Category Archives: MLB
Longest Winning Streaks by a Pitcher in Baseball History
Carl Hubbell Won 24 Games in a Row, the Longest Winning Streak of All Time
New York Giants‘ ace Carl Hubbell won 24 games in a row over the 1936 and 1937 seasons. The streak spanned 27 games – including two saves and a no decision.
That is the longest winning streak by a pitcher ever.
Another New York Giant, Rube Marquard, won 19 in a row in 1912 alone. That’s the streak record for a single season.
That year was something else, as far as pitcher winning streaks go. Both the Boston Red Sox‘ Smoky Joe Wood and the Washington Senators‘ Walter Johnson posted all-time streaks of 16 in 1912.
This is a great list below – the top 20 longest winning streaks by a pitcher in history. It spans most of the life of Major League Baseball itself, from those 1912 performances all the way to the New York Yankees‘ Ivan Nova‘s 100 years later.
Speaking of Yankees, Roger Clemens “suspiciously” has two of the longest streaks. He’s the only one.
Dave McNally and Johnny Allen won 17 games in a row – they also hold the record (15-0) for a winning streak to start the season. Today, Max Scherzer stands at 10-0 to start 2013. You can see the longest winning streaks (pitcher) to start a season here.
Follow @VinGetz| PITCHER | W | SEASON(S) | ARM | TEAM(S) | |
| 1. | Carl Hubbell | 24 | 1936-1937 | L | New York Giants |
| 2. | Roy Face | 22 | 1958-1959 | R | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 3. | Roger Clemens | 20 | 1998-1999 | R | Toronto Blue Jays / New York Yankees |
| 4. | Rube Marquard | 19 | 1912 | L | New York Giants |
| 5. | Jose Contreras | 17 | 2005-2006 | R | Chicago White Sox |
| 5. | Johan Santana | 17 | 2004-2005 | L | Minnesota Twins |
| 5. | Dave McNally | 17 | 1968-1969 | L | Baltimore Orioles |
| 5. | Johnny Allen | 17 | 1936-1937 | R | Cleveland Indians |
| 9. | Smoky Joe Wood | 16 | 1912 | R | Boston Red Sox |
| 9. | Walter Johnson | 16 | 1912 | R | Washington Senators |
| 9. | Roger Clemens | 16 | 2001 | R | New York Yankees |
| 9. | Randy Johnson | 16 | 1995-1997 | L | Seattle Mariners |
| 9. | Rick Sutcliffe | 16 | 1984-1985 | R | Chicago Cubs |
| 9. | Tom Seaver | 16 | 1969-1970 | R | New York Mets |
| 9. | Jack Sanford | 16 | 1962 | R | San Francisco Giants |
| 9. | Ewell Blackwell | 16 | 1947 | R | Cincinnati Reds |
| 9. | Schoolboy Rowe | 16 | 1934 | R | Detroit Tigers |
| 9. | General Crowder | 16 | 1932-1933 | R | Washington Senators |
| 9. | Lefty Grove | 16 | 1931 | L | Philadelphia Athletics |
| 20. | Ivan Nova | 15 | 2011-2012 | R | New York Yankees |
| 20. | Roy Halladay | 15 | 2003 | R | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 20. | Wilson Alvarez | 15 | 1993-1994 | L | Chicago White Sox |
| 20. | LaMarr Hoyt | 15 | 1983-1984 | R | Chicago White Sox |
| 20. | Gaylord Perry | 15 | 1974 | R | Cleveland Indians |
| 20. | Steve Carlton | 15 | 1972 | L | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 20. | Bob Gibson | 15 | 1968 | R | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 20. | Phil Regan | 15 | 1966-1967 | R | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 20. | Dazzy Vance | 15 | 1924 | R | Brooklyn Robins |
Thanks to baseball-reference.com and sabr.org.
Photo: San Francisco Giants via sfgiantsphotos.mlbblogs.com
Max Scherzer and Pitchers with the Longest Winning (Undefeated) Streaks to Start a Baseball Season
Dave McNally and Johnny Allen Started the Season 15-0
The Detroit Tigers‘ Max Scherzer nailed his 10th straight win on Monday. He’s 10-0, the ninth best winning or undefeated streak to start a season for a starting pitcher.
Five other starters began their seasons 10-0.
But it is the Baltimore Orioles‘ Dave McNally and the Cleveland Indians‘ Johnny Allen who hold the all-time record, going 15-0 to start off 1969 and 1937, respectively.
Today’s list features every starting pitcher who began a season 10-0 or better from 1916-on. There are now 14 of them with Scherzer.
Roger Clemens features twice and is second all-time, posting a 14-0 with the 1986 Boston Red Sox.
Louisiana Lightning, the New York Yankees‘ Ron Guidry, comes in next at 13-0.
And look out, baseball’s still got Clay Buchholz (Boston Red Sox) and Patrick Corbin (Arizona Diamondbacks) at 9-0 right now. Will they make the list?
How far up will Scherzer go?
Follow @VinGetz| PITCHER | W | L | TEAM | BEGIN | END | |
| 1. | Dave McNally | 15 | 0 | Baltimore Orioles | Apr. 12, 1969 | July 30, 1969 |
| 1. | Johnny Allen | 15 | 0 | Cleveland Indians | Apr. 23, 1937 | Sep. 30, 1937 |
| 3. | Roger Clemens | 14 | 0 | Boston Red Sox | Apr. 11, 1986 | Jun. 27, 1986 |
| 4. | Ron Guidry | 13 | 0 | New York Yankees | Apr. 13, 1978 | Jul. 2, 1978 |
| 5. | Eddie Cicotte | 12 | 0 | Chicago White Sox | Apr. 24, 1919 | Jun. 14, 1919 |
| 6. | Roger Clemens | 11 | 0 | Toronto Blue Jays | Apr. 2, 1997 | Jun. 6, 1997 |
| 6. | Andy Hawkins | 11 | 0 | San Diego Padres | Apr. 12, 1985 | Jun. 9, 1985 |
| 6. | Atley Donald | 11 | 0 | New York Yankees | May 18, 1939 | Jul. 25, 1939 |
| 9. | Max Scherzer | 10 | 0 | Detroit Tigers | Apr. 6, 2013 | Present |
| 9. | Roger Moret | 10 | 0 | Boston Red Sox | Apr. 22, 1973 | Sep. 12, 1973 |
| 9. | Juan Marichal | 10 | 0 | San Francisco Giants | Apr. 12, 1966 | May 31, 1966 |
| 9. | Brooks Lawrence | 10 | 0 | Cincinnati Reds | Apr. 28, 1956 | Jul. 17, 1956 |
| 9. | Preacher Roe | 10 | 0 | Brooklyn Dodgers | Apr. 18, 1951 | Jun. 21, 1951 |
| 9. | Burleigh Grimes | 10 | 0 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Apr. 16, 1929 | Jun. 8, 1929 |
Thanks to baseball-reference.com‘s play index where you can also see the (currently) 29 pitchers who started 9-0 (incl. Roger Clemens again), and those who started 8-0, 7-0 and so on.
