Two marks of a great pitcher are the power to blow the ball by hitters, and the control to make them swing at those heaters. This is a rare combination, found in only the best of the best. Bob Feller and Nolan Ryan regularly threw smoke, but were often near the top of the league in walks. Robin Roberts and Greg Maddux displayed pinpoint accuracy, but weren’t the hardest throwers in the world. All four are, or in the case of Maddux, will be, Hall-of-Famers. So, if a pitcher can excel in one area and still be considered an all-time great, a pitcher who excels in both must be one of the most dominant ever.
Only one man has led his league in most strikeouts per game and fewest walks per game – Walter Johnson. Johnson’s 1913 was without a doubt one of the top three seasons for any pitcher in history. He struck out 6.3 batters a game, which was high in those days, and gave up fewer than one base on balls. In addition to the aforementioned stats, the Big Train led the league in wins (he went 36-7), win percentage (.837), complete games (29), shutouts (11), innings (346), fewest hits per game (6.03), total strikeouts (243), opponents’ batting average (.187), opponents’ on-base percentage (.217), and ERA (1.14). Whew. Pedro Martinez, slowly moving into the upper echelon of greatest pitchers in history, almost matched Johnson’s feat two years in a row. In 1999 and 2000 he whiffed the most hitters per game, but lost close races to Gil Heredia and David Wells, respectively, for fewest walks per contest.
