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The best single pitching seasons by players 40 and over, 1871 to 2025, ranked by ERA+ (100 x league ERA / pitcher ERA, same league-season, no park adjustment). The top season: Hoyt Wilhelm, age 44, 1967 (ERA+ 246). Filter by era below; every row with a committed career page links to it, and players outside our top-3,500 career-page set render as plain names.
Showing 127 of 127 ranked seasons
| # | Player | Age | Year | Team | ERA+ | ERA | W | L | SV | SO | IP | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 44 | 1967 | CHA | 246 | 1.31 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 76 | 89 | 7.7 |
| 2 | Mariano Rivera | 40 | 2010 | NYA | 230 | 1.8 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 45 | 60 | 6.8 |
| 3 | Trevor Hoffman | 41 | 2009 | MIL | 229 | 1.83 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 48 | 54 | 8.0 |
| 4 | Doug Jones | 40 | 1997 | ML4 | 226 | 2.02 | 6 | 6 | 36 | 82 | 80.3 | 9.2 |
| 5 | Roger Clemens | 42 | 2005 | HOU | 225 | 1.87 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 185 | 211.3 | 7.9 |
| 6 | Mariano Rivera | 41 | 2011 | NYA | 214 | 1.91 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 60 | 61.3 | 8.8 |
| 7 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 43 | 1966 | CHA | 207 | 1.66 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 61 | 81.3 | 6.8 |
| 8 | Darren Oliver | 41 | 2012 | TOR | 198 | 2.06 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 52 | 56.7 | 8.3 |
| 9 | Red Ruffing | 41 | 1946 | NYA | 198 | 1.77 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 61 | 2.8 |
| 10 | Roger Clemens | 43 | 2006 | HOU | 195 | 2.3 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 102 | 113.3 | 8.1 |
| 11 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 42 | 1965 | CHA | 191 | 1.81 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 106 | 144 | 6.6 |
| 12 | Cy Young | 41 | 1908 | BOS | 189 | 1.26 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 150 | 299 | 4.5 |
| 13 | Mariano Rivera | 43 | 2013 | NYA | 189 | 2.11 | 6 | 2 | 44 | 54 | 64 | 7.6 |
| 14 | Woodie Fryman | 41 | 1981 | MON | 185 | 1.88 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 25 | 43 | 5.2 |
| 15 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 41 | 1964 | CHA | 182 | 1.99 | 12 | 9 | 27 | 95 | 131.3 | 6.5 |
| 16 | Joe Heving | 40 | 1941 | CLE | 181 | 2.29 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 70.7 | 2.3 |
| 17 | Joe Heving | 43 | 1944 | CLE | 176 | 1.96 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 46 | 119.7 | 3.5 |
| 18 | Arthur Rhodes | 40 | 2010 | CIN | 175 | 2.29 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 55 | 8.2 |
| 19 | Ted Lyons | 41 | 1942 | CHA | 174 | 2.1 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 50 | 180.3 | 2.5 |
| 20 | Satchel Paige | 41 | 1948 | CLE | 173 | 2.48 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 72.7 | 5.3 |
| 21 | Dutch Leonard | 43 | 1952 | CHN | 173 | 2.16 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 37 | 66.7 | 5.0 |
| 22 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 45 | 1968 | CHA | 172 | 1.73 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 72 | 93.7 | 6.9 |
| 23 | Earl Caldwell | 41 | 1946 | CHA | 168 | 2.08 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 90.7 | 4.2 |
| 24 | Randy Johnson | 40 | 2004 | ARI | 165 | 2.6 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 290 | 245.7 | 10.6 |
| 25 | Roberto Hernandez | 40 | 2005 | NYN | 163 | 2.58 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 61 | 69.7 | 7.9 |
| 26 | Woodie Fryman | 40 | 1980 | MON | 160 | 2.25 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 59 | 80 | 6.6 |
| 27 | Early Wynn | 43 | 1963 | CLE | 159 | 2.28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 55.3 | 4.7 |
| 28 | Pete Alexander | 40 | 1927 | SLN | 155 | 2.52 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 48 | 268 | 1.6 |
| 29 | Dennis Martinez | 41 | 1995 | CLE | 153 | 3.08 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 99 | 187 | 4.8 |
| 30 | Bartolo Colon | 40 | 2013 | OAK | 151 | 2.65 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 117 | 190.3 | 5.5 |
