Our love affair with career milestones has resulted in really good players being overlooked, none more than former Twins and Mets pitcher, Johan Santana. Let’s take a look at his unique achievements:
1). Over 12 seasons, Santana posted a lofty .641 winning percentage, which is the 10th best mark of all pitchers debuting since 1960 (min. 10 seasons).
2). His 136 ERA+ is the 5th highest in the last 100 years (min. 10 seasons).
3). Santana is the only player in MLB history to lead the league in ERA+, WHIP, H/9, strikeouts, and SO/9 in three consecutive seasons.
4). He is one of only four pitchers to lead the league in WHIP for four consecutive seasons (Carl Hubbell, Sandy Koufax, and Clayton Kershaw).
5). Since 1920, he is the only pitcher to lead the league in wins, ERA, strikeouts, innings, games started, ERA+, WHIP, H/9, and SO/9 in the same season.
6). He is one of only seven players to lead the league in ERA+ for three consecutive seasons (Christy Mathewson, Lefty Grove, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, and Clayton Kershaw).
7). Since 1920, he is one of only four pitchers to lead the league in H/9 for three consecutive seasons (Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, and Nolan Ryan).
8) He led the league in War for Pitchers three consecutive seasons. In the last 100 years, only Lefty Grove, Robin Roberts, and Randy Johnson have longer streaks.
9). He is the only pitcher in baseball history with multiple Cy Young awards and five top-5 finishes in the Cy Young voting who is not in the Hall of Fame.
Notice that every pitcher listed along side Santana above is in the Hall of Fame. While the list of unique accomplishments on Santana’s resume is befitting of a sure-fire Hall of Famer, he was resoundingly rejected by Hall of Fame voters to the tune of just 2.4% approval. Meanwhile, Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg—who, like Santana, didn’t quite nail the longevity component—are celebrated Hall of Famers, and routinely included on top-100 lists, despite playing in significantly less competitive eras. If we’re not going to hold it against Koufax and Greenberg, then we probably shouldn’t hold it against Santana. Hopefully, The Era Committee rights this wrong.