The 51 pitchers with the most wins, 1871–2021

Every pitcher on this list is ranked on one number: wins in the regular season between 1871 and 2021. Nothing else is weighed, and the figures each ranking rests on are in the table.

Wins — the leading 15. Every one of the 51 is in the table below.

#	Player	Seasons	Wins	Games	Losses	Strikeouts
1	Cy Young	1890–1911	511	906	315	2,803
2	Walter Johnson	1907–1927	417	802	279	3,509
3	Christy Mathewson	1900–1916	373	636	188	2,507
3	Pete Alexander	1911–1930	373	696	208	2,198
5	Pud Galvin	1875–1892	365	705	310	1,807
6	Warren Spahn	1942–1965	363	750	245	2,583
7	Kid Nichols	1890–1906	362	621	208	1,881
8	Greg Maddux	1986–2008	355	744	227	3,371
9	Roger Clemens	1984–2007	354	709	184	4,672
10	Tim Keefe	1880–1893	342	600	225	2,564
11	Steve Carlton	1965–1988	329	741	244	4,136
12	John Clarkson	1882–1894	328	531	178	1,978
13	Eddie Plank	1901–1917	326	623	194	2,246
14	Nolan Ryan	1966–1993	324	807	292	5,714
14	Don Sutton	1966–1988	324	774	256	3,574
16	Phil Niekro	1964–1987	318	864	274	3,342
17	Gaylord Perry	1962–1983	314	777	265	3,534
18	Tom Seaver	1967–1986	311	656	205	3,640
19	Old Hoss Radbourn	1881–1891	310	527	194	1,830
20	Mickey Welch	1880–1892	307	565	210	1,850
21	Tom Glavine	1987–2008	305	682	203	2,607
22	Randy Johnson	1988–2009	303	618	166	4,875
23	Lefty Grove	1925–1941	300	616	141	2,266
23	Early Wynn	1939–1963	300	691	244	2,334
25	Bobby Mathews	1871–1887	297	578	248	1,528
26	Tommy John	1963–1989	288	760	231	2,245
27	Bert Blyleven	1970–1992	287	692	250	3,701
28	Robin Roberts	1948–1966	286	676	245	2,357
29	Tony Mullane	1881–1894	284	555	220	1,803
29	Fergie Jenkins	1965–1983	284	664	226	3,192
31	Jim Kaat	1959–1983	283	898	237	2,461
32	Red Ruffing	1924–1947	273	624	225	1,987
33	Burleigh Grimes	1916–1934	270	616	212	1,512
33	Mike Mussina	1991–2008	270	537	153	2,813
35	Jamie Moyer	1986–2012	269	696	209	2,441
36	Jim Palmer	1965–1984	268	558	152	2,212
37	Eppa Rixey	1912–1933	266	692	251	1,350
37	Bob Feller	1936–1956	266	570	162	2,581
39	Jim McCormick	1878–1887	265	492	214	1,704
40	Gus Weyhing	1887–1901	264	540	232	1,667
41	Ted Lyons	1923–1946	260	594	230	1,073
42	Andy Pettitte	1995–2013	256	531	153	2,448
43	Red Faber	1914–1933	254	669	213	1,471
43	Jack Morris	1977–1994	254	549	186	2,478
45	Carl Hubbell	1928–1943	253	535	154	1,677
46	Al Spalding	1871–1877	252	347	65	248
47	Bob Gibson	1959–1975	251	528	174	3,117
47	CC Sabathia	2001–2019	251	561	161	3,093
49	Vic Willis	1898–1910	249	513	205	1,651
50	Jack Quinn	1909–1933	247	756	218	1,329
50	Bartolo Colon	1997–2018	247	565	188	2,535

How this list is made

Ranked on wins in the regular season, 1871–2021. Players are ranked on that number alone and on nothing else: there is no judgement here about who was better. Where two are level they share a rank, and the list runs past fifty when fiftieth place is shared, because splitting a tie would mean choosing between them on no stated basis.

The Negro Leagues are not in these figures. Major League Baseball recognised the Negro Leagues as major-league in December 2020 and added their statistics to the official record in May 2024. This database does not carry them: Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Buck Leonard and Cool Papa Bell are absent from it altogether, and Satchel Paige appears only from 1948, his American League seasons. These lists are therefore not the complete official record, and that is a limit of the source rather than a judgement about who belongs on them.

Counting statistics only. A rate — an average, a percentage — needs a minimum number of appearances before it means anything, and no such minimum is published that this site could cite. Inventing one would put a number nobody chose at the centre of a ranking. A total needs no cut-off: most goals is a fact with nothing hidden in it.

No player on this list was still playing in 2021, the last season the database covers, so every career here is complete.

Career figures from the Lahman Baseball Database via the Chadwick Bureau’s Baseball Databank, CC BY-SA 3.0. Regular season only; the post-season is not counted.

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