| 31 | Art Fowler | 40 | 1963 | LAA | 150 | 2.42 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 53 | 89.3 | 5.3 |
| 32 | Dutch Leonard | 42 | 1951 | CHN | 150 | 2.64 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 81.7 | 3.3 |
| 33 | Eddie Plank | 41 | 1917 | SLA | 149 | 1.79 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 26 | 131 | 1.8 |
| 34 | Nolan Ryan | 40 | 1987 | HOU | 148 | 2.76 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 270 | 211.7 | 11.5 |
| 35 | Johnny Niggeling | 40 | 1944 | WS1 | 148 | 2.32 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 121 | 206 | 5.3 |
| 36 | Herb Pennock | 40 | 1934 | BOS | 148 | 3.05 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 62 | 2.3 |
| 37 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 46 | 1969 | CAL | 147 | 2.47 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 65.7 | 7.3 |
| 38 | Jesse Orosco | 41 | 1998 | BAL | 146 | 3.18 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 50 | 56.7 | 7.9 |
| 39 | Rich Hill | 40 | 2020 | MIN | 146 | 3.03 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 38.7 | 7.2 |
| 40 | Eppa Rixey | 41 | 1932 | CIN | 146 | 2.66 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 111.7 | 1.1 |
| 41 | Doug Brocail | 40 | 2007 | SDN | 145 | 3.05 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 76.7 | 5.0 |
| 42 | Jack Quinn | 47 | 1931 | BRO | 145 | 2.66 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 25 | 64.3 | 3.5 |
| 43 | Roger Clemens | 41 | 2004 | HOU | 144 | 2.98 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 218 | 214.3 | 9.2 |
| 44 | Roberto Hernandez | 41 | 2006 | PIT | 144 | 3.11 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 48 | 63.7 | 6.8 |
| 45 | Joe Berry | 40 | 1945 | PHA | 143 | 2.35 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 130.3 | 3.5 |
| 46 | Tommy John | 43 | 1986 | NYA | 143 | 2.93 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 70.7 | 3.6 |
| 47 | John Smoltz | 40 | 2007 | ATL | 142 | 3.11 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 197 | 205.7 | 8.6 |
| 48 | Andy Pettitte | 40 | 2012 | NYA | 142 | 2.87 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 69 | 75.3 | 8.2 |
| 49 | Takashi Saito | 40 | 2010 | ATL | 142 | 2.83 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 69 | 54 | 11.5 |
| 50 | Diomedes Olivo | 43 | 1962 | PIT | 142 | 2.77 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 66 | 84.3 | 7.0 |
| 51 | Boom-Boom Beck | 40 | 1945 | CIN | 142 | 2.68 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 110.7 | 2.4 |
| 52 | Nolan Ryan | 44 | 1991 | TEX | 141 | 2.91 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 203 | 173 | 10.6 |
| 53 | Ellis Kinder | 40 | 1955 | BOS | 140 | 2.84 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 31 | 66.7 | 4.2 |
| 54 | Jamie Moyer | 40 | 2003 | SEA | 139 | 3.27 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 129 | 215 | 5.4 |
| 55 | Justin Verlander | 40 | 2023 | NYN | 139 | 3.15 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 81 | 94.3 | 7.7 |
| 56 | Jack Quinn | 44 | 1928 | PHA | 139 | 2.9 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 211.3 | 1.8 |
| 57 | Larry Andersen | 40 | 1993 | PHI | 138 | 2.92 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 67 | 61.7 | 9.8 |
| 58 | Satchel Paige | 42 | 1949 | CLE | 138 | 3.04 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 54 | 83 | 5.9 |
| 59 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 40 | 1963 | CHA | 137 | 2.64 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 111 | 136.3 | 7.3 |
| 60 | Dennis Martinez | 40 | 1994 | CLE | 137 | 3.52 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 92 | 176.7 | 4.7 |
| 61 | Don McMahon | 40 | 1970 | SFN | 137 | 2.96 | 9 | 5 | 19 | 74 | 94.3 | 7.1 |
| 62 | Doug Jones | 42 | 1999 | OAK | 137 | 3.55 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 63 | 104 | 5.5 |
| 63 | Mike Ryba | 42 | 1945 | BOS | 135 | 2.49 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 44 | 123 | 3.2 |
| 64 | Warren Spahn | 40 | 1961 | ML1 | 134 | 3.02 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 115 | 262.7 | 3.9 |
| 65 | Connie Marrero | 42 | 1953 | WS1 | 132 | 3.03 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 65 | 145.7 | 4.0 |
