Jacob deGrom
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Left • Throws: Right
6-4, 180lb (193cm, 81kg)
Team: Texas Rangers (majors)
Born: June 19, 1988
Today, I'm minding my own business with MLB Network on TV in the background and I half heard that Jacob deGrom is one of greatest pitchers since 1920 blah, blah, blah ... with at least 1,500 innings.
I thought: what? How many innings? Babe Ruth had most of his innings before 1920 pitching for the Red Sox but the Babe had 1,221 total regular season innings, including 31 with the Yankees (5-0). 1,500 for a starting pitcher seems irrelevant.
deGrom won consecutive National League Cy Young awards as best pitcher in 2018 and 2019 with the Mets. His innings pitched in those seasons were 217 and 204. But since then 2025 with Texas was his next season with at least 100 innings: 172 and ERA+ 126, which is good but nothing extraordinary. 100 is league average. 126 is 26% above league average.
With 88 innings so far in 2026 with ERA+ only 107, deGrom is at 1,626 innings for his career. Career ERA+ 148.
The list of Hall of Fame pitchers since 1920 includes some whose career numbers are truncated. For instance, Walter Johnson's career started in 1907 and his full innings were 5,914. The list has 58 pitchers, including relief pitchers. The point is to look at their innings, not their other stats.
https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/EYiqn
For combined seasons, since 1920, Playing in the AL or NL, a member of the Hall of Fame, in the regular season, requiring Innings Pitched >= 903, sorted by ascending Innings Pitched.
The ridiculous 903 innings is to include the ridiculous election of relief pitcher Billy Wagner.
Here are the fewest innings:
| Rk | Player | IP | From | To | Age | W | L | Dec | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Wagner | 903.0 | 1995 | 2010 | 23-38 | 47 | 40 | .540 | 87 | 2.31 | 853 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 422 |
| 2 | Rube Marquard | 1000.1 | 1920 | 1925 | 33-38 | 52 | 60 | .464 | 112 | 3.93 | 176 | 130 | 47 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Bruce Sutter | 1042.0 | 1976 | 1988 | 23-35 | 68 | 71 | .489 | 139 | 2.83 | 661 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 300 |
| 4 | Trevor Hoffman | 1089.1 | 1993 | 2010 | 25-42 | 61 | 75 | .449 | 136 | 2.87 | 1035 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 601 |
| 5 | Mariano Rivera | 1283.2 | 1995 | 2013 | 25-43 | 82 | 60 | .577 | 142 | 2.21 | 1115 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 652 |
| 6 | Lee Smith | 1289.1 | 1980 | 1997 | 22-39 | 71 | 92 | .436 | 163 | 3.03 | 1022 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 478 |
| 7 | Rollie Fingers | 1701.1 | 1968 | 1985 | 21-38 | 114 | 118 | .491 | 232 | 2.90 | 944 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 341 |
| 8 | Rich Gossage | 1809.1 | 1972 | 1994 | 20-42 | 124 | 107 | .537 | 231 | 3.01 | 1002 | 37 | 16 | 0 | 310 |
| 9 | Walter Johnson | 1823.2 | 1920 | 1927 | 32-39 | 120 | 88 | .577 | 208 | 3.33 | 258 | 227 | 143 | 24 | 12 |
| 10 | Stan Coveleski | 1933.2 | 1920 | 1928 | 30-38 | 133 | 89 | .599 | 222 | 3.20 | 274 | 253 | 137 | 21 | 9 |
| 11 | Dizzy Dean | 1967.1 | 1930 | 1947 | 20-37 | 150 | 83 | .644 | 233 | 3.02 | 317 | 230 | 154 | 26 | 31 |
| 12 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 2254.1 | 1952 | 1972 | 29-49 | 143 | 122 | .540 | 265 | 2.52 | 1070 | 52 | 20 | 5 | 228 |
| 13 | Sandy Koufax | 2324.1 | 1955 | 1966 | 19-30 | 165 | 87 | .655 | 252 | 2.76 | 397 | 314 | 137 | 40 |
Dean and Koufax were known to have had great but short careers. Will deGrom's innings even reach Dean much less Koufax? Among the fewest 8, only Marquard was a starting pitcher. His career started in 1908 and his innings were 3,306. That's more than twice deGrom's 1,626.
This is not meant as a criticism of deGrom. He has legitimate credentials and he has battled injuries for years.
My problem is with MLB Network. Geez, I know they need to fill time but use some common sense.
