Jacob deGrom: one of greatest pitchers since 1920 ... with at least 1,500 innings. How many innings?

Jacob deGrom

Position: Pitcher

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Right

6-4, 180lb (193cm, 81kg)

Team: Texas Rangers (majors)

Born: June 19, 1988 (Age: 38-011d) in DeLand, FL us

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	W-L%	Dec	ERA	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.