, in complete games three times, in stikeouts once, and in K/BB ratio once. He never led in any of those stats from 1975-79. Then in the '80s, he led in innings another three times, complete games once, strikeouts three times, and K/BB ratio once.

1985-1989

Top 5 fWAR:

1. Roger Clemens, 32.1
2. Bret Saberhagen, 27.7
3. Dwight Gooden, 26.0
4. Nolan Ryan, 24.4
5. Orel Hershiser, 24.1

Nolan Ryan led the majors in strikeouts from 1970-74 and 1975-79, but this is his first appearance on a five-year WAR leaderboard. I wrote a long article about Ryan for FanGraphs in 2014, and it's still one of my favorite pieces I've written.

Top 5 RA9-WAR:

1. Roger Clemens, 34.5
2. Bret Saberhagen, 29.7
3. Orel Hershiser, 29.0
4. Dwight Gooden, 27.7
5. Mike Scott, 26.6

All five of these pitchers won the Cy Young Award in the late '80s: Clemens (AL 1986 and '87), Saberhagen (AL 1985 and '89), Hershiser (NL 1988), Gooden (NL 1985), and Scott (NL 1986). Clemens and Saberhagen were the only multiple winners.

Leaders

Innings: Bert Blyleven, 1,280 2/3
Wins: Frank Viola, 88-61
Strikeouts: Nolan Ryan, 1,202

Best RHP: Roger Clemens
Best LHP: Frank Viola
Best Non-HOF: Roger Clemens

Twins lefty Frank Viola led Minnesota to a World Series victory in 1987. He went 17-10 with a 2.90 ERA, then 3-1 in the postseason, earning the World Series MVP. He went on to win the AL Cy Young Award in 1988, going 24-7 with a 2.64 ERA. Viola started 8-12 the next season and was traded to the Mets, where he made two more All-Star Games in the '90s, including a 20-12 season in 1990.

Viola just missed the WAR leaderboards above, earning 23.5 fWAR (6th) and 25.6 RA9-WAR (7th).

1990-1994

Top 5 fWAR:

1. Greg Maddux, 32.9
2. Roger Clemens, 32.1
3. Jose Rijo, 26.9
4. David Cone, 24.4
5. Kevin Appier, 23.5

José Rijo is such a what-if story. He was the Reds' ace in 1990, going 14-8 in the regular season and 3-0 in the postseason, winning World Series MVP. In '91, he went 15-6 and led the NL in WHIP. In '93, he led the league in strikeouts and K/9. He was an All-Star in '94, still just 29 years old. Injuries limited him to just 23 more starts in his career, and he retired with a record of 116-91.

Top 5 RA9-WAR:

1. Greg Maddux, 35.7
2. Roger Clemens, 34.7
3. Jose Rijo, 29.6
4. Kevin Appier, 28.0
5. David Cone, 25.6

This is only the second half-decade in which the same players comprise the top five for both fWAR and RA9-WAR. The previous instance was 1910-1914.

Leaders

Innings: Greg Maddux, 1,237
Wins: Greg Maddux, 86-53
Strikeouts: Randy Johnson, 1,175

Best RHP: Greg Maddux
Best LHP: Tom Glavine
Best Non-HOF: Roger Clemens

From 1990-94, Tom Glavine was 85-46 (.649), a better record than Greg Maddux (86-53, .619). Fellow Brave John Smoltz was 64-57 (.529). Glavine was the NL Cy Young winner in '91.

1993 AL Cy Young winner Jack McDowell had the 3rd-most wins in this time period, with a record of 83-48 (.634), and led the majors in complete games (48).

1995-1999

Top 5 fWAR:

1. Greg Maddux, 36.9
2. Randy Johnson, 35.2
3. Kevin Brown, 34.6
4. Pedro Martinez, 34.0
5. Roger Clemens, 31.3

The next three: John Smoltz (30.3), Curt Schilling (27.2), Mike Mussina (26.9).

