Was 1985 Dwight Gooden the most dominant year ever by a pitcher?

[rmilia1]

Just read an article honoring the 30 year anniversary of Doc becoming the youngest pitcher to ever win 20 games. The numbers from that year are staggering. 24-4, 1.53 ERA, 268 Ks... was Goodens 1985 the most dominating performance by a pitcher in a single season?? What are some other seasons you think may be equal or better??

 

[Cyder]

Just read an article honoring the 30 year anniversary of Doc becoming the youngest pitcher to ever win 20 games. The numbers from that year are staggering. 24-4, 1.53 ERA, 268 Ks... was Goodens 1985 the most dominating performance by a pitcher in a single season?? What are some other seasons you think may be equal or better??

Nope.

Pedro Martinez 2000: 23-4, 1.74era, .737 WHIP 284 K's playing in a much more hitter friendly park than Doc, in the middle of the steroid era, dealing with a ton of games in band boxes like Camden, Toronto and Yankee stadium left field and that ridiculous Yankee line up a few times a year

Now if you'll excuse me I need to wash the taste of puke out of my mouth

 

[rmilia1]

Nope.

Pedro Martinez 2000: 23-4, 1.74era, .737 WHIP 284 K's playing in a much more hitter friendly park than Doc, in the middle of the steroid era, dealing with a ton of games in band boxes like Camden, Toronto and Yankee stadium left field and that ridiculous Yankee line up a few times a year

Now if you'll excuse me I need to wash the taste of puke out of my mouth

LOL. Thats a great season for sure.

 

[Cyder]

LOL. Thats a great season for sure.

His 1999 was just about as good. Pedro was beyond dominant at the time. Sure it didn't hurt that he hit everyone and Torre wouldn't let the Yanks retaliate but.....

 

[Rock Strongo]

no

1985 gooden - ERA+ 229
2000 pedro - ERA+ 291 (steroid era)

 

[Fountain City Blues]

As others have mentioned... Pedro was much better in 2000.

 

[gb2]

Screw a year, check out the career best ever:

Nolan Ryan
5200 plus k's
7 no-no's...( 7 dang no hitters..?!?!?! )

And that's just fer starters.

 

[navamind]

Screw a year, check out the career best ever:

Nolan Ryan
5200 plus k's
7 no-no's...( 7 dang no hitters..?!?!?! )

And that's just fer starters.

lol

 

[gb2]

Did you know Nolan Ryan never won a Cy Young Award? Did you know his name appears on more than 700 pages here at Baseball Almanac and we could effortlessly write an entire book about his accomplishments, effortlessly? Here are a mere sampling of his notable accomplishments and items of interests:
Nolan Ryan had 5,714 career strikeouts (Top 1,000), more than any other pitcher in history (839 more than #2 all-time, Randy Johnson).

Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched.

Nolan Ryan is the only Major League Baseball player to have his number retired by at least three different teams: the Angels, Astros, and Rangers (not counting Jackie Robinson whose number was retired by Major League Baseball for every team).

Nolan Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for most one-hitters, with twelve. Ryan also pitched eighteen two-hitters.

Nolan Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, in his first year of eligibility with 98.8% of the vote (491 out of 497 possible), six votes short of a unanimous election and the second highest percentage in history, behind Tom Seaver.

Nolan Ryan held several additional less commonly quoted records upon his retirement including Most Seasons Pitched with a Win (26), Most Bases on Balls in a Career (2,795), Grand slams Allowed in a Career (10), Most Wild Pitches in a Career (277), Fewest Hits Allowed Per 9 Innings in a Season (5.26 in 1972), and Fewest Hits Per 9 Innings in a Career (6.56 / 1,500IP Minimum).



Nolan Ryan was forty-four years young - the oldest player in the game at the time - on May 1, 1991, when he threw no-hitter number seven, a year he also allowed the fewest hits per 9-innings pitched (5.306) in the American League, a year he also had the most strikeouts per 9-innings pitched (10.561) in the American League, and a year his fielding percentage was a league leading 1.000. A 300 Wins Club / 3,000 Strikeouts Club member who cannot be discussed without mentioning the truly Magnificent Seven "Ryan Express" no-hitters:

 

[navamind]

LOL

 

[navamind]

A pitcher with a lifetime ERA+ of 112, no matter how many innings, isn't in the conversation for greatest pitcher. He's tied for 273rd all-time, behind all-time greats such as Matt Cain, Brad Radke, and Kerry Wood.

No-hitters are cool, but they're more trivia than anything else. Strikeouts? There's no question Ryan was one of the greatest strikeout pitchers of all-time, he issued half as many walks as he did strikeouts.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Major League Leaderboards » 2015 » Starters » Advanced Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball

 

[Fountain City Blues]

A pitcher with a lifetime ERA+ of 112, no matter how many innings, isn't in the conversation for greatest pitcher. He's tied for 273rd all-time, behind all-time greats such as Matt Cain, Brad Radke, and Kerry Wood.

No-hitters are cool, but they're more trivia than anything else. Strikeouts? There's no question Ryan was one of the greatest strikeout pitchers of all-time, he issued half as many walks as he did strikeouts.

Well, he has a career fWAR over 100. Even Pedro doesn't crack 90. Yeah, Ryan pitched for a very, very long time, but let's not get carried away here. Nolan certainly has a place on the table.

 

[navamind]

Well, he has a career fWAR over 100. Even Pedro doesn't crack 90. Yeah, Ryan pitched for a very, very long time, but let's not get carried away here. Nolan certainly has a place on the table.

I applaud Ryan for his longevity. Longevity is a good thing for a pitcher. But Ryan was hardly ever one of the most dominant pitchers in the league.

edit: I thought this was pretty interesting:

Is Nolan Ryan Overrated by FIP? | Community – FanGraphs Baseball

 

[Rex Racer]

Nope.

Pedro Martinez 2000: 23-4, 1.74era, .737 WHIP 284 K's playing in a much more hitter friendly park than Doc, in the middle of the steroid era, dealing with a ton of games in band boxes like Camden, Toronto and Yankee stadium left field and that ridiculous Yankee line up a few times a year

Now if you'll excuse me I need to wash the taste of puke out of my mouth

Atta boy




That couldn't have been easy for you to type.

 

[SJ76]

1984

Little league

7-0
50 K's
3 earned runs for the year
15 batters HBP
20 walks


Straight domination.

 

[gb2]

There's no question Ryan was one of the greatest strikeout pitchers of all-time, he issued half as many walks as he did strikeouts

And Henry Aaron had almost twice as many strikeouts than homers.

 

[navamind]

Henry Aaron had more strike outs than Homers also.

But Aaron was never exactly among the easiest pitchers to strikeout. Not once did he finish in the top 10 in the league in strikeouts. And you're going to be very hard-pressed to find any players from Aaron's era that finished with more home runs than strikeouts. Whereas, Nolan Ryan for the bulk of his career was one of the worst command pitchers in the league, leading the league in walks eight times and a lifetime walk rate of 4.7 walks per 9 IP.

 

[navamind]

Koufax is far more overrated though.

 

[Hbomb]

no

1985 gooden - ERA+ 229
2000 pedro - ERA+ 291 (steroid era)

Steroid era. Everyone is suspect. Remember ARod never tested positive. No one is above suspicion.