Major league pitchers beating all 30 teams

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 are played in any season.

In any case, defeating all teams is more likely only if a pitcher has a long career. Assuming a top notch pitcher manages to win against every team in a season, it will still only be 19 teams, unless he was traded. It is far more likely that his wins will come against 10 to 12 teams, most of which he has already beaten.

As of August 20, 2017, there have been 18 pitchers who have beaten all 30 teams. The San Francisco Giants are the only franchise with three players who accomplished the feat while on their roster: Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson.

• 1. Al Leiter, April 30, 2002^[1][2]
• 2. Kevin Brown, March 31, 2004
• 3. Terry Mulholland, July 3, 2004^[3]
• 4. Curt Schilling, September 10, 2004
• 5. Woody Williams, September 26, 2006
• 6. Jamie Moyer, May 26, 2008
• 7. Randy Johnson, April 19, 2009
• 8. Barry Zito, June 12, 2010
• 9. A. J. Burnett, July 21, 2012
• 10. Javier Vázquez, July 21, 2010^[4]
• 11. Vicente Padilla, August 10, 2010
• 12. Derek Lowe, May 10, 2012
• 13. Dan Haren, August 9, 2013^[5]
• 14. Kyle Lohse, June 26, 2015^[6]
• 15. Tim Hudson, July 26, 2015^[7]
• 16. John Lackey, April 18, 2016^[8]
• 17. Max Scherzer, May 11, 2016^[9]
• 18. Bartolo Colon, August 20, 2017

As of August 20, 2017, nine active pitchers have defeated 29 teams.

• CC Sabathia - has not defeated the Miami Marlins.
• Zack Greinke - has not defeated the Kansas City Royals.
• Ervin Santana - has not defeated the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Ubaldo Jiménez - has not defeated the Colorado Rockies.
• Francisco Liriano - has not defeated the Miami Marlins.
• J.A. Happ - has not defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• Scott Kazmir - has not defeated the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Jon Lester - has not defeated the Boston Red Sox.
• Edwin Jackson - has not defeated the Atlanta Braves.

As of January 16, 2017, four active pitchers have defeated 28 teams.

• R.A. Dickey - has not defeated the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs.
• Joe Blanton - has not defeated the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics.
• Jake Arrieta - has not defeated the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners.
• Justin Verlander - has not defeated the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins.

As of January 16, 2017, three active pitchers have defeated 27 teams.

• Jake Peavy - has not defeated the Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers.
• Gio González - has not defeated the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and Washington Nationals.
• Matt Garza - has not defeated the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Rays.

As of January 16, 2017, the following active pitchers have defeated 26 teams.

• James Shields - has not defeated the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Nationals.
• Anibal Sanchez - has not defeated the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres.
• Edinson Vólquez - has not defeated the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays.

References