The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #53 Grover Cleveland Alexander

Next up at #53 is Grover Cleveland Alexander, or Ol’ Pete. Pete was one of Major League Baseball’s original OGs as he threw straight fire for the 10-year stretch from 1911-1920. Over that decade, Pete would lead the league in innings seven times, wins, WAR for pitchers, strikeouts, complete games, and shutouts six times, and ERA five times. During this remarkable run, Pete put together three consecutive 30-win seasons and four consecutive 350-inning seasons. No pitcher in the modern era has duplicated either accomplishment. Pete’s 373 career wins are tied for the third-most all-time. He’s fourth all-time in WAR among pitchers and second in shutouts. Pete is one of only five pitchers in the modern era with at least 3,500 innings and a .642 winning percentage, and one of only six pitchers in the modern era with at least 3,500 innings and a 135 ERA+.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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