Baseball’s Control Kings

A look at the great pitchers who combined great "stuff" with great control.

This article originally appeared in a slightly different form in Here’s the Pitch, the newsletter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

“Oh, those bases on balls!” This is the familiar lament of coaches from the Little League to the major leagues. Bases on Balls, Walks, Free Passes have been the bane of managers since Old Hoss Radbourne was pitching for the Providence Grays in 1884. Just last night (April 29), the Miami Marlins, whose pitching staff leads the league in walks allowed per nine innings, issued eight walks to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 15-2 shellacking. On April 9, the Chicago White Sox limited the Cleveland Guardians to just three hits and three runs but still lost because two of the seven walks they allowed scored. Given the damage that walks do to the chances of winning games, it is no wonder “those bases on balls” turn manager’s hair grey. It is also no wonder that pitchers who limit the number of walks are highly valued by their managers and often highly successful.

Since the dawn of the Live Ball Era in 1920, 11 pitchers have tossed at least 3000 innings and walked an average of fewer than two batters a game. Not surprisingly this list contains some of the greatest pitchers in history. Of the 11, seven are in the Hall of Fame and one other, Curt Schilling, will probably be inducted soon. Here is the list of the elite eleven.

As you can see from the chart, Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies, with a record of 1.73 batters walked per nine innings, was perhaps the greatest control pitcher of all times. Hitters from his era could attest to that. Pittsburgh Pirates slugger, Ralph Kiner, called Roberts’ fastball the best he had ever seen and added, “His fastball rose about six or eight inches, and with plenty on it. And he had great control, which made him very difficult to hit.” Even when he lost the zip on that fastball and became more of a finesse pitcher, he continued to be stingy with the walks. In 1965, at the age of 38, he walked only 30 batters in 190+ innings (1.4 per 9 innings).

Speaking of finesse pitchers, second on this list is Greg Maddux, who was famous for his variety of fastballs, cutters, and sinkers that kept batters flailing futilely for 23 seasons. Maddux always said that the best pitch in baseball was a “located fastball.” And no one located them better than Maddux. His long-time pitching coach Leo Mazzone marveled, “He can throw you a strike and still not give you anything to hit. He is the master at that. It’s the greatest command I’ve ever seen on a consistent basis.” Maddux once went 72 1/3 innings without issuing a walk. The streak ended when the Atlanta Braves manager ordered an intentional walk.

The next name on the list, Juan Marichal, might be a surprise if only because of his legendary high kick wind up. That wind up is not what most pitching coaches would prescribe for good control, but Marichal made it work for 16 seasons and 243 wins. Marichal threw five different pitches (fastball, slider, curveball, change, and screwball) and threw them from three different angles (overhand, three-quarter, and sidearm) and yet he consistently threw strikes. Marichal was part fastball pitcher, like Roberts, and part finesse pitcher, like Maddux, but he was also an outstanding control pitcher.

Carl Hubbell is one of three left-handed pitchers on the list. Hubbell, famous as the prime exponent of the screwball, mastered a variety of pitches. He has been compared to Greg Maddux in that he was, in the words of one observer, like an “artist painting a portrait, every stroke of the brush with a purpose. … Hub would start a batter off with a curve and it was usually a beaut, always low and on the corner of the plate. Then, with that uncanny control and that good speed of his, he’d bust one in, either on the fists or high and outside. Then maybe a changeup. Next, the screwball. Jeez, what a pitch! It gave those righthand hitters fits.”

Lefty Eppa Rixey qualifies because he pitched more than 3000 innings from 1920 to 1933 even though he began his major league pitching career in 1912. Rixey never harnessed his exceptional “stuff” until he was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds in a trade with the Phillies in 1921. His pre-trade walks per nine innings was 2.7, which he lowered to 1.9 with the Reds over the next 13 seasons.

The next three control artists are not in the Hall of Fame, but certainly compiled Hall of Fame like numbers. Lew Burdette was the “ying” to Warren Spahn’s “yang” on the great Milwaukee Braves teams of the late fifties. David Wells not only twirled a perfect game but was a key member of the Toronto Blue Jays 1992 and New York Yankees 1998 World Series winners. Paul Derringer may not be well remembered today, but he was a well-known, perhaps infamous, figure in the baseball during the 1930s and 40s. Known as “The Control King” due to the “exceptional control of his pitches”, he exhibited almost no control off the field. Derringer was prone to use his fists at the drop of a hat. He once awoke from an operation only to deck the attending nurse with a right cross. Perhaps his off-field behavior has kept him out of the Hall of Fame.

Off field behavior has almost certainly kept noted control pitcher Curt Schilling out of the Hall. Known for his pinpoint fastball, bulldog determination, and loose tongue, Schilling turned in some of the most masterful post-season pitching performances in recent memory. His forte was being able to fire his high-octane fastball on the “black” on either side of the plate. In 133+ innings of high-pressure, post-season baseball Schilling averaged just 1.7 walks per nine innings, besting his impressive career mark of 1.96. Former Oriole and Yankee, Mike Mussina, in contrast to Schilling, extended his impeccable control to both his pitches and his mouth. Quiet, humble, and efficient, Mussina is in the Hall, while Schilling waits.

Our final pitcher on the list brings us full circle. In 1966, when Ferguson Jenkins was pitching in his rookie season in the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs, his pitching coach was none other than Robin Roberts. Roberts worked on Fergie’s confidence and told him to trust his fastball more. Fergie started trusting it, threw it over the plate, and collected 284 victories and a plaque in the Hall of Fame.

With one of these 11 pitchers on the mound, beleaguered managers had at least one day a week when they didn’t have to bemoan those bases on balls.