5. C.C. Sabathia, New York Yankees
C.C. has a lot in common with our number 8 entry, in that he too came into the league on fire in 2001 and he too had not had a superstar named Ichiro Suzuki arrive the same year Sabathia would have won rookie of the year too. He finished his rookie season with a 17-5 record. Sabathia would become a fixture in the league top 10 for strikeouts, innings pitched, complete games, and strikeouts per 9 innings. He would become an All-Star in 2003 and again in 2004. In 2007 Sabathia would win his first Cy Young award with a 19-7 record. After a slow start by the Indians in 2008 he would be traded to the Brewers and have one of the best finishes to a year imaginable. He would go 11-2 for the Brewers with an amazing 1.65 ERA, pitch 6 complete games and even be considered for the NL Cy Young even though he only spend half the season in the National League. He has a record of 135-81 since 2000 with 1590 strikeouts.
4. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees
Andy Pettitte is one of the best regular and post season pitchers in MLB history. He has a record of 148-89 since the 2000 season to go with 1441 strikeouts and never having a losing season. But what makes Pettitte
unique is what he does in the post season, he is the all-time record holder for most starts and innings pitched in the post-season and he is second in World Series starts. Some think his reputation has been tarnished with the admission of HGH usage, but even he admitted that when he used he pitched worse that he did before he used it. Pettitte is a sure fire hall of famer and even though he has been overshadowed by teammates such as Roger Clemens and now C.C. Sabathia he has proven to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Pettitte is a 2 time All-Star and 4 time World Series Champion.
3. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
Halladay is as old school as it gets in the MLB today. He averages over 7 innings pitched per outing and has pitched 47 complete games since the 2000 season. Halladay’s record of 139-69 with 1400 strikeouts is impressive if only because the older he gets the better he pitches. He is a 6 time All-Star and won the Cy Young award in 2003 and continued to be in the top 10 in voting nearly every year since. Halladay has one of the best strikeout to walk ratios in the majors today. Halladay’s win total is misleading as the Blue Jays have barely averaged 3 runs a game in his starts since the 2004 season. He is considered one of the 3 most feared pitchers in the MLB today with Tim Lincecum and Johan Santana.
2. Johan Santana, New York Mets
Santana is arguably the most dominant pitcher in the MLB today. Santana started his career with little success and mostly as a reliever, but when he was moved into the starting lineup in 2003 he never looked back. In 2004 Santana put on a legendary second half performance one that saw him win 13 games on his way to a 20-6 record, lead the league in strikeouts and a land slide win for his first Cy Young award. Santana would see a bit of a slump to start 2005 but he still pitched well enough to finish 3rd in the Cy Young Award voting. In 2006 Santana firmly established himself and games most dominant pitcher when he won the pitching Triple Crown. He completed the season leading the majors in ERA with a 2.77, strikeouts with 245, and tied in wins with 19. It came as no surprise the he won his second Cy Young Award in 2006, becoming the fifth pitcher to win the award by a unanimous vote twice. Since the 2000 season Santana has a record of 122-60 with 1733 strikeouts with an ERA just over 3. While Santana missed more than half of his starts in 2009 with an injury he is without a doubt on his way to an impressive career.
1. Randy Johnson, San Francisco Giants
Our number 1 pitcher since 2000 will draw some debate but rest assured no pitcher has been better. Johnson is one of the best pitchers of the modern generation if not the best. Since the 2000 season Johnson has a record of 143-78 with an astounding 2182 strikeouts. The Big Unit was the games ultimate pitcher during the 2000, 2001, and 2002 seasons, winning 64 games and losing just 18. He would throw 9 shutouts, have over 1000 strikeouts and win the Cy Young Awards all three seasons. He would claim 3 wins in the 2001 World Series and claim the MVP Award for the series with teammate Curt Schilling. In 2002, Johnson won the pitching Triple Crown, leading the NL in wins with 24, an ERA of 2.32, and 334 strikeouts, and won his fourth consecutive Cy Young Award (99, 00, 01, and 02). In 2004 Johnson pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves and was the oldest pitcher in history to pull off the feat. While Johnson’s win totals and durability would start to drop the last few years Johnson’s early success in the decade is what makes him the game’s best pitcher on this list.
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