Best Pitchers in MLB History

All-Time Leaders by Games Played at Pitcher

The most durable pitchers in baseball history have logged thousands of appearances across careers spanning decades. This leaderboard ranks all pitchers in Major League Baseball history by total games pitched, covering 1871 through 2025. Jesse Orosco leads all pitchers with 1252 career games pitched.

ALL-TIME TOP 3

#1

Pitcher

Jesse Orosco

1252 games at P

1979-2003

#2

Pitcher

Mike Stanton

1178 games at P

1989-2007

#3

Pitcher

John Franco

1119 games at P

1984-2005

FULL RANKINGS – TOP 100

Rank Player Games at P Years Active Career G
1 Jesse Orosco 1252 1979-2003 1252
2 Mike Stanton 1178 1989-2007 1178
3 John Franco 1119 1984-2005 1119
4 Mariano Rivera 1115 1995-2013 1115
5 Dennis Eckersley 1071 1975-1998 1073
6 Hoyt Wilhelm 1070 1952-1972 1070
7 Dan Plesac 1064 1986-2003 1064
8 Mike Timlin 1059 1991-2008 1059
9 Kent Tekulve 1050 1974-1989 1050
10 LaTroy Hawkins 1042 1995-2015 1042
11 Trevor Hoffman 1035 1993-2010 1035
12 Lee Smith 1023 1980-1997 1023
13 Jose Mesa 1022 1987-2007 1023
14 Roberto Hernandez 1010 1991-2007 1010
15 Michael Jackson 1005 1986-2004 1005
16 Rich Gossage 1002 1972-1994 1003
17 Lindy McDaniel 987 1955-1975 988
18 Todd Jones 982 1993-2008 982
19 David Weathers 964 1991-2009 967
20 Fernando Rodney 951 2002-2019 951
21 Francisco Rodriguez 948 2002-2017 948
22 Rollie Fingers 944 1968-1985 945
23 Kenley Jansen 934 — 935
24 Gene Garber 931 1969-1988 933
25 Eddie Guardado 909 1993-2009 909
26 Cy Young 906 1890-1911 918
27 Arthur Rhodes 902 1991-2011 903
28 Sparky Lyle 899 1967-1982 899
29 Jim Kaat 898 1959-1983 1004
30 Kyle Farnsworth 893 1999-2014 893
31 Tom Gordon 890 1988-2009 893
32 Paul Assenmacher 884 1986-1999 884
33 Mike Myers 883 1995-2007 883
34 Alan Embree 882 1992-2009 882
35 David Robertson 881 — 881
36 Jeff Reardon 880 1979-1994 880
37 Don McMahon 874 1957-1974 874
38 Joe Smith 866 2007-2022 866
39 Phil Niekro 864 1964-1987 866
40 Aroldis Chapman 863 — 863
41 Charlie Hough 858 1970-1994 858
42 Billy Wagner 854 1995-2010 854
43 Craig Kimbrel 851 — 851
44 Roy Face 848 1953-1969 853
45 Doug Jones 846 1982-2000 846
46 Chad Qualls 844 2004-2017 844
47 Paul Quantrill 841 1992-2005 841
48 Javier Lopez 839 2003-2016 839
49 Bob Wickman 835 1992-2007 835
50 Steve Reed 834 1992-2005 835
51 Julian Tavarez 828 1993-2009 828
52 Tug McGraw 824 1965-1984 826
53 Sergio Romo 821 2008-2022 821
54 Tyler Clippard 807 2007-2022 807
55 Nolan Ryan 807 1966-1993 807
56 Walter Johnson 802 1907-1927 933
57 Francisco Cordero 800 1999-2012 800
58 Jeff Nelson 798 1992-2006 798
59 Rick Honeycutt 797 1977-1997 801
60 Steve Kline 796 1997-2007 796
61 Bryan Shaw 796 — 796
62 Joe Nathan 787 1999-2016 787
63 Buddy Groom 786 1992-2005 786
64 Gaylord Perry 777 1962-1983 787
65 Jeremy Affeldt 774 2002-2015 774
66 Don Sutton 774 1966-1988 785
67 Joakim Soria 773 2007-2021 773
68 Bob Howry 769 1998-2010 769
69 Darren Oliver 766 1993-2013 775
70 Joaquin Benoit 765 2001-2017 765
71 Mark Guthrie 765 1989-2003 766
72 Darold Knowles 765 1965-1980 766
73 Armando Benitez 762 1994-2008 762
74 Kenny Rogers 762 1989-2008 763
75 Tommy John 760 1963-1989 761
76 Octavio Dotel 758 1999-2013 758
77 Jack Quinn 756 1909-1933 771
78 Ron Reed 751 1966-1984 754
79 Warren Spahn 750 1942-1965 783
80 Matt Thornton 748 2004-2016 748
81 Tom Burgmeier 745 1968-1984 782
82 Willie Hernandez 745 1977-1989 747
83 Gary Lavelle 745 1974-1987 745
84 Greg Maddux 744 1986-2008 759
85 Guillermo Mota 743 1999-2012 743
86 Steve Carlton 741 1965-1988 745
87 Ryan Madson 740 2003-2018 740
88 Russ Springer 740 1992-2010 740
89 Brad Ziegler 739 2008-2018 739
90 Steve Cishek 737 2010-2022 737
91 Ron Perranoski 737 1961-1973 737
92 Ron Kline 736 1952-1970 743
93 Rick Aguilera 732 1985-2000 737
94 Steve Bedrosian 732 1981-1995 732
95 Mark Melancon 732 2009-2022 732
96 Clay Carroll 731 1964-1978 731
97 Randy Myers 728 1985-1998 729
98 Adam Ottavino 727 — 728
99 Jason Isringhausen 724 1995-2012 724
100 Mike Marshall 724 1967-1981 725

BROWSE BY POSITION

Catcher First Base Second Base Third Base Shortstop Left Field Center Field Right Field Pitcher

RELATED LEADERBOARDS

Career Home Runs → Career Batting Average → Single-Season HR → PIV Career Leaders → Career RBI → Career ERA →

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who has played the most games as a Pitcher in MLB history?

Jesse Orosco holds the all-time record with 1252 games played at Pitcher during a career spanning 1979-2003. Mike Stanton (1178) and John Franco (1119) rank second and third all-time.

How are starting pitchers different from relief pitchers?

Starting pitchers are evaluated on innings pitched, ERA, and wins, with modern analysis adding metrics like FIP and WHIP. Relief pitchers are specialized for shorter outings and can appear in far more games over a career. The all-time leaders in total games pitched typically include many relief pitchers who have appeared in 1,000 or more games.

How far back does this historical data go?

Baseball Data Hub covers Major League Baseball history from 1871 through 2025, drawing on the Lahman Baseball Database and supplemental data sources. This includes the National League (founded 1876), American League (founded 1901), and other recognized major leagues. Negro Leagues statistics are tracked and reported separately.

EXPLORE MORE

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