One more look at the league leaders before things get going, as I noticed that the top five players on the career wins list are all active.
Fernando Perez is the career leader with 360 wins coming in to the season. Perez just turned 44, and his best days are behind him, but the five time Pitcher of the Year still has a little gas left in his tank. In his prime with the Chicago Pirates Perez was absolutely dominate, going 26-3 with a 2.15 ERA while striking out 329 batters in 284 innings in 1881. Perez won over 20 games seven times in his career, including 26 twice. Perez also leads the league with 5261 strikeouts in his career, and has a career WAR of 186.64. He should be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he is eligible.
Number two on the list isn't too far behind, as
Jared 'Bear' Mixon trails in the win column by 2 with 358 career wins. At 40 years old Mixon has also won 5 Pitcher of the Year awards and with a career ERA of 2.66 and 4228 strikeouts, and a career WAR of 169.2 should also be a lock for first ballot Hall of Famers. From 1889-1894 Mixon won 138 games, including a 28-7 season. When all is said and done he may just come out on top.
Dillon 'Bull' Beeler is just 6 wins behind with 352 career wins, and two Pitcher of the Year Awards under his belt. The 44 year old has never been as dominate as the other two, and isn't the pitcher he once was, going 9-13 with a 5.28 ERA last season.
David 'Skeet' Ward has 297 career wins and has done everything in his power to get to 300, but it hasn't been easy. Needing just 5 wins he signed a two year contract with the Cleveland Blues where he went 2-12 with a 5.84 ERA the first year, and didn't pitch the second year. Ward called in some favors though, and convinced the Chicago Pirates to give him another chance this year, trying to win his 300th in a city where he pitched his first 18 years in the league.
The last on the list that I'll talk about is
Jesus Rodriguez, who needs 6 wins to get to 300. At 39 years old Rodriguez is hanging on by a thread though, and made just 9 starts last year with Cleveland before shifting to the bullpen. He signed a one year deal with Providence, where he'll be pitching out of the bullpen.
Career Win Leaders
1. Fernando Perez #-360
2. Jared Mixon #-358
3. Dillon Beeler #-352
4. David Ward #-297
5. Jesus Rodriguez #-294
6. Scott Hooper - 281
7. Enrique Carrillo #-278
8. Alberto Sandoval - 276
9. Ralph Dunn - 275
10. Roberto Deason #-269
11. Ed Dundee - 269
12. Jeremiah Cox - 267
13. Pat Jones - 266
14. Mario Carbajal - 250
15. Jim Jones #-249
16. Jose Cabrera - 245
17. Tracy Marshall #-234
18. Jose Torres - 234
19. Antonio Vazquez - 231
20. Jorge Ramos - 219
21. Jayson Bennett - 216
22. Victor Pollock - 216
23. Miguel Martinez - 215
24. Joe Wilson - 214
25. Vicente Campos - 213