300 win club

In Major League Baseball, the 300 win club is an informal term applied to the group of pitchers who have won 300 or more games in their careers. There are currently 24 pitchers to have accomplished this feat.

History

The club's "founding member" was Pud Galvin in 1888. Six pitchers entered the club in the 19th century, with a seventh (Cy Young) joining in 1901. Early in the history of professional baseball, starting rotations of two men were commonplace, giving the best pitchers far more chances to earn wins than in today's game. Conversely, the rigor required for a two-man rotation meant that most pitching careers didn't last more than a decade or so (Cy Young being the major exception). In addition, the medical treatments then available were minimal; if a pitcher 'blew out his arm' then his career was over. Four more pitchers would join the club in the first quarter of the 20th century.

However, only three pitchers scored their 300th win between 1924 and 1982; for two of them (Early Wynn and Lefty Grove), it was the final win of their career and they both struggled in their last season to achieve it. This dearth of 300-game winners may be explained by the offensive explosion due to the abolition of the spitball in 1921, later changes in the baseball, World War II military service (in the cases of Bob Feller and Red Ruffing), and the advent of the home run as a major part of the game, thanks mainly to Babe Ruth. Once the home run became commonplace, physical and mental demands on pitchers dramatically increased, leading to the creation of the four-man starting rotation.

Between 1982 and 1990, the 300-win club gained six more members. This may be partly explained as a consequence of the era of free agency that began in the mid-1970s. Free agency led to unheard-of player salaries, which encouraged many older pitchers to stay in the game longer than they might have in the past. Another part of the explanation is increasing sophistication of training methods and sports medicine, which allowed players to maintain a high competitive level for a longer time. Additionally, reduced pitch counts and less of a demand for complete games led to pitchers' arms lasting longer and fewer hurlers burning out at a young age. A very good example of this is Phil Niekro, who was still under 200 wins at his 40th birthday, yet finished his career in his late 40s with 318 wins. Niekro's success also can be explained by his throwing a knuckleball, a pitch that takes far less of a toll on a pitcher's arm. Many of the pitchers who joined in this era, such as Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, and Niekro, only had a couple of 20+ win seasons and mainly achieved the feat by pitching well into their 40s. Others continued to follow suit into the early 21st Century, such as Tom Glavine, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson, proving that better pitcher management systems and reduced arm strain were more than compensating for the change to a five-man rotation.

Future club possibilities

Following Randy Johnson's retirement, Mike Mussina came only 30 wins away from the mark and could have won 300 with a few more good years, but he decided to hang up his spikes at the age of 40 after a 20-win season. Jamie Moyer also ran out of steam in his 40s. Andy Pettitte recorded his 250th win in 2013, but he had lost a year to retirement, and then decided to announce his retirement for good effective at the end of that season and well shy of the mark. Roy Halladay was also in the top five active pitchers for wins, but he too announced his retirement after the 2013 season. The most serious possibility to be next seemed like New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia who recorded win number 200 in 2013 while still only 32 and was pitching just below his prime level, but he struggled with health issues in 2014 and was largely ineffective the following two seasons, slowing his progression significantly. During that time, he was passed by Bartolo Colon, who recorded his 200th win in 2014 and had some good seasons after that but was already well into his 40s.

Several pitchers could eventually join the club, such as Clayton Kershaw, who reached 200 career wins at age 35 in 2023, or Justin Verlander who reached 150 wins during his age 31 season in 2014 and also reached 200 wins in his age 35 season. However late-career injury issues have hampered the progress of both pitchers. Zack Greinke eclipsed 200 wins in 2019, also in his age 35 campaign, so should he pitch into his 40s, 300 wins is not out of the question. As of the start of 2023, no pitchers under 30 had even reached 75 wins.

