Who do you think had the greatest season ever as a pitcher?

Question

If you ask me I say it's maddux in 1995. That year he went 19-2, with 10 complete games and an ERA of 1.63. Not to mention, but that year was the year of the strike and the season finished short. He could have won many more games that season.

Answer 1

I will give you credit for picking my favorite pitcher of my years as a fan.

I have to call it a tie with the Detroit  Tigers Denny McClain in

1968  31-6  63 walks 280 K's 1.96 ERA and a .0905 whip & a Cy Young award. He followed that up with these stats the next year.

1969  24-9  67 walks 181 K's 2.80 ERA and another Cy Young award.

Also 1994 was the STRIKE SEASON not 1995.

Answer 2

Any of Cy Young's seasons, he had 30 wins a season in almost all of them.

Answer 3

In 1925, at age 37, Walter Johnson not only won 20 games while losing only 7, but as a hitter, he collected 42 hits in 97 times at bat for an average of .433  (slugging average .577)

Yeah, not the best year ever from a pure pitching standpoint, but not a bad all around season.

What Pedro did in 2000 was unbelievable, especially given the fact that he pitched his home games in Fenway Park.

Steve Carlton in 1972...phenomenal year on a last place club.

Sorry to burst your bubble about Maddux, but 1994 was the strike season, not 1995... he went 16-6 in the strike-shortened 1994 season.

Answer 4

Sandy Koufax in 1965 had...

26-8 Record

27 Complete Games

8 Shutouts

382 Ks

71 BBs

2.04 ERA

Answer 5

the babe..... babe ruth...

Answer 6

Either Martinez 2000 or Johnson 1913.

Others will hold forth for Gibson 1968, and yes, that's a darn good one as well, probably top five or so, but not the very, very best ever.

Maddux 1995 also ranks highly but not in the top slot.

Answer 7

Steve Carlton - 1972 - Philadelphia Phillies

27-10

1.82 ERA

310 Strikeouts

87 BB

30 Complete Games

8 Shutouts

346 Innings Pitched

I want to see anyone, beat that season.

Answer 8

Pedro Martinez in 2000.  He put up INSANE numbers that year, especially given how other pitchers were being beaten around like a red headed stepchild.  

Pedro's ERA in 2000 was 1.74.  The second best ERA in the league was Clemens at 3.70.  The league average ERA was 4.91.  

Pedro set single season records that year for WHIP (.737) and batting average allowed (.167).  Records which were never equaled in either the dead ball era or pitching dominant years of the late 60s, by the way.  And he did it during the peak of the biggest offensive era since the 1930s.  

You want to know who DO have WHIPs that compare to Pedro's that year, though?  Postseason versions of Josh Beckett and Mariano Rivera.  Now imagine an entire season full of that, and you have Pedro in 2000.

There are only two knocks against him, neither of which are entirely fair:  his 18-6 record and 217 innings pitched.  However, in his six losses he had a 2.44 ERA and averaged 8 innings per start- could have very well been 24-0 with decent run support!

But his 217 innings are, admittedly, a strike against him.  However, it's not because he couldn't go deep into games (he averaged 7 1/2 innngs per start) but that he just didn't make all his starts.  And he was still good enough to be in the top 10 in the league in innings pitched.  

But even in spite of all that, the way he just lapped the field in such a historic way - I could only imagine the ridiculous numbers he might have put up in the 1960s- greatest season ever as a pitcher, it's not even close.    

Answer 9

ill have to agree with the guy who said walter johnson but given that pedro pitched right in the middle of the steroid era thats pretty impressive too

Answer 10

Bob Gibson had a 1.11 ERA in 1968. They lowered the mound because of his dominance. For the league to change a rule based on someones performance is exceptional.

Answer 11

Walter Johnson

33-12

1.39 E.R.A

.189 opp. B.A

369 Innings Pitched

303 Strikeouts

76 Walks

34 Complete Games

Answer 12

Yeah, I agree with you.