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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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Jul 26, 2015; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Fame Inductee Pedro Martinez gestures to the audience during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies at Clark Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 26, 2015; Cooperstown, NY, USA; Hall of Fame Inductee Pedro Martinez gestures to the audience during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies at Clark Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Pedro Martinez, 1999

  • The Numbers: 23-4, 2.07 ERA, 313 strikeouts, 1.39 FIP, 13.2 SO/9, unanimous AL Cy Young

Pedro Martinez was coming off a fine first season in the American League entering the 1999 MLB season. He had finished second in the AL Cy Young vote in his first year with the Red Sox, but his ERA had risen by a full run after leaving behind the pitcher-friendly National League. Little did the rest of the league know that Martinez was about to embark on the greatest MLB season ever for a starting pitcher.

In the hitter-dominated AL East in the height of the Steroid Era, Martinez recorded nearly 50 percent of his 640 outs via the strikeout. Only Randy Johnson has recorded a higher strikeout rate for a single season. Martinez’s FIP of 1.39 was the lowest value ever by a pitcher in modern baseball.

Martinez was absolutely unhittable during his peak. Few pitchers in MLB history have commanded three pitches as well as he did with such devastating movement. The clip above shows one at-bat from the 1999 All-Star Game. Martinez pitched two innings and struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Jeff Bagwell — two Hall of Famers, a potential Hall of Famer in Walker, and two of the most prolific home-run hitters of the era — on 28 pitches.

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The level of nastiness Martinez carried through the entire season never wavered, and he allowed an OPS of .536 for the entire year. He struck out 17 Yankees batters in a complete-game one-hitter on September 10. Martinez also had a 16-K game against Atlanta, four 15-K games, and 19 total starts with more than 10 strikeouts. His dominance carried over into October where he struck out 23 hitters in 17 shutout innings.

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