| 66 | Kent Tekulve | 40 | 1987 | PHI | 132 | 3.09 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 60 | 105 | 5.1 |
| 67 | Jesse Chavez | 40 | 2024 | ATL | 132 | 3.13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 63.3 | 7.8 |
| 68 | Sal Maglie | 40 | 1957 | BRO | 132 | 2.93 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 50 | 101.3 | 4.4 |
| 69 | Mike Timlin | 41 | 2007 | BOS | 132 | 3.42 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 55.3 | 5.0 |
| 70 | Tom Seaver | 40 | 1985 | CHA | 131 | 3.17 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 134 | 238.7 | 5.1 |
| 71 | Warren Spahn | 41 | 1962 | ML1 | 130 | 3.04 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 118 | 269.3 | 3.9 |
| 72 | Phil Niekro | 45 | 1984 | NYA | 129 | 3.09 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 136 | 215.7 | 5.7 |
| 73 | Jack Quinn | 40 | 1924 | BOS | 129 | 3.27 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 64 | 228.7 | 2.5 |
| 74 | Justin Verlander | 40 | 2023 | HOU | 129 | 3.31 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 63 | 68 | 8.3 |
| 75 | Ron Reed | 41 | 1984 | CHA | 129 | 3.08 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 57 | 73 | 7.0 |
| 76 | Cy Young | 40 | 1907 | BOS | 128 | 1.99 | 21 | 15 | 2 | 147 | 343.3 | 3.9 |
| 77 | Dennis Eckersley | 41 | 1996 | SLN | 128 | 3.3 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 49 | 60 | 7.4 |
| 78 | Warren Spahn | 42 | 1963 | ML1 | 127 | 2.6 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 102 | 259.7 | 3.5 |
| 79 | Connie Marrero | 41 | 1952 | WS1 | 127 | 2.88 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 77 | 184.3 | 3.8 |
| 80 | Fernando Rodney | 41 | 2018 | MIN | 127 | 3.36 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 70 | 64.3 | 9.8 |
| 81 | Sad Sam Jones | 40 | 1933 | CHA | 127 | 3.36 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 60 | 176.7 | 3.1 |
| 82 | LaTroy Hawkins | 40 | 2013 | NYN | 127 | 2.93 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 55 | 70.7 | 7.0 |
| 83 | Jack Quinn | 43 | 1927 | PHA | 127 | 3.26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 43 | 201.3 | 1.9 |
| 84 | Kenny Rogers | 40 | 2005 | TEX | 126 | 3.46 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 87 | 195.3 | 4.0 |
| 85 | Virgil Trucks | 40 | 1957 | KC1 | 125 | 3.03 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 55 | 116 | 4.3 |
| 86 | Doug Jones | 43 | 2000 | OAK | 125 | 3.93 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 73.3 | 6.6 |
| 87 | Dolf Luque | 42 | 1933 | NY1 | 124 | 2.69 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 80.3 | 2.6 |
| 88 | Red Faber | 44 | 1933 | CHA | 124 | 3.44 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 86.3 | 1.9 |
| 89 | Gaylord Perry | 40 | 1979 | SDN | 122 | 3.06 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 140 | 232.7 | 5.4 |
| 90 | Nolan Ryan | 42 | 1989 | TEX | 121 | 3.2 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 301 | 239.3 | 11.3 |
| 91 | Eddie Plank | 40 | 1916 | SLA | 121 | 2.33 | 16 | 15 | 3 | 88 | 235.7 | 3.4 |
| 92 | Pete Alexander | 42 | 1929 | SLN | 121 | 3.89 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 33 | 132 | 2.3 |
| 93 | Satchel Paige | 45 | 1952 | SLA | 120 | 3.07 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 91 | 138 | 5.9 |
| 94 | Joe Heving | 42 | 1943 | CLE | 120 | 2.75 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 34 | 72 | 4.3 |
| 95 | Red Faber | 43 | 1932 | CHA | 120 | 3.74 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 26 | 106 | 2.2 |
| 96 | Charlie Hough | 40 | 1988 | TEX | 119 | 3.32 | 15 | 16 | 0 | 174 | 252 | 6.2 |
| 97 | Rick Reuschel | 40 | 1989 | SFN | 119 | 2.94 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 111 | 208.3 | 4.8 |
| 98 | Hoyt Wilhelm | 47 | 1970 | ATL | 119 | 3.4 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 68 | 82 | 7.5 |
| 99 | Pete Alexander | 41 | 1928 | SLN | 119 | 3.36 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 59 | 243.7 | 2.2 |
| 100 | Jack Quinn | 42 | 1926 | PHA | 118 | 3.41 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 58 | 163.7 | 3.2 |
| 101 | Jack Quinn | 48 | 1932 | BRO | 118 | 3.3 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 87.3 | 2.9 |
