Since 1998, there have been 30 teams in
Major League Baseball (MLB). It is very rare for a
pitcher to record a win against every team. In earlier times, two factors made it nearly impossible to defeat all teams in both leagues (even before expansion increased the number to 30):
Before the era of
free-agency , in which players are free to move to another team at the end of their contract, a pitcher would play for only a few teams, and could not, of course, win a game against his own team.
Before
inter-league play began in June 1997, a pitcher would see only half of the 30 teams in any single season, unless traded to a team in the other league. Even with inter-league play, a pitcher may not have his spot in a typical 5-man rotation match the games in the single 3- or 4-game series against another team, and only a few teams from the other league were played in any season prior to 2023.
In any case, defeating all teams is more likely only if a pitcher has a long career. In 2023, the MLB switched to a more balanced schedule, and for the first time in MLB history, every team played every other team in each league at least three times. MLB teams now play 1 three-game series against 14 of the other league's teams, with the home team switching every year, and 2 two-game series (one series at home, one away) against the team in the other league deemed their "geographic rival." They also play more games against non-division teams in their league, and as a result, play less intra-divisional games.
[1]
Because of the schedule changes, it is easier now than ever before for MLB pitchers to win a game against every team in the league. That being said, it is still an extremely difficult feat due to five different pitchers being in a starting rotation on any given team, the longevity and high
winning percentage needed by a pitcher to be able to win games consistently, and other unforeseen and random barriers that very from player to player.
30 team winners
As of May 10, 2023
[update] , there have been 21 pitchers who have beaten all 30 teams. Only 14 teams have had a pitcher accomplish the feat while on their roster, with the
San Francisco Giants and
New York Yankees the only franchises to have three such pitchers:
Randy Johnson ,
Barry Zito , and
Tim Hudson for the Giants, and
Kevin Brown ,
Javier Vázquez , and
Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. Johnson is so far the only member to be elected to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame .
Name
Date feat was accomplished
Team
Opponent
Score
Al Leiter
April 30, 2002
[2]
[3]
New York Mets
@
Arizona Diamondbacks
10–1
Kevin Brown
March 31, 2004
New York Yankees
@
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
12–1
[b]
Terry Mulholland
July 19, 2004
[4]
Minnesota Twins
@
Detroit Tigers
3–1
Curt Schilling
September 10, 2004
Boston Red Sox
@
Seattle Mariners
13–2
Woody Williams
September 26, 2006
San Diego Padres
@
St. Louis Cardinals
7–5
Jamie Moyer
May 26, 2008
Philadelphia Phillies
vs.
Colorado Rockies
20–5
Randy Johnson *
April 19, 2009
San Francisco Giants
vs.
Arizona Diamondbacks
2–0
Barry Zito
June 12, 2010
San Francisco Giants
vs.
Oakland Athletics
5–4
Javier Vázquez
July 21, 2010
[5]
New York Yankees
vs.
Los Angeles Angels
10–6
Vicente Padilla
August 10, 2010
Los Angeles Dodgers
@
Philadelphia Phillies
15–9
Derek Lowe
May 10, 2012
Cleveland Indians
@
Boston Red Sox
8–3
A. J. Burnett
July 21, 2012
Pittsburgh Pirates
vs.
Miami Marlins
5–1
Dan Haren
August 9, 2013
[6]
Washington Nationals
vs.
Philadelphia Phillies
9–2
Kyle Lohse
June 26, 2015
[7]
Milwaukee Brewers
vs.
Minnesota Twins
10–4
Tim Hudson
July 26, 2015
[8]
San Francisco Giants
vs.
Oakland Athletics
4–3
John Lackey
April 18, 2016
[9]
Chicago Cubs
@
St. Louis Cardinals
5–0
Max Scherzer
May 11, 2016
[10]
Washington Nationals
vs.
Detroit Tigers
3–2
[c]
Bartolo Colon
August 20, 2017
[11]
Minnesota Twins
vs.
