5 of the Most Memorable Pitchers in MLB History

2)    Christy Mathewson had a rocky start in baseball. He made his baseball debut with the New York Giants in 1900. Several months later, he went on to play for the Cincinnati Reds. By December, he was back on the Giants roster. In 1902, he also played football for the Pittsburgh Stars, one of Pittsburgh’s early football teams that played for one season. Mathewson and Andrew “Rube” Foster created a pitch they dubbed “the fadeaway.” It went on to be called a “screwball.” Mathewson held strong Christian beliefs and would not pitch in a game on Sundays. That did not stop him from becoming a Triple Crown Winner and taking the Giants to their first World Series championship in 1905. Mathewson was among the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

3)    Ed “Big Ed” Walsh debuted with the White Sox in 1904. He retired from the team in 1916 and from there he played one season with the Boston Braves. Walsh was the first pitcher to achieve 40 wins in a single season. He was best known for his spitball. A pitch that was taught to him by his teammate, Elmer Stricklett. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Sam Crawford, of the Cincinnati Reds/Detroit Tigers, was quoted saying, "He threw a spitball. I think that ball disintegrated on the way to the plate, and the catcher put it back together again. I swear, when it went past the plate, it was just the spit went by." Today he holds the record for the lowest career earned run average.

4)    Sandy Koufax made his baseball debut in 1955 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, now the Los Angeles Dodgers. Koufax is considered by many to be the most powerful pitcher in the history of baseball. He won World Championship games in New York and Los Angeles. He also won three Triple Crowns, the most of any player in the National League. In 1965, he became the first left-handed pitcher to achieve a perfect game since 1880. In 1965, he set a major league record for 382 strikeouts. His record stood until 1973 when it was broken by Nolan Ryan. Koufax also set the record for achieving at least 10 strikeouts in 97 games. A record that was also broken by Nolan Ryan.

5)    Nolan Ryan launched his career in baseball in 1968 with the New York Mets. In 1972, he went on to play for the California Angels. He landed in Texas in 1980 where he played for the Houston Astros from 1980-1988 and the Texas Rangers from 1989-1993. Ryan broke several records in baseball, some of which still stand today. He went on to hold the record for the most no-hitters, the most walks (2,795), and the most strikeouts (5,714) in the history of baseball. In 1973, he succeeded in 383 strikeouts, the most any player achieved in one season. These records have never been broken. He also pitched 12 one-hitters, a record tied with Bob Feller, and 18 two-hitters, tied with Walter Johnson. In 1991, at the age of 44, he became the oldest player in baseball to pitch a no-hitter, and he achieved this in only 90 days. Seven baseball players who were struck out by Ryan had sons who grew up and to also struck out by Ryan. When he retired from baseball, his number 30 was retired by the Angels, and both the Astros and Rangers retired his number 34.