| 102 | Tom Candiotti | 40 | 1997 | LAN | 117 | 3.6 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 89 | 135 | 5.9 |
| 103 | Curt Davis | 41 | 1945 | BRO | 117 | 3.25 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 39 | 149.7 | 2.3 |
| 104 | Alex McColl | 40 | 1934 | WS1 | 117 | 3.86 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 112 | 2.3 |
| 105 | Roger Clemens | 40 | 2003 | NYA | 116 | 3.91 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 190 | 211.7 | 8.1 |
| 106 | David Wells | 41 | 2004 | SDN | 116 | 3.73 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 101 | 195.7 | 4.6 |
| 107 | Jesse Haines | 40 | 1934 | SLN | 116 | 3.5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 90 | 1.7 |
| 108 | Randy Johnson | 41 | 2005 | NYA | 115 | 3.79 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 211 | 225.7 | 8.4 |
| 109 | Dazzy Vance | 40 | 1931 | BRO | 115 | 3.38 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 150 | 218.7 | 6.2 |
| 110 | Early Wynn | 41 | 1961 | CHA | 115 | 3.51 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 110.3 | 5.2 |
| 111 | Red Faber | 42 | 1931 | CHA | 115 | 3.82 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 49 | 184 | 2.4 |
| 112 | Rich Gossage | 42 | 1994 | SEA | 115 | 4.18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 47.3 | 5.5 |
| 113 | Nolan Ryan | 43 | 1990 | TEX | 113 | 3.44 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 232 | 204 | 10.2 |
| 114 | Phil Niekro | 42 | 1981 | ATL | 113 | 3.1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 62 | 139.3 | 4.0 |
| 115 | Steve Carlton | 41 | 1986 | CHA | 113 | 3.69 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 63.3 | 5.7 |
| 116 | Don Sutton | 41 | 1986 | CAL | 112 | 3.74 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 116 | 207 | 5.0 |
| 117 | Danny Darwin | 40 | 1996 | PIT | 112 | 3.77 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 96 | 164.7 | 5.2 |
| 118 | Tommy John | 44 | 1987 | NYA | 111 | 4.03 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 63 | 187.7 | 3.0 |
| 119 | Danny Darwin | 41 | 1997 | CHA | 111 | 4.13 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 62 | 113.3 | 4.9 |
| 120 | Bob McClure | 40 | 1992 | SLN | 111 | 3.17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 54 | 4.0 |
| 121 | Cy Young | 42 | 1909 | CLE | 109 | 2.26 | 19 | 15 | 0 | 109 | 294.3 | 3.3 |
| 122 | Gerry Staley | 40 | 1961 | CHA | 102 | 3.96 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 61.3 | 4.7 |
| 123 | Cy Young | 43 | 1910 | CLE | 99 | 2.53 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 58 | 163.3 | 3.2 |
| 124 | Don McMahon | 42 | 1972 | SFN | 93 | 3.71 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 45 | 63 | 6.4 |
| 125 | Cy Young | 44 | 1911 | BSN | 91 | 3.71 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 35 | 80 | 3.9 |
| 126 | Roy Face | 41 | 1969 | MON | 91 | 3.94 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 34 | 59.3 | 5.2 |
| 127 | Early Wynn | 42 | 1962 | CHA | 89 | 4.46 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 91 | 167.7 | 4.9 |
Seasons with IP >= the league's scheduled games that year (1 inning per scheduled team game) for starters, or at least one-third of that bar for relievers. Season age = age as of June 30 of the season year (the Baseball-Reference convention); a July-or-later birthday means one less. Era adjustment is league-season normalization only, not park-adjusted. Unrecorded early-era stats (HBP, SF, RBI) display an em dash exactly as the source records them.
A season's age is the player's age as of June 30 of the season year, the Baseball-Reference convention. Players with no recorded birth year are excluded rather than guessed. The board shows the union of the all-time top 60 seasons and the top 20 of each era, so every era filter has rows.
Batting boards cover every batting line regardless of position, so two-way seasons (Babe Ruth 1919, Shohei Ohtani 2021) count their batting lines. Pitching boards qualify a season on the starter bar (an inning per scheduled team game) or the reliever bar (a third of that).
The records come from the SABR / Sean Lahman baseball database (2025 edition), used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0. See the sources page for every dataset behind Legends Deck.