Fansided

Top 25 MLB pitching seasons of all time

By Joshua Sadlock

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 26: Jake Arrieta
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 26: Jake Arrieta /
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American baseball player Mordecai Brown (1876 – 1948), pitcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1903 to 1912, stands on the pitcher’s mound, 1900s. Nicknamed ‘Miner’ by his teammates because of the years he spent working in a coal mine before joining the league at age 24, Brown, whose right hand was left mangled after a childhood farming accident, started his career as an infielder. Once he learned how to put spin on a ball by releasing it off of his stubbed little finger, he became a pitcher and earned the nickname ‘Three Finger’ from the press. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)
American baseball player Mordecai Brown (1876 – 1948), pitcher for the Chicago Cubs from 1903 to 1912, stands on the pitcher’s mound, 1900s. Nicknamed ‘Miner’ by his teammates because of the years he spent working in a coal mine before joining the league at age 24, Brown, whose right hand was left mangled after a childhood farming accident, started his career as an infielder. Once he learned how to put spin on a ball by releasing it off of his stubbed little finger, he became a pitcher and earned the nickname ‘Three Finger’ from the press. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images) /

13. Mordecai Brown, 1906

  • The Numbers: 26-6, 1.04 ERA, nine shutouts, 253 ERA+, one home run allowed

Mordecai Brown, better known as Three Finger, was one of the most dominant pitchers of the early 1900s. Childhood accidents that left him with a mangled right hand allowed him to generate baffling movement on his pitches. The disfigured hand wasn’t much use as an infielder, but it helped make Brown a Hall of Famer and two-time World Series champion.

The 1906 season will always be remembered as the year the Cubs won 116 games but lost the World Series to the White Sox, massive underdogs. Brown’s 1.04 ERA is the third-best single-season mark in MLB history. Brown was well known for his rivalry with New York Giants Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson. He reeled off nine straight wins over his rival at one point.

Over Brown’s first seven seasons with the Cubs, he had a 1.56 ERA and .708 winning percentage. He began to lose his form in 1912 as he battled injuries. In 1914, Brown tried to jump from the National League to the upstart Federal League. The Federal League folded, and he returned to the Cubs at the age of 39, a shell of his former self. Brown pitched 14 years in the majors and won 239 games. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949.

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