The Top 40 Pitchers in Baseball History, Ranked

#33: Grover Cleveland Alexander

“Old Pete” didn’t need flash to make history—he let the numbers speak. 373 wins, 90 shutouts, and three Triple Crowns over two decades of command and endurance. Despite battling epilepsy and alcohol, Alexander was a fixture of early baseball brilliance.

He won 30 or more games in three consecutive seasons and led the league in ERA and strikeouts multiple times. In the 1926 World Series, he famously struck out Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded—hungover, no less. His life was complicated. His greatness was not.