1. Cy Young

Wins: 511

“Cy” Young was a baseball player who pitched for five different major league teams from 1890 to 1911. Young was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. One year after Young’s death, the Cy Young Award was created to honor the previous season’s best pitcher. During his 22-year career, Young established numerous professional pitching records in the majors, some of which have stood for a century. Young retired with 511 career wins, 94 wins ahead of Walter Johnson, who is second on the list of most wins in Major League history.

Records and Accomplishments

World Series champion (1903)
Pitched a Perfect Game on May 5, 1904 against the Philadelphia Athletics
Major League Baseball All-Century Team
511 career wins
7,354 2/3 innings pitched
815 career games started
749 career complete games

2. Walter Johnson

Wins: 417

Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887–December 10, 1946), nicknamed “The Big Train,” was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between 1907 and 1927. One of the most celebrated players in baseball history, Johnson established several pitching records, some of which remained unbroken for nearly a century.

Records and Accomplishments
2× AL MVP (1913, 1924)
World Series champion (1924)
All-time major league leader in shutouts (110)
Major League Baseball All-Century Team

3. Grover Cleveland Alexander

Wins: 373

Grover Cleveland “Old Pete” Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.

4. Christy Mathewson

Wins: 373

Christopher “Christy” Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed “Big Six”, “The Christian Gentleman”, or “Matty”, was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played in what is known as the dead-ball era; and in 1936 was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its “first five” inaugural members.

Records and Accomplishments
World Series champion (1905)
373 career wins (3rd all-time)
2.13 career ERA (8th all-time)
1.059 career WHIP (5th all time)
Won 20 games or more 13 times, won 30 games or more 4 times.
Pitched 79 shutouts (3rd all time)
Won NL Pitcher’s Triple Crown in 1905 and 1908
Five-time ERA champion (1905, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1913)
Five-time strikeout champion (1903, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908)
Pitched two no-hitters.
Name honored by the Giants.
Major League Baseball All-Century Team

5. Pud Galvin

Wins: 364

James Francis “Pud” Galvin (December 25, 1856 – March 7, 1902), an American professional baseball pitcher, was Major League Baseball’s first 300-game winner. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965. Galvin’s nickname, “Pud”, supposedly originated because he made the hitters “look like Pudding”. Galvin was also nicknamed “The Little Steam Engine”, a tribute to his durability.

Records and Accomplishments
364 career wins
Pitched two no-hitters: 8/20/1880, 8/4/1884

6. Warren Spahn

Wins: 363

Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for 21 seasons, all in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was age 42. Spahn was the 1957 Cy Young Award winner, and was the runner-up three times, all during the period when just one award was given. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, with 83% of the total vote.

Records and Accomplishments
14× All-Star selection (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963)
World Series champion (1957)
1957 Cy Young Award
4× NL TSN Pitcher of the Year (1953, 1957, 1958, 1961)
1961 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
Atlanta Braves #21 retired
Major League Baseball All-Century Team

7. Kid Nichols

Wins: 361

Charles Augustus Nichols (September 14, 1869 – April 11, 1953), better known as Kid Nichols, was a Major League Baseball pitcher at the turn of the 20th century. Admired for his steadfast consistency year-in and year-out, Nichols won 361 games, the 7th highest total in major league history. Nichols is the youngest pitcher to win 300 games, reaching that milestone at the age of 32.

Records and Accomplishments
National League pennant: 1891, 1892, 1893, 1897, 1898
7th-most wins in Major League history (361)
11th-most innings pitched in Major League history (5056.3)
National League wins champion: 1896-1898
3-time National League shutout leader
11 20-win seasons
7 30-win seasons

8. Greg Maddux

Wins: 355

Gregory Alan “Greg” Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years (1992-1995), a feat matched only by Randy Johnson (1999-2002). During those four consecutive seasons, Maddux had a 75-29 record with a 1.98 ERA, while allowing less than one runner per inning.

Records and Accomplishments
8× All-Star selection (1988, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000)
World Series champion (1995)
18× Gold Glove Award winner (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
4× NL Cy Young Award winner (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
4× NL TSN Pitcher of the Year (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)
Chicago Cubs #31 retired
Atlanta Braves #31 retired

9. Roger Clemens

Wins: 354

William Roger Clemens, aka “The Rocket” (born August 4, 1962) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. Clemens has won the most Cy Young Awards with 7, two more than Randy Johnson. He played for 13 consecutive seasons in Boston, more than half of his career. In 1997, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. In each of his two seasons with the Blue Jays Clemens won the pitching triple crown (leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts) and a Cy Young Award.

Records and Accomplishments
11x All-Star selection (1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005)
2x World Series champion (1999, 2000)
6x AL Cy Young Award winner (1986, 1987, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001)
2004 NL Cy Young Award
1986 AL MVP
1986 MLB All-Star Game MVP
5x AL TSN Pitcher of the Year (1986, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001)
Major League Baseball All-Century Team

10. Tim Keefe

Wins: 342

Timothy John “Tim” Keefe (January 1, 1857 – April 23, 1933) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was one of the most dominating pitchers of the 19th century and posted impressive statistics in one category or another for almost every season he pitched. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.

Records and Accomplishments
National League Pitching Triple Crown: 1888
National League ERA champion: 1880, 1885, 1888
National League wins champion: 1886, 1888
National League strikeout champion: 1888
American Association strikeout champion: 1883
2-time innings pitched leader (AA & NL)
2-time complete game leader (AA & NL)
9th-most wins in major league history (342)
7 20-win seasons
6 30-win seasons
2 40-win seasons
6 200-strikeout seasons
3 300-strikeout seasons
3 sub-2.00 ERA seasons

More Baseball Trivia.