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Who are the top left-handed pitchers in MLB history? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Tom Glavine: a 2x Cy Young winner, Glavine was an 8x All-Star pitcher and 5x 20-game winner with the Atlanta Braves (10x overall) en route to 305 career wins; as part of the team’s vaunted pitching triumvirate with Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, he was named MVP of the team’s 1995 World Series triumph.
9. Whitey Ford: arguably the best starting pitcher in New York Yankees history, Ford was a 10x All-Star who won 236 career games and a Cy Young award as part of six World Series championship teams, including being named World Series MVP in 1961.
8. Eddie Plank: one of the best pitchers of the dead-ball era in the early 20th century, Plank racked up eight 20-win seasons en route to a pair of World Series titles and 326 career wins.
7. Clayton Kershaw: the preeminent pitcher of his generation with eight All-Star selections and three Cy Youngs (plus the NL MVP in 2014), Kershaw set a record by winning the ERA title for four straight years (5x overall).
6. Carl Hubbell: perhaps best-known for striking out five consecutive Hall of Famers during the 1934 All-Star Game (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin), Hubbell made the first six All-Star Games (and 9x overall); notably, during a five-year stretch from 1933 to 1937, he won 20+ games and finished top-10 for MVP each year while leading the league in wins 3x, ERA 3x, and WHIP 3x, earning two MVP awards, and leading the New York Giants to the 1933 World Series.
5. Steve Carlton: one of only four players in MLB history with 4,000+ career strikeouts, Carlton was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young; moreover, the 6x 20-game winner made 10 All-Star Games, won a pair of World Series titles, and is perhaps best-remembered for his incredible 1972 season.
4. Warren Spahn: a 17x All-Star who ranks sixth all-time with 363 career wins (the most in the live-ball era and for a lefty), Spahn had an incredible 13 20-win seasons, culminating with the Cy Young Award and a World Series title with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957.
3. Randy Johnson: one of the greatest strikeout pitchers in MLB history (4,875 career strikeouts and 9x league leader), Johnson was not only a 10x All-Star and 5x Cy Young winner, but also won two ERA titles and a Pitching Triple Crown and was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
2. Sandy Koufax: though his career was cut short by injury, Koufax was sensational at his peak – from 1961-1966, he led the league in ERA five straight years, pitched four no-hitters, won three Cy Youngs and Pitching Triple Crowns, won two World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers (earning World Series MVP both times), and took home the 1963 NL MVP award.
1. Lefty Grove: perhaps the most dominant pitchers of the 1930s, Grove won exactly 300 career games with nine ERA titles, six All-Star selections, back-to-back Pitching Triple Crowns, the 1931 AL MVP, and a pair of World Series titles.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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