Major league pitchers beating all 30 teams
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Since 1998, there have been 30 teams in Major League Baseball (MLB). It is very rare for a pitcher to record a win against every team. In earlier times, two factors made it nearly impossible to defeat all teams in both leagues (even before expansion increased the number to 30):
- Before the era of free-agency, in which players are free to move to another team at the end of their contract, a pitcher would play for only a few teams, and could not, of course, win a game against his own team.
- Before inter-league play began in June 1997, a pitcher would see only half of the 30 teams in any single season, unless traded to a team in the other league. Even with inter-league play, a pitcher may not have his spot in a typical 5-man rotation match the games in the single 3- or 4-game series against another team, and only a few teams from the other league are played in any season.
In any case, defeating all teams is more likely only if a pitcher has a long career. Assuming that good health and rotation timing allows a top notch pitcher to beat every one of his team's opponents in a season, it will still only be 19–20 teams (14 intraleague and 5 or 6 interleague), unless he is traded. It is far more likely that his wins will come against 10 to 12 teams, most of which he has already beaten.
As of July 10, 2021, there have been 20 pitchers who have beaten all 30 teams. Only 14 teams have had a pitcher accomplish the feat while on their roster, with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees the only franchises to have three such pitchers: Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson for the Giants, and Kevin Brown, Javier Vázquez, and Gerrit Cole for the Yankees.
- Notes
As of July 10, 2021, ten active pitchers have defeated 29 teams.
- Ervin Santana – has not defeated the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Francisco Liriano – has not defeated the Miami Marlins.
- J. A. Happ – has not defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Jon Lester – has not defeated the Boston Red Sox.
- Edwin Jackson – has not defeated the Atlanta Braves.
- Scott Kazmir – has not defeated the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Aníbal Sánchez – has not defeated the Los Angeles Angels.
- Lance Lynn – has not defeated the Texas Rangers.
- Charlie Morton – has not defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- Wade Miley – has not defeated the New York Yankees.
As of July 10, 2021, five active pitchers have defeated 28 teams.
- Jake Arrieta – has not defeated the Chicago Cubs or Seattle Mariners.
- Justin Verlander – has not defeated the Cincinnati Reds or Miami Marlins.
- Cole Hamels – has not defeated the Philadelphia Phillies or Toronto Blue Jays.
- Iván Nova – has not defeated the Colorado Rockies or Seattle Mariners.
- Trevor Bauer – has not defeated the Cleveland Indians or New York Mets.
As of July 10, 2021, two active pitchers have defeated 27 teams.
- Rick Porcello – has not defeated the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, or San Diego Padres.
- Ian Kennedy – has not defeated the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, or Toronto Blue Jays.
As of July 10, 2021, four active pitchers have defeated 26 teams.
- Edinson Vólquez – has not defeated the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, or Toronto Blue Jays.
- Trevor Cahill – has not defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, or New York Mets.
- Johnny Cueto – has not defeated the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, or Texas Rangers.
- David Price - has not defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, or St. Louis Cardinals.
References[]
- ^ Lennon, David (May 1, 2002). "All Teams Know 'L' In Leiter". newsday.com. Newsday. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ Jaffe, Chris (April 30, 2012). "10th anniversary: first man to beat 30 franchises". hardballtimes.com. The Hardball Times. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ "Mullholland Beats All – Veteran Left-hander Tops Detroit, His 30th Victim". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. July 20, 2004. p. C1. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ Associated Press (July 21, 2010). "Javier Vazquez Becomes Third Active Pitcher to Beat All 30 Teams in Yankees Win". nesn.com. New England Sports Network. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ Cassavell, A.J. (August 9, 2013). "Washington Nationals right-hander Dan Haren tops the Philadelphia Phillies to become the 13th pitcher to beat all 30 Major League teams". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ Gruman, Andrew (June 27, 2015). "Milwaukee Brewers' Kyle Lohse completes rare feat with defeat of Minnesota Twins". Fox Sports. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ McCauley, Janie (27 July 2015). "Hudson beats his former A's, now has W against all 30 teams". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press.
- ^ Sharkey-Gotlieb, Simon (April 19, 2016). "Lackey becomes 16th pitcher to beat all 30 teams". thescore.com. Score Media Ventures. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ Birenbaum, Jonah (May 12, 2016). "Scherzer's Gem Makes Him 17th Pitcher to Beat All 30 Teams". thescore.com. Score Media Ventures. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ^ https://nesn.com/2017/08/twins-bartolo-colon-beats-diamondbacks-to-accomplish-rare-mlb-feat/
- ^ "Greinke slows Royals for wins over all MLB clubs". MLB.com. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
- ^ https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401228391
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