About This Quiz
While wins are rarely a stat used to judge the skill or success of a pitcher (as a win is a team effort), they are an important part of baseball history and tradition. Several pitchers have accumulated hundreds and hundreds of wins during their professional careers, numbers that won't likely be reached by many active or future pitchers due to injuries, better bullpens and pitch counts for many starters.
You likely know the names of some of these historic hurlers and their many accolades, but do you know where they played their major league ball and got their wins? For example, do you know where Bob Gibson got all 251 of his professional MLB wins? How about which team both Cy Young and Roger Clemens share the award for most wins in franchise history?
If you're up to snuff on your baseball pitching history, or just want to learn a little more about the winningest pitchers in history, this is the quiz for you.
Without any further ado, get ready to take the mound against our quiz all about naming the teams of the winningest pitchers in MLB history. Will you pitch a strikeout or give up a home run?
That's right, the win record for the historic Boston Red Sox franchise is shared by Roger Clemens and Cy Young. Each of the men pitched for 192 wins for the franchise, and their losses were only one off from being the same, as well.
Of the many great pitchers that have played for the Dodgers, none have won more games for the franchise than Don Sutton. However, depending how long he plays, Clayton Kershaw could break the record.
Jim Palmer has won more games in a Baltimore Orioles uniform than any other pitcher. During his 19 years with the Orioles, Palmer won 268 games, which is almost 100 more than any other Orioles pitcher.
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Paul Splittorff is the winningest pitcher in the history of the Kansas City Royals, with 166. He was never a huge star, but was incredibly consistent, which helped his career have considerable longevity.
Randy Johnson is, without a doubt, the best pitcher that the Arizona Diamondbacks have ever had. He leads them in most important pitching categories including wins, E.R.A., W.A.R., strikeouts and games started.
Despite only having 139 wins for the team, Charlie Hough is the winningest pitcher in the history of the Texas Rangers. He also ranks highly in other categories such as W.A.R., strikeouts and complete games.
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James Shields is the all-time wins leader for the Tampa Bay Rays with 87. This is because the Tampa Bay Rays are a fairly new team and have only been around since 1998. This one is among the few on this list that could one day be broken.
Bob Feller spent his entire MLB career with the Cleveland Indians and won 266 games for the club. If this wasn't impressive enough, he also had his career interrupted for four years as he joined the Navy. His wins would have been much higher had he been able to play those four years.
During his career, Warren Spahn racked up 356 wins with the Atlanta Braves. He is one of the most talented left-handers of all time, and has the most wins of any left-handed pitcher in MLB history.
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Despite him playing for other teams, no pitcher in the history of the Angels franchise has more wins than Chuck Finley. He accumulated 165 during his time with the team, which was a 14-year tenure.
King Felix is the all-time leader in wins for the Seattle Mariners. He joined the team in 2005 and has accumulated 169 wins so far. He remains with the team, so expect this record to continue to climb.
Tom Seaver is the all-time leader in wins for the New York Mets with 198. He had an MLB career that spanned 20 years and pitched incredibly for multiple teams throughout his career.
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Carlton is the all-time leader in wins for the Philadelphia Phillies. During his career, "Lefty" would play for a number of teams, but achieved his greatest success during his time with the Phillies, winning multiple Cy Young awards.
Despite only playing in a few seasons for the Brewers, Slaton is the all-time leader in wins with 117. After playing for a few other teams, he went on to become a coach for many different teams at different levels.
Whitey Ford got all 236 of his major league wins while playing for the New York Yankees. He played with the club for 16 years, winning six World Series rings during his illustrious career.
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While he played for the Montreal Expos, Steve Rogers is the wins leader in the Washington Nationals franchise. He has won 158 for the franchise, but Steven Strasbourg is just shy of 50 away, so he could definitely break the record in his career if he plays long enough.
That's right, the win record for the Colorado Rockies is 86, which is held by Jorge de la Rosa. The team hasn't had a true ace in a while, but the record is up for the taking if someone can maintain a long career in Colorado.
While he played for the Philadelphia Athletics before they moved to Oakland, Eddie Plank is the franchise leader in wins with 284. He was the very first left-handed pitcher to cross the 200 wins mark.
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Despite only having 81 wins for the team, Ricky Nolasco is the all-time franchise leader for the Miami Marlins. It is rare to see a team with a wins leader that is still in the MLB, but that is a testament to how new the Marlins are and how unsuccessful most of their history has been.
Dave Stieb is the all-time leader in wins for the Toronto Blue Jays. He recorded 175 wins for the Blue Jays, and was the second most-winningest pitcher of the 1980s, with 140 games.
Hooks Dauss is the holder of the record for most wins in Detroit Tigers history with 223. He only ever played with the Tigers and got the name "Hooks" because his curveball was incredibly hard to hit.
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While he had his fair share of losses during his time with the Reds, Eppa Rixey is their winningest pitcher ever with a total of 179 wins for the club. He played with the team for over 10 years, after coming over from the Phillies.
Bob Gibson got all of his professional wins and played all 17 seasons of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He had an incredible career, won many awards and was known for his competitive nature.
During his 21 years in the majors, Ted Lyons won each and every one of his 260 wins on the mound for the Chicago White Sox. After retiring in 1946, he went on to manage the very team he used to play for.
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While he played for a few teams, Wilbur Cooper is best known for where he spent the majority of his career, the Pittsburgh Pirates. He won 202 games for them, including multiple 20-win seasons during the tail end of his career.
Eric Show is the all-time leader in wins for the San Diego Padres with 100. He was on the team for the very first time the Padres played in a World Series. He unfortunately passed away in 1994 at the age of 37, only a few years after his MLB career.
During his career, Walter Johnson won 417 games, which is the second-most of any pitcher. He won them all for the Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927. That team would ultimately go on to become the modern-day Minnesota Twins.
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The team Nierko holds the record of most wins for is the Houston Astros. He won 144, which is actually only one more than the man in second place, Roy Oswalt. Nierko played for six other teams during his 20+ year career.
Mathewson spent most of his career with the Giants franchise, winning 372 games for the team. He only lost 188 during his time there and is among the MLB leaders in ERA and shutouts, as well.
Charlie Root is the all-time winningest pitcher in the history of the Chicago Cubs. He recorded 201 wins for the team, while also being the all-time leader in innings pitched and games played.
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