Top 5 RA9-WAR:

1. Greg Maddux, 41.9
2. Kevin Brown, 36.8
t3. Randy Johnson, 36.5
t3. Pedro Martinez, 36.5
5. Roger Clemens, 33.6

Next three: Tom Glavine (30.8), John Smoltz (29.4), Mike Mussina (27.1).

The top nine pitchers for this era are obviously (in alphabetical order): Kevin Brown, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martínez, Mike Mussina, Curt Schilling, and John Smoltz. To round out the top ten... probably David Cone? Andy Pettitte has an argument.

Among that clear top nine, Glavine, Johnson, Maddux, Martinez, Mussina, and Smoltz are in the Hall of Fame. Brown, Clemens, and Schilling are not, for a variety of reasons that are [1] mostly unrelated to their baseball performance and [2] mostly their fault.

Leaders

Innings: Greg Maddux, 1,157 2/3
Wins: Greg Maddux, 90-35
Strikeouts: Randy Johnson, 1,363

Best RHP: Greg Maddux
Best LHP: Randy Johnson
Best Non-HOF: Kevin Brown

There are some close calls here. Randy Johnson is obviously the greatest left-hander of this time period, but I'd entertain arguments for Pedro Martinez as the top righty. Among non-HOFers, Kevin Brown was probably a little better in the late '90s than Roger Clemens, but it's not a slam dunk. I suppose there's an argument for Schilling, as well.

Zooming out, Clemens ranks 1st all-time in fWAR and 3rd all-time in bWAR and RA9-WAR. Schilling is 21st in fWAR, 27th in bWAR, and 35th in RA9-WAR. Brown is 26th for fWAR, 36th for bWAR, and 44th in RA9.

Among Hall-eligible pitchers who are not in Cooperstown, Clemens, Schilling, and Brown comprise three of the top four in each iteration of WAR. Tommy John ranks 23rd in fWAR, Tony Mullane is 34th in RA9-WAR, and Jim McCormick, joins them for bWAR. Mullane and McCormick both pitched in the 1880s.

There is a strong argument to be made that Clemens, Schilling, and Brown are the three greatest pitchers who have failed to win election to the HOF. None remain eligible on the BBWAA ballot. Five years ago, Joe Posnanski published a thoughtful piece explaining why he would not vote for Curt Schilling. Posnanski, who voted for Schilling eight times before that, explained that he tried to see the Hall of Fame plaque room as "an extension of the museum itself, a place dedicated to telling the full story of the game through its greatest players; the good, the bad, the ugly . . . I suppose I have known for a long time that this view is ridiculous, but I’m now coming face-to-face with reality. The Baseball Hall of Fame is not a place of history. It is, instead, a reward for people deemed worthy of, quote-unquote, 'the greatest honor any player can receive.' . . . If the Hall of Fame really is an honor and not just an acknowledgment of baseball greatness, well, one thing I feel very sure about is that Curt Schilling doesn’t deserve it."

Schilling was a great pitcher, the all-time leader in K/BB ratio (4.38). He has an incredible postseason résumé, and he has devoted significant time and money to charity. He is also an abrasive asshole who seems to take pride in offending people, and who in recent years has devoted much of his public life to expressing hatred of others, and has repeatedly advocated violence. In 2016, longtime Schilling nemesis Dan Shaughnessy, of the Boston Globe, opined that Schilling "has transitioned from a mere nuisance to an actual menace to society." Schilling peaked at 70% on the BBWAA ballot, and appeared headed towards Hall of Fame enshrinement before plummetting below 60%. Some voters cited the HOF's infamous character clause to express their reversal of support, but the most common sentiment I've seen is that it would be reckless and irresponsible to give Schilling the public platform that would accompany HOF election. The Hall of Fame should be a site for celebration and joy, not hatred and violence.

Brown and Clemens are widely disliked and regarded as jerks, too, though neither is as misanthropic and hateful as Schilling. As a bonus, though, they both have PED connections which have dissuaded Hall of Fame voters from inducting them. Brown fell off the BBWAA ballot in his first year, while Clemens received minimal support from the 2026 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, and is ineligible for renomination until the 2032 ballot.

