Top 25 MLB pitching seasons of all time

8. Walter Johnson, 1913

• The Numbers: 36-7, 1.14 ERA, 29 complete games, 11 shutouts, 0.780 WHIP, 259 ERA+, MVP

Comparing seasons of pitchers playing modern baseball to pre-1920s pitchers like Walter Johnson can be a difficult task. The game has changed in unquantifiable ways over the past 100 years. It goes without saying that no MLB pitcher will ever throw 29 complete games or 346 innings in a season.

Johnson was virtually unhittable in 1913. In a long career filled with dominant performances, this year stands out as Johnson’s best. His ERA did not climb above 1.00 to stay until the middle of June. Johnson had three months with an ERA below 1.00 and did not have an ERA above 2.00 in any of the season’s six months. In April and May, he threw 55.2 consecutive scoreless innings, still the American League record.

On July 3, Johnson threw a 15-inning shutout against Boston, one of five games in which he pitched more than nine innings that season. Johnson’s ERA should have been 1.09 for the year, but his manager, Clark Griffith, had a tradition of turning the final game of the year into an exhibition for the fans (not surprisingly, the Senators were never very good). Johnson started the game in center field, and his ERA rose after a catcher allowed two inherited runners to score.

In 1936, Johnson became one of the first five players elected to the Hall of Fame. He continues to lead MLB with 110 shutouts. For over 50 years, he was the only member of the 3,000-strikeout club. Johnson is also second in MLB history with 417 wins, and is one of only three pitchers to win more than one MVP award.