Complete game

In baseball, a complete game (denoted by CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game himself, without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A complete game can be either a win or a loss. As demonstrated by the charts below, in the late 1800's, it was common for most good pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. As the 20th century went on, complete games became less and less common, to the point where a good pitcher typically achieves only 1 or 2 complete games a season today. To put in perspective, as recently as 15-20 years ago, 10-15 complete games a year by a star pitcher was not unheard of. This change has been brought about by strict pitch counts and new pitching philosophies in general. Most pitchers now try primarily to get strikeouts, which leads to more pitches being thrown and more stress on the pitching arm.

Active Career Leaders

No active players are in the top 100, all time:

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• 1. Roger Clemens | 118
• 2. Greg Maddux | 107
• 3. Randy Johnson | 92
• 4. Curt Schilling | 82
• 5. Kevin Brown | 72
• 6. Mike Mussina | 54
• 7. Tom Glavine | 53
• 8. David Wells | 52
• 9. Scott Erickson | 51
• 10. John Smoltz | 47
• 11. Terry Mulholland | 46
• 12. Pedro Martinez | 42
• 13. Livan Hernandez | 40
• 14. Kenny Rogers | 35
• 15. Kevin Appier | 34
• 16. Pat Hentgen | 34
• 16. Brad Radke | 34
• 18. Pedro Astacio | 30
• 19. Bartolo Colon | 28
• 20. Jamie Moyer | 27

Johnson, Glavine, Wells, Mulholland, Rogers, and Moyer all lefties.

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