Once again, it’s time for Baseball Roundtable’s Trivia(l) Tidbit Tuesday. I hope you are enjoying this weekly presentation of baseball occurrences that for some reason caught The Roundtable’s eye. (I’m particularly fond of unexpected performances and statistical coincidences.) These won’t necessarily be momentous occurrences, just events, statistics or coincidences that grabbed my attention. I’m also drawn to baseball “unicorns,” one-of-a-kind MLB accomplishments or statistics.
This week started with some reflection on one of my boyhood heroes – southpaw Warren Spahn, who notably led the National League in wins in an MLB-record five consecutive seasons. And, perhaps even more notably, did it in his age-36 to age-40 seasons. Spahn, by the way, holds the distinction of being of being the oldest pitcher to record a 20-win season.
But I digress, this blog post looks at MLB pitchers with the most consecutive seasons leading their league in wins, as well as those with the most consecutive seasons leading the league in losses. It touches on the likes of Spahn, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander and Robin Roberts, as well as Pedro Ramos, Phil Niekro, Murry Dickson and Patrick Corbin.
So, let’s get to it, with a couple of charts, each followed by brief bio material on each pitcher included.
Warren Spahn – Five
Spahn is the only MLB pitcher to lead the league in wins for five consecutive seasons (unicorn status) – and he did it in his age-36 to age-40 seasons, compiling a 106-60, 3.04 record over those five campaigns (with 101 complete games in 195 starts). Spahn led the league in wins an MLB record eight times and his 363 MLB career wins are the most by a southpaw all time.
By The Numbers
Warren Spahn had 363 career victories and 363 career base hits.
He had 356 pitching wins and 356 base hits with the Braves.
He had four pitching wins and four base hits with the Mets.
He had three pitching wins and three base hits with the Giants.
Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warren_Spahn_1958.png
Spahn racked up 13 seasons of 20 or more wins, second only to Cy Young’s 15. He notched his first 20-win season in 1947 (21 wins) and his final 20-win season (23 wins) in 1963. I’ll do the math; that’s 13 seasons of at least twenty wins in a 17-season span.
Spahn pitched in 21 MLB seasons (1942, 1946-65 … Braves, Mets, Giants – Braves all but 1965). He went 363-245, 3.09, in 750 games (665 starts, 382 complete games). Had he not lost the 1943-45 seasons to military service, he would most likely have surpassed 400 career wins. He led the league in wins eight times; earned run average three times; strikeouts four times; was an All-star in 14 seasons; and won the NL Cy Young Award in 1957. He probably would have been great at Blackjack; he won 21 games in eight different seasons.
Walter Johnson – Four
Johnson pitched in 21 MLB seasons (1907-27 … Nationals), putting up a 412-279, 2.17 stat line in 802 appearances (666 starts, 531 complete games).
I’ll Have a Triple, Please
Walter Johnson won the pitching Triple Crown (Wins-Earned Run Average-Strikeouts) a record three times (tied with Grover Alexander and Sandy Koufax) in 1913, 1918 and 1924. He also holds the MLB career record for shutouts (110).
Johnson led the league in wins six times; Earned Run Average five times; strikeouts a record 12 times; and shutouts seven times (tied for the MLB record). The two-time MVP won 20 or more games in 12 seasons.
Grover (Pete) Alexander – Four
Alexander pitched in 20 MLB seasons (1911-30 … Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals), putting up a 373-208, 2.56 record. Like Walter Johnson (above), he won the pitching Triple Crown a record three times.
Zeroes Are The Roundest of Round Numbers
In 1916, Grover Alexander tossed 16 shutouts in 45 starts. That season gives him a share of the record for shutouts in a season (tied with George Bradley of the 1876 St. Louis Brown Stockings – 64 starts).
Alexander led the league in wins six times; ERA five times; and strikeouts six times. He won twenty or more games in nine seasons, with three of those 30 or more wins.
How Low Can You go?
