These are the best pitching staffs in MLB history:
9. 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks:
Truth be told, the overall staff wasn’t terrific, but the head of this rotation was so dominant they had to be on this list. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling each won over 20 games and finished the season with Johnson winning the Cy Young award and Schilling right behind him, finishing second.
8. 1986 Houston Astros:
Here is another rotation that featured a Cy Young winner. In fact, of these nine teams, six of them had the Cy Young winner that season. Mike Scott won the Cy with an 18-10 record and a 2.22 ERA. You know it’s a pretty good rotation when Nolan Ryan isn’t the ace.
7. 2019 Houston Astros:
Justin Verlander could very well be on this list more than once. He’s had quite a few really solid No. 2 starters behind him. In Detroit, it was Max Scherzer. In Houston, in 2019, it was Gerrit Cole. Like Johnson and Schilling 18 years sooner, Verlander and Cole finished 1-2 in Cy Young voting. Also, like the tandem in Arizona, each man finished with over 20 wins.
6. 2004 Boston Red Sox:
The team that broke the curse needed to be on this list. Although this team did not boast a Cy Young winner, they did have an interesting quirk. The five starters, (Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, Derrick Lowe, and Bronson Arroyo), did not miss a start.
5. 2011 Philadelphia Phillies:
Like the 2004 Red Sox, this team did not boast a Cy Young winner. But, they did have three starters all finish the season in the top five. Roy Halliday, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels anchored this staff. Roy Oswalt and Vance Worley rounded out the staff, combining for a 20-13 record.
4. 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers:
Sandy Koufax led the staff. He and fellow hall of famer Don Drysdale were an amazing 40-15 that season. Koufax won one of his three Cy Young’s in ‘66. And aside from Koukax and Drysdale, they also had a young Don Sutton in the rotation, giving them three Hall of Famers.
3. 1968 St. Louis Cardinals:
Aside from Koufax, the other dominant starter in the 1960s was Bob Gibson. He literally changed the game with his otherworldly performance in 1968. He finished the season 22-9 with a ridiculous 1.12 ERA. After the season, major league baseball lowered the mound from 15 inches down to 10 inches. And you know you have a dominant staff when Steve Carlton is your no.2 starter.
2. 1998 Atlanta Braves:
The Dodgers aren’t the only team on this list with three Hall of Famers. Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz are each in the Hall, and they headlined a pitching staff that many consider to be the best of all time. I have them here at no.2, which isn’t too shabby. The biggest knock I have against them is that they didn’t win more. They could only muster one title during all their years together. In 1998, they didn’t even get to the Series. Nonetheless, it was an amazing season. Rounding out the rotation were Denny Neagle and Kevin Millwood. The five men finished the season going a combined 88-37, with Glavine winning the Cy Young.
1. 1971 Baltimore Orioles:
There are many records that will never be broken in baseball… or even challenged. Cy Young’s 511 wins is one of them. Another is what the Orioles pitching staff did in 1971. Their pitching staff boasted four men who each finished the season with at least 20 wins. To put it in perspective, no pitcher in all of baseball won 20 games in 2024. And from 2021-23, only one pitcher each season hit that mark. Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, and Jim Palmer each won 20 games, while Dave McNally won 21 games.
