Top 10 non-steroid pitching seasons of the last 30 years

[Senser81]

10) Rollie Fingers, 1981 Brewers - 6-3 (28 SV), 1.04, 61 SO
Led MLB in saves in strike-shortened season. Won Cy Young AND MVP.


9) Orel Hershiser, 1985 Dodgers – 19-3, 2.03 ERA
Virtually unbeatable in 1985. High win total and low ERA is remarkable considering the Dodgers were the worst fielding team in the league and Tom Niedenfuer was one of the worst closers in the league.


8) Dennis Eckersley, 1990 A’s – 4-2, 0.61 ERA, 48 saves
Arguably the most dominant year by a closer, ever.


7) Rick Sutcliffe, 1984 Cubs – 16-1, 2.69 ERA
Brought Cubs to brink of World Series, nearly a guaranteed win after being acquired


6) Orel Hershiser, 1988 Dodgers – 23-8, 2.26 ERA
Led anemic hitting team to one of the biggest upsets ever in the World Series. Set consecutive scoreless inning record and was 3-0 in the postseason with 1 save and a 1.02 ERA.


5) Randy Johnson, 2002 Diamondbacks – 24-5, 2.32 ERA, 334 Ks
Led league in wins, ERA, complete games, win%, innings pitched, and K’s


4) Randy Johnson, 1995 Mariners – 18-2, 2.48 ERA, 294 K’s in only 214 IP
Driving force behind Seattle’s dream season. Pitched well in the postseason, too.


3) Greg Maddux, 1995 Braves – 19-2, 1.63 ERA, 10 CGs
Maddux’s best season, went 3-1 in the postseason to help Braves win title.


2) Dwight Gooden, 1985 Mets – 24-4, 1.53 ERA, 16 CGs, 268 K’s
Doc K’s best year, but heavy workload might have taken its toll. A true phenom.


1) Randy Johnson, 2001 Diamondbacks – 21-6, 2.49 ERA, 372 K’s in only 249 IP
Postseason gives him the #1 spot…5-1 including 3-0 in WS, 47 K’s vs. 8 BBs, 1.69 ERA

[Anthony]

Honorable Mention: Mooooooooooooooooooose!

[Esjay]

372 strikeouts is just insane.

[SuperKevin]

I love me some Randy Johnson

[JTRaines92]

It's fucking crazy that Randy Johnson did all that close to 40. 372 K's while being 37 is nuts!

[FedEx227]

Randy Johnson is really unappreciated. He's a guy that I think 20-30 years down the line when people actually go back and look at his numbers they are going to be shocked at just how dominant he was.

I think his best year was honestly 1997 didn't lead the league in a lot of counting stuff thanks to Clemens but absolutely his most dominant year: 20-4, 2.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 197 ERA+, 12.3 K/9