In the six seasons from 1915 through 1920, Grover Alexander pitched to an earned run average of 1.64 over 1,777 2/3 innings.
Robin Roberts – Four
Roberts pitched in 19 MLB seasons (1948-66 … Phillies, Orioles, Astros, Cubs), going 286-245, 3.41 in 676 games (609 starts, 305 complete games). The seven-time All-star led the league in wins four times; strikeouts twice: and shutouts once. He had six seasons of 20 or more wins – consecutively, from 1950 through 1955.
Is Workhorse One Word Or Two?
In the decade of the ‘50s (1950-59), Robin Roberts averaged 19.9 wins, 23.7 complete games and 301 1/3 innings pitched per season.
Ironically, immediately after leading the league in wins in four consecutive seasons (1952-56), Roberts led the league in losses in two consecutive campaigns (19-18, 4.45 in 1956 and 10-22, 4.07 in 1957).
Pedro Ramos – Four
Ramos pitched in 15 MLB seasons (1955-67, 1969-70 … Senators/Twins, Indians, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates, Reds, Senators). He went 117-160, 4.08 in 582 games (268 starts, 73 complete games).
A couple of Ramos tidbits:
- On April 11, 1961, Ramos started the first-ever game in Minnesota Twins’ history and tossed a three-hit (one walk/five strikeouts) shutout in a Twins’ 6-0 win over a Yankees lineup that included the likes of Bobby Richardson, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Bill Skowron and Roger Maris,
- On July 23, 1960, Ramos was on the mound in the top of the third inning, with the Senators up 3-1 over the Athletics and runners on first (2B Jerry Lumpe) and second (CF Bill Tuttle) with no outs. Kansas City batter RF Whitey Herzog lined a ball to Ramos (for an out), who tossed to Julio Becquer at first to double up Lumpe; with Becquer relaying the ball to SS Jose Valdivieso covering second to retire a retreating Tuttle. It was MLB’s first-ever all-Cuban triple play (#InBaseballWeTrackEveything).
Phil Niekro – Four
Niekro, a knuckleballer, pitched in 24 MLB seasons (1964-87 … Braves, Yankees, Indians, Blue Jays), going 318-274, 3.35 (864 games, 716 starts, 245 complete games). He led the league in wins twice and earned run average and strikeouts once each. The Hall of Famer was a five-time All Star.
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
In 1979, when Phil Niekro went 21-20, 3.39, he tied his brother Joe for the NL lead in wins (Joe Niekro was 21-11, 3.00 for the Astros) – the only time in MLB history two brothers have tied for the league lead in wins (unicorn status) Side note: That season Phil Niekro led the NL in wins and losses. The Niekro brothers also hold the MLB record for combined pitching wins by brothers at 539 – 318 by Phil and 221 by Joe.
Murry Dickson – Three
Dickson pitched in 18 MLB seasons (1939-40, 1942-43, 1946-59 … Cardinals, Pirates, Phillies, Athletics, Yankees). He went 172-181, 3.66 in 625 appearances (338 starts, 149 complete games).
Ups And Downs
Murry Dickson won twenty games in a season once (20-16, 4.02 for the 1951 Pirates) and lost twenty or more twice (1952 and 1954, see chart for totals).
Patrick Corbin – Three
Corbin, still active in 2025, has pitched in 13 MLB seasons (2012-13, 2015-25 … Diamondbacks, Nationals, Rangers). As I write this, his career record is 110-141, 4.50 in 371 appearances (352 starts, seven complete games). In 2018, Corbin was an All Star, putting up an 11-7, 3.15 record for the Diamondbacks (he was 6-4, 3.24 at the break).
On The Big Stage
In 2019, Patrick Corbin got the win in the seventh game of the World Series, as his Nationals topped the Astros 6-2. Corbin came on in relief o Max Scherzer to open the bottom of the sixth with the Nationals down 2-0. He pitched three scoreless innings, giving up two hits and fanning three. The Astros took the lead in the eighth, giving Corbin the win.
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