Top 25 MLB pitching seasons of all time

3 of 25

October 15, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Zack Greinke (21) pitches the first inning against New York Mets in game five of NLDS at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

23. Zack Greinke, 2015

The Numbers: 19-3, 1.66 ERA, 222 ERA+, 0.844 WHIP

Despite pitching to one of the lowest ERAs in the modern era, Zack Greinke was not rewarded for his efforts with the NL Cy Young in 2015. The award went to Jake Arrieta, who also had a historically-great season. Greinke finished 22 points behind Arrieta despite posting the lowest ERA since Greg Maddux in 1995.

Greinke’s season was not met with wild applause by the new-age statistical analysts. His 2.76 FIP was not indicative of extreme dominance. The right-hander allowed an extremely low batting average on balls in play of .232. The league average is typically around .300. Still, Greinke was doing something right when it comes to generating weak contact in almost every at-bat.

Over the course of the season, Greinke allowed two earned runs or less in 26 of his 32 starts and allowed more than three runs only twice. He went six starts without allowing an earned run from June 18 to July 19 and had a scoreless streak of lasting 45.2 innings that only ended after some shoddy fielding allowed a runner to take an extra base.

Greinke parlayed his epic season into the richest annual contract in MLB history. He jumped ship from the Dodgers to the Diamondbacks for six years and $206.5 million. After a disappointing first season with Arizona, Greinke appears to have rebounded and is striking hitters out at the highest rate of his career.

Home/MLB