The Top 9 Starting Pitchers of the Modern Era

Mike Fisher from Codify Baseball and PitchingNinja discuss MLB's Top 9 Pitchers of the Modern Era.
Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux Tom Seaver, Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan Clayton Kershaw

#baseball #mlb #pitching #pitchingninja

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Directed by Rob Friedman
Produced by Will Leahey @will_leahey

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[ickcubs]

After looking at stats, Warren Spahn might be most underrated ever, no one ever talks about him

[bigtalk]

Orel Hershiser was basically unhittable for about 4 straight years in the 80s.

[Paul-udpt]

Kershaw does not deserve to be on this list because he cannot pitch 9 innings.

[severianthefool]

Does Michael know that there are people out in the world who will exchange hair cuts for money

[ryanchoate]

Thank you for putting Bob Gibson on the list! MLB Network is crazy for not putting him in the top 10! He’s my favorite all time Cardinals pitcher! Loved his attitude too!

[austin]

There's been a lot of Nolan Ryan hate lately and I just don't understand. Every hitter from the 70s and 80s will tell you the one guy they never wanted to face was Nolan Ryan. He was special, and it means something to have done it for 27 years. That just doesn't happen. He's one of the greatest straight up. It can't be denied

[Diecastclassicist]

For me peak Pedro will always be the GOAT.

[mjk-thtm]

Randy Johnson is my #1. A case could be made for any in the top 5, but for me it’s Randy Johnson. For hitters, his long reach and step must’ve felt like he was releasing the ball 5ft from the plate. His arm angle was nasty, those sliders coming from outside the batters box had to be ridiculous. That World Series run he had was magic, a playoff run Pedro wasn’t able to match. I don’t recall a playoff run where Pedro carried a game like Johnson did, Longevity means something and Unit had that too.

[dunkelmonkey]

It's insane that Steve Carlton is no where to be found on any of these lists (MLB, fan voting or either of the on air personalities)... Look him up, he's easily in the top 9 pitchers in Major League history. No, I'm not saying he's the GOAT, but I truly think that he's the second best LHP since WWII (no disrespect to Seaver, but Carlton was better)

[harryfeld]

This kinda stuff ALWAYS creates controversy. So many tops talents get left out.

[gsjackson]

Seaver, the darling of the NY media, underrated and unknown? My God, how quickly they forget. The '69 Mets were the biggest baseball story of my lifetime -- not just for being in the NY media market, but the arc from lovable losers to World series champs, and Seaver got most of the credit for turning them around. (And the biggest football story of my lifetime happened in the same year, also featuring a NY team -- Jets over Colts in Super Bowl 3.) Seaver probably led MLB in endorsements for several years. Until Rivera surpassed him, he had the highest vote percentage for the HOF. He was Tom Terrific, the all-American boy back when that image had considerable currency, especially juxtaposed against the backdrop of '60s cultural turmoil. No athlete had a bigger media presence in his day.

Can't argue with any of your nine -- or that '99-'00 Pedro took pitching to the highest level ever achieved -- but three close also-rans come immediately to mind: Lefty Carlton, Jim Palmer and Whitey Ford (arguably the greatest post-season pitcher of all).

[bentaylor]

No Sid Finch was a snub 😂 at least his greatness was mentioned

[jeffreyhumphries-jwfo]

Just seeing Greg Maddux is awesome to see. I have always loved high powered pitching like Randy Johnson, but Greg's command and his ground ball outs has always been really cool to watch. Great video guys!!

[justinabaya]

List is shit if Nolan Ryan is not top 2. Idk or understand how he is overlooked on a lot of these lists. He’s numero uno for me

[boolanny]

How Roy "Doc" Halladay didn't make this list is criminal, Kershaw Dont belong here. .Kershaw Pitched in an easy division, hence why he choked all the time in the playoffs..lol his stuff wasn't on Roy's level, , , ..., Kershaw was on a team who was able to consistently field all star teams, Kershaw would never of been able to survive the AL East like Doc destroyed....you guys are missing the bigger picture had Roy been a Dodger, he may never of lost a game, and might of been the greatest pitcher ever.... Roy had 67 complete games to kershaws 25

[justinabaya]

Not gonna lie…y’all lost a lil bit of cred with Nolan Ryan being so low and questioning whether he should be on there. Yes he pitched in a different era, EXACTLY! They didn’t keep all these bs nerd stats back then. Do you think he would pitch the same way if he was coming up in today’s soft world? He’s not stupid ya know…if he came up in today’s pitching world I have no doubt he would pitch like a modern pitcher and be the unquestionable GOAT. Still love ya Ninja but C’mon man 🤦‍♂️

[EdenR]

It should be factored in pitchers that faced pitchers on NL for about 3 at bats per game vs DH which was likely a premier hitter vs a pitcher. When Ryan went to the angels in 72, that incredible historic 72 to 74 stretch was against line ups with DH. Also, with lower mound I believe. Facing pitchers 3x per game vs DH is a huge edge to NL pitchers in the DH era.

[llamapenNHL]

Any list that doesn’t include Bob Gibson isn’t worth anyone’s time.

[johnnyeaton]

Surprised you guys left Bert Blyleven off this list. Not to mention Gaylord Perry and Steve Carlton...

[MrBendylaw]

The thing that killed me was Gaylord Perry on the 75+ game score list. I feel like he just snuck up behind me and gave me a wet-willie with some icy-hot.