Arizona Diamondbacks
12–5
Zack Greinke
September 14, 2019
[12]
Houston Astros
@
Kansas City Royals
6–1
Gerrit Cole
July 10, 2021
[13]
New York Yankees
@
Houston Astros
1-0
Justin Verlander
May 10, 2023
[14]
New York Mets
@
Cincinnati Reds
2-1
Notes
^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.
^ In Tokyo, Japan.
^ Scherzer is the first pitcher to accomplish the feat with a complete game. He also struck out 20 batters, tying an MLB record for a nine-inning game.
Active pitchers approaching 30 wins
29 team winners
As of November 20, 2023
[update] , five active pitchers have defeated 29 teams.
28 team winners
As of November 20, 2023
[update] , four active pitchers have defeated 28 teams.
27 team winners
As of November 20, 2023
[update] , two active pitchers have defeated 27 teams.
26 team winners
As of November 20, 2023
[update] , eleven active pitchers have defeated 26 teams.
Trevor Cahill – has not defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves,
Cincinnati Reds , or New York Mets.
Carlos Carrasco — has not defeated the Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, or St. Louis Cardinals.
Johnny Cueto – has not defeated the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, or Texas Rangers.
Sonny Gray - has not defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, or
Colorado Rockies .
Rich Hill - has not defeated the
Chicago White Sox ,
Los Angeles Angels , Los Angeles Dodgers, or
Minnesota Twins .
Dallas Keuchel - has not defeated the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros,
Milwaukee Brewers , or
San Francisco Giants .
Jose Quintana — has not defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, or Philadelphia Phillies.
Robbie Ray - has not defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox,
Detroit Tigers , or
Kansas City Royals .
Blake Snell - has not defeated the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, or Philadelphia Phillies.
Jameson Taillon - has not defeated the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, or
Washington Nationals .
Taijuan Walker - has not defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, or Toronto Blue Jays.
References
^
"Play ball vs. all: MLB teams facing other 29 in '23" . ESPN.com . 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2024-04-23 .
^ Lennon, David (May 1, 2002).
"All Teams Know 'L' In Leiter" . newsday.com . Newsday. Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^ Jaffe, Chris (April 30, 2012).
"10th anniversary: first man to beat 30 franchises" . hardballtimes.com . The Hardball Times. Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^
"Mullholland Beats All – Veteran Left-hander Tops Detroit, His 30th Victim" .
Toledo Blade . Associated Press. July 20, 2004. p. C1. Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^ Associated Press (July 21, 2010).
"Javier Vazquez Becomes Third Active Pitcher to Beat All 30 Teams in Yankees Win" . nesn.com . New England Sports Network. Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^ Cassavell, A.J. (August 9, 2013).
"Washington Nationals right-hander Dan Haren tops the Philadelphia Phillies to become the 13th pitcher to beat all 30 Major League teams" . Major League Baseball . Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^ Gruman, Andrew (June 27, 2015).
"Milwaukee Brewers' Kyle Lohse completes rare feat with defeat of Minnesota Twins" . Fox Sports . Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^ McCauley, Janie (27 July 2015).
"Hudson beats his former A's, now has W against all 30 teams" . Yahoo! Sports . Associated Press.
^ Sharkey-Gotlieb, Simon (April 19, 2016).
"Lackey becomes 16th pitcher to beat all 30 teams" . thescore.com . Score Media Ventures. Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^ Birenbaum, Jonah (May 12, 2016).
"Scherzer's Gem Makes Him 17th Pitcher to Beat All 30 Teams" . thescore.com . Score Media Ventures. Retrieved 29 September 2016 .
^
"Twins' Bartolo Colon Beats Diamondbacks to Accomplish Rare MLB Feat" . 20 August 2017.
^
"Greinke slows Royals for wins over all MLB clubs" . MLB.com . Retrieved 2019-09-15 .
^
"Yankees vs. Astros - Game Recap - July 10, 2021 - ESPN" .
^
"Mets vs. Reds - Game Recap - May 10, 2023" .
MLB.com .