However, it should be noted that pitchers who post high win totals in their 20s are not usually those who end up in the club; the key to achieving the mark is longevity after the age of 30, and particularly continued success in the second half of that decade and beyond. For example, Roy Oswalt posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in 2004-2005, becoming only the third pitcher in the new millennium to do so, but his career stalled after he crossed the 150-win threshold. Verlander, himself, faltered in his early 30s and his chances diminished greatly, even though he eventually bounced back. Other potential candidates included Johan Santana, whose career was derailed by injuries. At present, among established starters, Kershaw might lead the pack in the hunt for 300. Bill James' Favorite Toy, a statistical projection tool, shows little confidence in anyone eventually reaching the mark, giving all relevant active pitchers a zero percent chance of getting there (in fact, most pitchers are not even on pace for 200 career wins). But reaching 300 wins always requires beating the odds. Through age 30, for example, Tom Glavine's chances were only 6 percent.

While many baseball observers believe that it may take decades, if ever, to produce another 300-game winner unless changes occur along the way that increase potential win totals (such as de-emphasizing relief pitching), such commentators have regularly been proven wrong in the past. The odds are that at least one other pitcher who is currently active (as of the mid 2010s) will join the club by the early 2020s.

Members

Pitcher	Wins	Date of 300th	Teams
Cy Young	511	July 3, 1901	Cle (NL), Bos (AL), StL (NL), Bos (NL), Cle (AL)
Walter Johnson	417	May 14, 1920	Was (AL)
Grover Cleveland Alexander	373	September 20, 1924	Phi (NL), Chi (NL), StL (NL)
Christy Mathewson	373	June 28, 1912	NY (NL), Cin
Warren Spahn	363	August 11, 1961	Bos/Mil, NY (NL), SF
Pud Galvin	361	June 4, 1888	Buf, Pit (Amer. Assoc.), Pit (NL), Pit (Players League), StL (NL)
Kid Nichols	361	July 7, 1900	Bos, StL, Phi (NL)
Greg Maddux	355	August 7, 2004	Chi (NL), Atl, LA (NL), SD
Roger Clemens	354	June 13, 2003	Bos, Tor, NY (AL), Hou (NL), NY (AL)
Tim Keefe	342	June 4, 1890	Troy, NY (Amer. Assoc.), NY (NL), Phi (NL)
Steve Carlton	329	September 23, 1983	StL (NL), Phi (NL), SF, Chi (AL), Cle, Min
John Clarkson	328	September 21, 1892	Worc, Chi (NL), Bos (NL), Cle (NL)
Eddie Plank	326	September 11, 1915	Phi (AL), StL (Fed. League), StL (AL)
Nolan Ryan	324	July 31, 1990	NY (NL), Cal, Hou (NL), Tex
Don Sutton	324	June 18, 1986	LA (NL), Hou (NL), Mil (AL), Oak (AL), Cal
Phil Niekro	318	October 6, 1985	Mil/Atl (NL), NY (AL), Cle, Tor
Gaylord Perry	314	May 6, 1982	SF, Cle, Tex, SD, NY (AL), Atl, Sea, KC
Tom Seaver	311	August 4, 1985	NY (NL), Cin, Chi (AL), Bos (AL)
Charles Radbourn	310	May 14, 1891	Prov, Bos (NL), Bos (Players League), Cin
Mickey Welch	307	August 11, 1890	Troy, NY (NL)
Tom Glavine	305	August 5, 2007	Atl, NY (NL)
Randy Johnson	303	June 4, 2009	Mon, Sea, Hou (NL), Ari, NY (AL), SF
Lefty Grove	300	July 25, 1941	Phi (AL), Bos (AL)
Early Wynn	300	July 13, 1963	Was, Cle, Chi (AL)

Closest Active Players

as of end of 2023 season.

Justin Verlander	257	Det, Hou (AL), NY (NL)
Zack Greinke	225	KC, Mil (NL), LA (AL), LA (NL), Ari, Hou (AL)
Max Scherzer	214	Ari, Det, Was (NL), LA (NL), NY (NL), Tex
Clayton Kershaw	210	LA (NL)
Adam Wainwright	200	STL (NL)

Further Reading

• Joe Posnanski: "Is 300-wins club done adding members?", mlb.com, February 22, 2017. [1]
• Dan Schlossberg: The 300 Club: Have We Seen the Last of Baseball's 300-Game Winners?, Ascend Books, Overland Park, KS, 2010.
• Dan Schlossberg: "Will there ever be another 300-game winner? Baseball Hall of Fame's standards have changed", USA Today, July 19, 2019. [2]

Related Sites

• Career leaders for wins