Base Blogs — 11 Best MLB Pitchers from the 1990s
By: Professor Philip Anthony Lujan for Academic Tutors USA — AcademicTutors.net
— atusa213@gmail.com
There were many dominate pitchers from the 1990s. Pitching was a very different discipline back in the 1990s compared to todays style of pitching. Pitchers were more aggressive back in the 1990s. The pitchers from the 1990s would throw at your head and hit you if a hitter would show them up after a home run or when they disrespected a fellow teammate. Some will tell you pitching is an art, others will tell you it is a science. Pitching is in fact a combination of the two. We will talk about the toughest pitchers from the 1990s.
— Nolan Ryan (1968–1993) 27 seasons
Notan Ryan dominares baseball for 27 seasons. One of his most esteemed accomplishments is his 5,714 strike outs. That is an average of 212 strike outs a season. Another accolade is his 7 no hitters. He threw his 7th no hitter in 1991 at age 44. Ryan’s style of pitching was to always let the hitter know he was in control. Today’s (2022) pitchers don’t play the same style of pitching as Ryan because of MLB rules. Ryan was an old school pitcher with a lot of grit. Ryan’s best strikeout pitch was his 100mph fast ball. Nolan Ryan finished his 27 year career with 324 wins and 292 losses (.526) Ryan was an eight time all star. The only nudge in his career was that he never won a Cy Young award.
— Randy Johnson. (1989–2010) 22 Seasons
Randy Johnson also known as “The Big Unit” was a dominate force to be reckoned with. His 6 foot 10 inch stature was intimidating to all major League batters who faced him. He had an aggressive style of pitching. He would coke after hitters with a blazing fastball of 102mph. His career strikeout total of 4,875 is second only to Nolan Ryan who played 5 more years than he did. He averaged 222 strikeouts a season. He has a career win total of 302 and 166 losses. Randy Johnson was a first ballot HOF inductee in 2015. He received an astonishing 97.3% of the vote.
— Roger Clemens. (1984–2007) 23 seasons
Roger Clemens aka “The Rocket Man” was a great pitcher in three different decades. He was an icon of the “steroid era” in MLB. He is an infamous steroid Iner which harshly taints his legacy, records, and accolades. Clemens has 354 wins and 184 losses career wise. He recorded 4,672 career strikeouts which is the American League Record.
— Pedro Martinez (1992–2011) 19 seasons
Pedro Martinez is one of the most zesty pitchers in MLB history. His 19 seasons in MLB started with the Los Angeles Dodgers and ended with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was best known for his tenure with the Boston Red Sox. He has 219 wins and 100 losses in his illustrious career. He was a pivotal part of the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox Team which ended the curse of the great Bambino (Babe Ruth). He had an aggressive style of play. He was an 8 time all star, 3 time Cy Young award winner, and was the 1999 triple crown winner for pitching. He was inducted into the HOF in 2015 with 91.1% of the vote.
— Greg Maddux (1986–2008) 22 seasons
The great Greg Maddux is also known as “The Professor” was an incredible pitcher with superb pitch control. His pitch repertoire was absolutely amazing and diverse. Maddux had a two seam fast ball, a circle change up, a four seam fastball, a cutter, a slider, and a splitter. He has 355 wins and 227 losses in his career. He has 3,371 career strikeouts. He is best know for his years with the Atlanta Braves (1993–2003). He was an 8 time all star. He was a one time World Series champ with the Atlanta Braves in 1995. He won the Cy Young award 4 times (1992–1995). Need I say more to convince you he was one of the best pitchers of the 1990s?
— Mariano Rivera (1995–2013) 18 seasons
Mariano Rivera was nicknamed “The Sandman” for his ability to close out/save ball games when it really counted. He was a New York Yankee his entire career. He hold the all time record in MLB history with 652. I might as that he has the second most blown saves in MLB history with 80. The guy with the most has 81 so Mariano Rivera barely held off from having that record as well. Another fun fact is that Rivera holds the record for most post season saves with 42. Kenley Jansen is number two on the list with 18. One of the most amazing feats that Rivera has is that he is the highest percentage vote getter on his induction to the Hall of Fame. He received a mind boggling 100% of the vote. 425 sports writers all agreed that he was to be enshrined into Cooperstown. He is the only player in MLB history to get 100% of the induction to the hall of fame vote.
— Curt Schilling. (1988–2007) 19 seasons
Another pitcher that has a reputation that is tainted by his use of steroids. Schilling is most known for. game 2 of the 2004 World Series. It is known as the bloody sock game. He had a career win and loss record of 216 and 146. He is 15th on the all time strikeouts list with 3.116. He has not been elected to the Hall of Fame for the same reasons Roger Clemens isn’t in the Hall of fame, steroids. So as dominate as you may think the bloody sock game was you tend to wonder if he could have done it without the use of steroids.
— John Smoltz (1988–2009) 21 seasons
John Smoltz was a dominate pitcher that was sometimes overshadowed by Greg Maddux. He was the #2 starter on possibly the greatest pitching rotation in MLB history. The pitching rotation was Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Galvine, and Steve Avery. Smoltz is the only pitcher in MLB history to record 200 wins and 150 saves. He was a World Series champ with the Atlanta Braves on 1995.
— Tom Glavine (1987–2008) 21 seasons
The 10 time all star was a part of the fearsome 4, the. infamous Atlanta Braves pitching rotation. Glavine finished his MLB career with 305 wins and 203 losses. Glavine was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2014 with a 91.9% of the vote.
— Andy Pettitte (1995–2013) 18 seasons
One of my favorite New York Yankees pitchers of all time was Andy Pettitte. When the Yankees needed a win in the post season they could usually depend on Andy Pettitte. His career like Clemens and Schilling is tainted by his use of steroids. As much as I liked to watch Pettitte it is hard for me to respect his records because of his steroid use. He has a career win/loss record of 256 and 153. He holds the mlb all time record for post season wins with 19. He was a three time all star. His biggest accomplishment was the fact that he was a 5 time World Series champion with the New York Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009).
Mike Mussina (1991–2008) 18 seasons
Mike Mussina finished his career with a win/loss record of 270–153. He has a career ERA of 3.68 and struck out 2,813 batters. His post season career wasn’t the best. He recorded a win/loss record of 7–8, an ERA of 3.42, and 145 Ks in 23 appearances. He made it into Cooperstown on the 6th ballot with 76.7% of the vote.
Notable Pitchers who were worth mentioning but didn’t make the cut.
Steve Avery
Hideo Nomo
Orel Hershiher
Ramon Martinez
Kevin Brown
Doug Drabek
Dennis Martinez
Kevin Appier
Phil Niekro
Bret Saberhagen
David Wells
Chuck Finley
Dennis Eckersley
Dave Steib
October 31, 2022
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