In my opinion, the best right handed pitcher in the history of baseball was Walter "Big Train" Johnson. He pitched in the early 1900s and was very dominant for a long time. He wound up with over 400 total victories, an ERA+ of 149, and sustained dominance through the 1910s.

The best left-handed pitcher ever was Lefty Grove. He finished with exactly 300 wins, and was a great pitcher throughout the late 1920s and into the 1930s. He also finished with an ERA+ of 148, and was a great pitcher at a time when offense was becoming better and better.

In more modern times, two great pitchers are Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux. Both pitchers have stayed pretty healthy and very good for lots and lots of years, and both had great peaks. I would probably choose Clemens over Maddux (and put Clemens into the top 3 pitchers ever), but both were and are unbelievable pitchers.

The best peak ever belonged to Pedro Martinez, whose stretch from 1997-2003 was brilliant. Also, his 2000 season was probably the best single pitching season in the history of baseball.

So these guys are the best of the best in terms of pitchers to ever pitch in the MLB... there are certainly lots of other great ones, but these are the guys that stick out to me.

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