1975-99

Who were MLB's greatest pitchers over the final quarter of the 20th century?

Top 10 fWAR:

1. Roger Clemens, 98.9
2. Nolan Ryan, 82.4
3. Greg Maddux, 79.1
4. Bert Blyleven, 67.1
5. Dennis Eckersley, 61.8
6. Randy Johnson, 57.5
7. Dwight Gooden, 57.2
8. Kevin Brown, 56.3
9. Jack Morris, 55.8
10. Bret Saberhagen, 55.1

Top 10 RA9-WAR:

1. Roger Clemens, 104.5
2. Greg Maddux, 86.4
3. Bert Blyleven, 67.4
4. Dennis Eckersley, 65.6
5. Nolan Ryan, 63.6
6. Dave Stieb, 61.2
7. David Cone, 60.5
8. Bret Saberhagen, 59.9
9. Randy Johnson, 57.9
10. Dennis Martinez, 57.6

Bert Blyleven, long beloved by statheads and sabermetricians, does extremely well on both lists. He was underrated for years because his W/L record is just pretty good (207-175 in this era, 287-250 overall), but he ranks 5th in this time period in IP, and among those five only Nolan Ryan has a better ERA. Over this 25-year span, Blyleven ranks 8th in wins, but 2nd in complete games, 3rd in shutouts, and 4th in strikeouts. He is also regarded by many as having the greatest curveball of all time.

Seven pitchers appear on both WAR leaderboards: Clemens, Maddux, Blyleven, Eckersley, Ryan, Saberhagen, and Johnson. Appearing only in the fWAR top ten are Gooden, Brown, and Morris, while Stieb, Cone, and Martinez replace them on the RA9 leaderboard.

Leaders

Innings: Dennis Martinez, 3,999 2/3
Wins: Roger Clemens, 247-134
Strikeouts: Nolan Ryan, 4,142

Greatest RHP: Roger Clemens
Greatest LHP: Randy Johnson
Greatest Non-HOF: Roger Clemens

Randy Johnson, though an all-time great, is not an overwhelming choice as the greatest left-handed pitcher in this time period, which omits some of his best seasons. Fortunately for the Big Unit, Steve Carlton and Tom Glavine are missing a couple seasons, as well.

Fifty-seven major league players pitched more innings than Johnson in this time period, but he ranks 3rd in strikeouts, and he won Cy Young Awards in 1995 and '99. Tanana's argument is driven by workload and longevity more than excellence, while Carlton and John are missing important years from the early '70s, and Glavine's best arguments are mostly related to won-lost record, and too dependent on the Braves' fielding and run support. Carlton would probably be my second choice.

Dennis Martínez was the first Nicaraguan to play in the major leagues. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles (1976-86) and Montreal Expos (1986-93), and for Cleveland and a couple of other teams at the end of his career (1994-98). He wasn't quite as exceptional as some of the pitchers who barely missed these top ten lists, but he had a long career that fits entirely within this time period. Martinez went 245-193, the second-most wins of any pitcher in this quarter-century, with a 3.70 ERA and 2,149 strikeouts. He came one out short of 4,000 innings in his career.

Martinez led the AL in complete games and innings pitched in 1979, and in the strike-shortened 1981 season he tied for the major league lead in wins (14-5). He was a four-time All-Star, all from 1990-95. His best year was '91, when he was 36 years old. That July, Martinez pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers. He went on to lead MLB in ERA (2.39) and shutouts (5).

Martinez went 46-36 in the late '70s, 49-46 in the early '80s, 58-41 in the late '80s, 66-48 in the early '90s, and 26-22 in the late '90s. In each of his last three seasons, Martinez was the oldest player in the majors. He was never the best pitcher in baseball, but he was good for a long time. He ranks 55th all-time in wins.

This series will conclude next week with 2000-24.

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