Best. Pitcher. Ever.

I was listening to our local AM radio station 1600 WAIA the other day and as most of you know, it is an ESPN Radio affiliate, and the host of The Sports Bash was trying to spark some debate and/or controversy by saying that Roger Clemens was the best pitcher to ever play the game. That’s e-v-e-r, ever. At first I was concerned for the man’s mental well being, but as I thought about this more and more, I realized that this man was indeed correct. Roger Clemens is the greatest pitcher to play the game of baseball, bar none.

Some of you may now think that I have some mental defect, and while I can’t deny that fact, I can tell you that Clemens is the greatest of all time. The list of great pitchers is not that long. There have been many good pitchers, but the greats are the ones who go down in history, the ones who are talked about 75, 50, and 25 years after they have left the game. There is a difference between “Catfish” Hunter (good) and Walter Johnson (great). I am sure you have your own top 5 or top 10 lists of pitchers, but Roger Clemens should be at the top of the list. I won’t go through every great pitcher, but I will review some of Clemens accomplishments and compare them with other great pitchers, and in turn, convince you that I am right.

Roger Clemens is best known as one of the best strikeout pitchers in the game, even today at 41 years of age. He was top 5 in strikeouts every year of his career, except one in 1999. Even the greatest strikeout pitcher of all time, Nolan Ryan, had two years in which he finished in sixth place. Many people like to think Nolan Ryan is the greatest pitcher of all time, but he isn’t even in the top ten. He did not win a Cy Young award and only won 20 games twice. Ryan was 32 defeats from being a .500% pitcher. He is the pitcher you would like to see pitch in a game, but he can’t wash Clemens’ socks.

Clemens has the most hardware of any pitcher. He has 7 Cy Young Awards, 1 MVP award, and 2 pitching triple crowns (wins, ERA, and strikeouts). The closest to Clemens in Cy Young Awards is Randy Johnson. The Big Unit is good, but he hasn’t been good as long as Clemens. Johnson is already showing signs of falling off from his usual yearly performance. Clemens can only be compared to Barry Bonds in awards. Bonds has 7 MVP awards, but Clemens has never had to answer to any allegations of steroid use, while Bonds has tarnished his reputation and seems to have dropped off the face of the earth because of the constant questions about his use of steroids.

Clemens’ career ERA is not even in the top 100 all-time, but ERA can be misleading depending on the pitcher and the era in which they played. Do you happen to know who has the lowest career ERA all-time? It’s right on the tip of your tongue. Give up? It’s “Big” Ed Walsh with a 1.82 career ERA. That is low, but at that time period in baseball there were many low ERAs, some call this the dead ball era. A low ERA is nice, but it is not the only stat that makes up a pitcher.

Clemens pitched in an era known for juiced balls and juiced players. Clemens pitched most of his career in the American League which uses a designated hitter. There is no easy out in the American League; you can't expect an easy out when the ninth batter comes up. ERA is important, but depending on the era it may not mean as much as you think. By the by, Clemens is 3rd on the active pitchers list of ERA with a career 3.18 ERA. Many pitchers both American and National League would kill for that mark at the conclusion of their career.

The most interesting thing about Clemens, at least to me, is that the Boston Red Sox let him go in 1997 because they were convinced he was on the downside of his career. Little did they know that he would win over 136 games and 4 Cy Young awards. Clemens has a chance, if he continues to play and the Astros give him some offense, to perhaps move up as high as number 3 on the career wins list. He is already number 8 all time. Let me clarify that I do not mean that he can achieve this feat this year, but with a few more years he could do it. It is apparent that he is not slowing down. In fact, Clemens is a top 5 pitcher in the game right now at 41 and I would not be surprised to see him win another Cy Young award this year. The Astros have to score more than one run a game for him, but he has a chance to win 15 to 17 games which is enough to impress when you also take into consideration his low ERA and high strikeouts.

The defense rests. I have laid out a good case without going into extreme detail because quite frankly, I don’t have the space, I am lazy and don’t want to research anymore, and I don’t feel the need. I never brought up the Lefty Groves, the Walter Johnsons, the Tom Seavers, etc. I did not feel the need to discuss every pitcher that could be categorized as great. You can do more research if you want, but Clemens is as good as any you will find, the best according to my view. As a bonus, Clemens is a two time, two time, world champion and he is a player whose name you will only see on the sports page. He is not a player who gets into trouble with the law or scandal. He also is one of the most intimidating pitchers ever. When he stares down from the mound at the batter, you know more than a few were worried about catching one in the ribs. He has tremendous heart and if not for his family, I bet you would have to kill him to get him off the field. He is the best because he has the numbers, he has the heart, and he just wants it more than other players. The title says it all. Best. Pitcher. Ever.