In every baseball game the attention of the crowd almost always centers on the performance of one particular team member and that is the pitcher. The pitcher is undoubtedly the main man of every baseball team and his role always gets the most pressure. One may argue that all that baseball is a team effort and the pitcher alone doesn’t make the team. Indeed it is true the pitcher is but one man but when you study the facts the pitcher is indeed the heart and soul of every team. Everyone relies on the pitcher to deliver a performance which if he does mean the opposing team cannot score and that is what’s most important. Because of this undeniable fact, it has always been the pitchers who achieved superstar and even legendary status in Major League Baseball. Those who rank among the elite pitchers go down ceremoniously in history. Now here are some of the most exciting and legendary pitchers in the century old history of this popular game.

Walter Johnson

He played for the Washington Senators from 1907 through 1927. During the course of his stay he managed to lead his team into a 417 win overall throughout his career. He is the record holder for garnering 110 shutouts in total. Other achievements include winning 30 games twice in one season and winning 20 games 10 times or more also in a single season.

Cy Young

This legendary player played for the Cleveland Spiders from the age of 23 until he reached 44. This stunning career started in 1890 until 1911. His record includes winning atleast 20games in a season for 15 times. For five times he also extended this record by winning more than 30 games in separate seasons and he garnered a total of 511 victories throughout his long career. He was constantly awarded the best pitcher title during his time.

Sandy Koufax

He is known as the left handed wonder during his time. Of all the greatest pitchers in history, he was the one who had the best four seasons ever recorded for a pitcher during the early days of the 20th century. This master of the fastball and curveball won 97 games with only 32 loses from 1963 through 1966. Sadly, he was forced to retire at the age of 30 for an elbow problem but his colourful career left the world of baseball in awe.

Christy Mathewson

A legendary pitching matchup is never complete without mentioning Christy Mathewson. He won at least 22 games every year with some reaching up to more than 30 victories. This made up his total of 373 victories in all. He was legendary for his feat in the World Series against Philadelphia Athletics wherein in all of their winning games he has allowed no runs for the opposition.

Nolan Ryan

He is known for collecting the most strikeouts but also the most walks of any pitcher in Major League history. He played for 27 seasons during which he achieved his total of 324 wins and following close behind is his 292 losses. Throughout his career he scored 5,714 strikeouts but also having 2,795 walks.