The 10 Greatest Dominican Pitchers of All Time

Birthplace: Santiago
Years: 1994-2006
Team(s): Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets
Record: 89-102
Career Era: 5.26

If this were a list of the "Best" Dominican pitchers, this spot might feature current major leaguers Francisco Liriano or Ervin Santana. But it's the "Greatest" so Lima Time stays in the picture. One of the most beloved players of any nationality, Lima had a couple good years (his breakout in '98 as a 25-year-old with the Astros; '04 in a comeback with the Dodgers), one very good year (a 21-win, 246-inning campaign in '99), and some really bad years (ERAs of 6.00+ in 2000 and 2005). Easily the best singing pitcher on this or any other list, Lima died of a heart attack last year at the far too young age of 37.

Birthplace: Pueblo Viejo
Years: 1987, 1990-2007
Team(s): Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
Record: 80-109 (321 saves)
Career Era: 4.36

Another good news/bad news hurler, Mesa began his career as a starter, but after a move to the bullpen in his late twenties, chalked more than 40 saves in a season four times, including 46 on a 1.03 WHIP for the Indians' 1995 American League pennant-winning club (although he's more famous in Cleveland for blowing the save in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series). He had some rough years too (his 9 blown saves for the Phillies in '02 comes to mind), but 300 saves is 300 saves.

Birthplace: Nagua
Years: 2006-present
Team(s): Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians
Record: 60-49
Career Era: 3.76

He only has four full MLB seasons under his belt, but Jimenez could make the list on the strength of his 2010 season alone. A 1.16 WHIP and 214 Ks pitching your home games in Denver will do that. Ubaldo's other seasons in Colorado were excellent by Coors Field standards, too; his 2011 season was a step back, but we'd still put our money on Cleveland being happy with their trade for him in five years.

Birthplace: San Pedro de Macoris
Years: 2003-present
Team(s): Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers
Record: 23-27 (242 saves)
Career Era: 3.02

Playing outside the major markets, Jose Valverde has nonetheless crafted a lengthy career as a high-quality reliever. He's led or tied for the league lead in saves three times, for three different teams, and just finished a perfect closer's season in Detroit, saving 49 games in 49 chances for the Tigers.

Birthplace: San Pedro de Macoris
Years: 1976-1988
Team(s): Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A's
Record: 127-118
Career Era: 3.58

A 4-time All-Star, Joaquin Andujar had two stretches of excellence, one in the mid-'70s with the Astros, the other in the mid-'80s with the Cardinals. In 1984 he won the National League Comeback Player of the Year award, leading the league in innings and shutouts, and tying for the lead in wins. He also held opposing batters to an average less than twice his own rate (batters hit .224 against him, he hit .127 with 5 homers). He might be best known for going apeshit on Don Denkinger in the 1985 World Series. Not that Denkinger didn't deserve it.

Birthplace: San Cristobal
Years: 1984-1995, 2001-2002
Team(s): New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Cincinnati Reds
Record: 116-91
Career Era: 3.24

If he'd come up in the age of pitch counts and "Joba Rules" there's a chance Jose Rijo could've been an all-time great. In the majors at 19 with the Yankees, Rijo was plagued by overuse and misuse in his early career, pitching 193 innings in 26 starts and 39 appearances for Oakland as a 21-year-old in 1986, and 162 innings in 19 starts and 49 appearances as an A in 1988. Settled as a starter with Cincinnati, Rijo had a string of 5 straight brilliant seasons for the Reds between 1990-1994. Plagued with severe elbow injuries after 1995, Rijo was out of the game for 6 years in his thirties, making a surprising and brief return to the Reds in 2001-2002.

Birthplace: Santo Domingo
Years: 1988-2001
Team(s): Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 135-88
Career Era: 3.67

The "other" Martinez, Pedro's older brother Ramon was actually thought to be the better of the twirling Martinezes by Dodger brass, who traded Pedro for Delino DeShields in 1994 (sorry Dodger fans, just the facts). Still, Ramon was no slouch, pitching the official no-hitter that eluded Pedro, and finishing an excellent 47 games above .500 for his career. Jesus had brothers, too.

Birthplace: Altamira
Years: 1997-2009, 2011-present
Team(s): Cleveland Indians, Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, Anaheim Angels, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees
Record: 161-113
Career Era: 4.09

Before he became one of the more remarkable comeback stories in recent baseball history (*cough*HGH*cough*), Colon was one of the more remarkable fat players in baseball history. He won the Cy Young in '05 for the Angels, and won at least ten games a year for nine seasons between 1998 and 2005, pitching more than 200 innings seven times in the process. He also holds the distinction of being traded for three future All-Stars (Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee) in the 2002 Omar Minaya-led deal that brought Colon to Montreal for half a season. Crazy, crazy Omar.

Birthplace: Laguna Verde
Years: 1960-1975
Team(s): San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 243-142
Career Era: 2.89

Marichal's accomplishments on the mound were overshadowed by something he did as a batter (namely playing an impromptu game of pepper with Johnny Roseboro's head), but after Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson, he was the best pitcher of the 1960s. He notched the most wins that decade, and finished his career 101 games above .500. And, for what it's worth, Roseboro did forgive him for the whole bat to the noggin misunderstanding.

Birthplace: Manoguayabo
Years: 1992-2009
Team(s): Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies
Record: 219-100
Career Era: 2.93

Not merely the best Dominican pitcher of all time, Martinez was, in the two-year span 1999-2000, the best pitcher in the history of the sport. The numbers he put up at various points in his career—300 strikeout seasons (as in plural), sub-2.00 ERA seasons (as in plural), sub-1.00 WHIP seasons (you get the picture)—are bananas, but even they don't accurately describe what an artist Pedro was on the mound. Dude had multiple perfect games ruined because he hit batters (he did pitch nine perfect innings once, but the game went to extras, and he hit Reggie Sanders so hard in the first of those almost-perfectos that Sanders charged the mound thinking Pedro had hit him on purpose), won the 1999 ALDS for the Red Sox pitching in relief using only his curveball, and might go down as the only pitcher to ever justify a mega-bucks 6-year contract.