GOAT Rank · 57

Greatest Baseball Pitchers of all time

This ranking is led by Cy Young, Grover Cleveland Alexander and Walter Johnson. GOAT Rank currently ranks 57 eligible Baseball pitchers using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Cy Young ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 92.1.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

Cy Young

92.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1890–1911
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 98.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Cy Young

Grover Cleveland Alexander

91.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1911–1930
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Grover Cleveland Alexander

Walter Johnson

91.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1907–1927
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 95.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Walter Johnson

Mariano Rivera

90.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1990–2013
Country: 🇵🇦 Panama

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Mariano Rivera

Randy Johnson

90.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1988–2009
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Randy Johnson

Jim Palmer

90.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1965–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Jim Palmer

Gaylord Perry

90.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1962–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Gaylord Perry

Bob Feller

89.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1936–1956
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Bob Feller

Roger Clemens

89.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1984–2007
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Roger Clemens

Tom Glavine

89.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1987–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Tom Glavine

Nolan Ryan

89.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1966–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 96.0

Athlete: Nolan Ryan

Zack Greinke

89.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2004–2023
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Zack Greinke

Steve Carlton

89.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1965–1988
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Steve Carlton

Greg Maddux

89.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1986–2008
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Greg Maddux

Ferguson Jenkins

89.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1965–1983
Country: 🇨🇦 Canada

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Ferguson Jenkins

Christy Mathewson

89.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1900–1916
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Christy Mathewson

Warren Spahn

89.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1942–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Warren Spahn

Pud Galvin

89.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1875–1892
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Pud Galvin

Justin Verlander

88.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2005–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Justin Verlander

Pedro Martínez

88.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1992–2009
Country: 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Pedro Martínez

Lefty Grove

88.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1925–1941
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Lefty Grove

Satchel Paige

88.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1926–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Satchel Paige

Mordecai Brown

88.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1903–1916
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Mordecai Brown

John Clarkson

88.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1882–1894
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: John Clarkson

Ray Brown

88.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1930–1948
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Ray Brown

Tom Seaver

88.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1967–1986
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Tom Seaver

Bert Blyleven

87.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1970–1992
Country: 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Bert Blyleven

101

Bob Gibson

87.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1959–1975
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Bob Gibson

103

Clayton Kershaw

87.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Clayton Kershaw

112

Dennis Eckersley

87.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1975–1998
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Dennis Eckersley

117

Yu Darvish

87.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2005–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Yu Darvish

122

Masahiro Tanaka

87.5

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Masahiro Tanaka

131

Fernando Valenzuela

87.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1980–1997
Country: 🇲🇽 Mexico

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Fernando Valenzuela

139

Max Scherzer

86.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Max Scherzer

142

Juan Marichal

86.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1960–1975
Country: 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Juan Marichal

145

Chief Bender

86.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1903–1925
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Chief Bender

148

Sandy Koufax

86.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1955–1966
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Sandy Koufax

149

Red Faber

86.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1914–1933
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Red Faber

153

Hilton Smith

86.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1932–1948
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Hilton Smith

158

Waite Hoyt

86.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1918–1938
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Waite Hoyt

161

Whitey Ford

86.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1950–1967
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Whitey Ford

164

Don Drysdale

86.1

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1956–1969
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Don Drysdale

170

Burleigh Grimes

85.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1916–1934
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Burleigh Grimes

173

Bill Foster

85.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1923–1938
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Bill Foster

176

Leon Day

85.4

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1934–1950
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Leon Day

179

Trevor Hoffman

85.2

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1993–2010
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Trevor Hoffman

182

Stan Coveleski

85.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1912–1928
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Stan Coveleski

183

Jesse Haines

84.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1918–1937
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Jesse Haines

185

Hideo Nomo

84.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1990–2008
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Hideo Nomo

186

Andy Cooper

84.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1920–1941
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Andy Cooper

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
10	Cy Young	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1890–1911	92.1
12	Grover Cleveland Alexander	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1911–1930	91.8
13	Walter Johnson	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1907–1927	91.7
18	Mariano Rivera	Baseball	🇵🇦 Panama	1990–2013	90.6
21	Randy Johnson	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1988–2009	90.5
24	Jim Palmer	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1984	90.1
26	Gaylord Perry	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1983	90.0
29	Bob Feller	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1936–1956	89.9
37	Roger Clemens	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1984–2007	89.6
38	Tom Glavine	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1987–2008	89.6
41	Nolan Ryan	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1966–1993	89.5
42	Zack Greinke	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2004–2023	89.5
44	Steve Carlton	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1988	89.4
45	Greg Maddux	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1986–2008	89.3
47	Ferguson Jenkins	Baseball	🇨🇦 Canada	1965–1983	89.2
49	Christy Mathewson	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1900–1916	89.1
50	Warren Spahn	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1942–1965	89.1
51	Pud Galvin	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1875–1892	89.1
54	Justin Verlander	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2005–active	88.8
63	Pedro Martínez	Baseball	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	1992–2009	88.6
76	Lefty Grove	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1925–1941	88.4
80	Satchel Paige	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1926–1965	88.3
87	Mordecai Brown	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1903–1916	88.1
88	John Clarkson	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1882–1894	88.1
89	Ray Brown	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1930–1948	88.1
90	Tom Seaver	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1967–1986	88.0
97	Bert Blyleven	Baseball	🇳🇱 Netherlands	1970–1992	87.9
101	Bob Gibson	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1959–1975	87.8
103	Clayton Kershaw	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2008–active	87.8
112	Dennis Eckersley	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1975–1998	87.7
117	Yu Darvish	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	2005–active	87.6
122	Masahiro Tanaka	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	2007–active	87.5
131	Fernando Valenzuela	Baseball	🇲🇽 Mexico	1980–1997	87.2
139	Max Scherzer	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	2008–active	86.9
142	Juan Marichal	Baseball	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	1960–1975	86.8
145	Chief Bender	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1903–1925	86.7
148	Sandy Koufax	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1955–1966	86.6
149	Red Faber	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1914–1933	86.6
153	Hilton Smith	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1932–1948	86.4
158	Waite Hoyt	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1918–1938	86.2
161	Whitey Ford	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1950–1967	86.2
164	Don Drysdale	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1969	86.1
170	Burleigh Grimes	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1916–1934	85.8
173	Bill Foster	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1923–1938	85.6
176	Leon Day	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1934–1950	85.4
179	Trevor Hoffman	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1993–2010	85.2
182	Stan Coveleski	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1912–1928	85.0
183	Jesse Haines	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1918–1937	84.9
185	Hideo Nomo	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	1990–2008	84.7
186	Andy Cooper	Baseball	🇺🇸 United States	1920–1941	84.7

Compare the leaders

Cy Young vs Grover Cleveland Alexander

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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