Continuing with our history theme, we're counting down the 10 greatest pitchers and position players in Major Leagues' history.
Checking in at #10, we have the current 2-time defending AL Cy Young winner, Manuel Cano. In addition to the 2 CY's, Cano has 6 All-Star appearances and has surged into the top 5 in career batting average allowed and career ERA. Detractors point to Detroit's pitcher-friendly dimensions - it's a consideration, for sure, but his performance has been superior. Style points note: in 8 seasons his ERA has never been above 3.00.
At #9 we go back to a tougher pitching era and Bartolo Escobar. Escobar dominated the AL from Seasons 9-13, winning the CY 4 times in those 5 years and baffling the sluggers of the day. He wasn't a big innings guy, posting 2750 fro his career and usually around 200 per season. But he was undoubtedly the top pitcher of the era immediately preceding Contreras and Rojas.
At #8, we have the NL equivalent of Escobar, Cesar Carrasquel. No other pitcher dominated the NL during the pre-Long Normal era like Carrasquel. He was more prolific than Escober, throwing nearly1000 more innings, and was more dominant in the qualitative stats. And there was the glorious 4-straight CY stretch from seasons 5-8, when he averaged 20 wins and an ERA well under 3. He may well have an argument for a higher ranking.
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