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3fbrown · 08-24-2019, 01:01 PM

Like Babe Ruth with hitting, the question of who is the best pitcher in RL history is not difficult to answer - it is Bob Feller. Curiously, he was drafted in the pre-1948 era by Cincinnati, pitched unimpressively for three years (though one must consider that he was a teenager that entire time), and was then traded to the St. Louis Browns before the 1939 season. Who the Reds got in return has been lost to history.

Once he got to St. Louis, Feller took some talent improvements, basically maxing out on everything. He then proceeded to be awesome for the next 20 years. He won eight CY Awards, including in 1942 and 1956, 14 years apart! He basically set every record there was along the way. He led the league in ERA five times, led in strikeouts eight times, SO/9 eight times, BB/9 eight times, IP four times, and wins three times.

Feller set the all-time single season ERA mark with 1.37 ERA in 1946. He holds four of the top ten marks there, being under 2.00 six times. He owns five of the top seven WAR marks for pitchers, though WAR values back then are questionable for sure. His career ERA was 2.51, which ranks 13th all-time. However, everyone else in the top 15 is from the deadball era, except for one relief pitcher, Billy McCool. He is the only pitcher ever to top 400 wins, getting to 401. Second place is old Mike O’Neill with 354. He holds league records for career starts (785), innings (6102), wins (401), shutouts (71), strikeouts (4282), and WAR. Most of those records he holds by a substantial margin. Unfortunately there is no record that he got to pitch in the postseason - the Orioles didn’t make the playoffs again until 1968, a full decade after Feller retired. There are no records of him throwing a no-hitter either, but since no such records exist before 1948, it seems likely he may have had one.

08-24-2019, 01:01 PM	#9
3fbrown Major Leagues Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 414	Bob Feller Like Babe Ruth with hitting, the question of who is the best pitcher in RL history is not difficult to answer - it is Bob Feller. Curiously, he was drafted in the pre-1948 era by Cincinnati, pitched unimpressively for three years (though one must consider that he was a teenager that entire time), and was then traded to the St. Louis Browns before the 1939 season. Who the Reds got in return has been lost to history. Once he got to St. Louis, Feller took some talent improvements, basically maxing out on everything. He then proceeded to be awesome for the next 20 years. He won eight CY Awards, including in 1942 and 1956, 14 years apart! He basically set every record there was along the way. He led the league in ERA five times, led in strikeouts eight times, SO/9 eight times, BB/9 eight times, IP four times, and wins three times. Feller set the all-time single season ERA mark with 1.37 ERA in 1946. He holds four of the top ten marks there, being under 2.00 six times. He owns five of the top seven WAR marks for pitchers, though WAR values back then are questionable for sure. His career ERA was 2.51, which ranks 13th all-time. However, everyone else in the top 15 is from the deadball era, except for one relief pitcher, Billy McCool. He is the only pitcher ever to top 400 wins, getting to 401. Second place is old Mike O’Neill with 354. He holds league records for career starts (785), innings (6102), wins (401), shutouts (71), strikeouts (4282), and WAR. Most of those records he holds by a substantial margin. Unfortunately there is no record that he got to pitch in the postseason - the Orioles didn’t make the playoffs again until 1968, a full decade after Feller retired. There are no records of him throwing a no-hitter either, but since no such records exist before 1948, it seems likely he may have had one.