When Joe Musgrove tossed a no-hitter early in the 2021 season, it added yet another former Pirates pitcher to the long list of ex-Pittsburgh hurlers who were finding a lot of success elsewhere. There's Gerrit Cole, Charlie Morton, Mark Melancon, Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow, and a starting rotation of the five aforementioned names with Melancon serving as the anchor would probably lead to a triple-digit win tally with relative ease.
But not all of them played together at the same time, and there's another mid-2010s team that trumps the above list in terms of the achievements their former pitchers have had with other teams. Enter the 2014 Detroit Tigers — a good team, with a 90-72 record but a winless playoff appearance in the ALDS — and their insane assortment of arms in the rotation.
In 2019, after the Washington Nationals won the World Series, the entire 2014 Tigers starting rotation had earned World Series rings on other teams. Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez were members of the Nats. Rick Porcello and David Price were champs in 2018 with the Red Sox. Justin Verlander won with the Astros in 2017.
Now, that same rotation — swapping one pitcher out for another — has reached an even higher level of greatness. Multiple starting pitchers earn World Series rings every year, but only two win Cy Young Awards. As it turns out, five different pitchers on that Tigers staff were voted as the best pitchers in their respective leagues in certain seasons — credit to Redditor aquax101 for the great statistical find.
Four of the aforementioned pitchers — Verlander (2011, 2019), Scherzer (2013, 2016, 2017), Price (2012) and Porcello (2016) — were Cy Young Award recipients. And though Anibal Sanchez never was, with a fourth-place finish in 2013 representing his only time getting serious consideration, a then-22-year-old rookie with the 2014 Tigers would become the fifth Cy Young Award winner. Robbie Ray, now of the Toronto Blue Jays, took home the honor after a special and unexpected 2021 campaign.
Technically, the 2021 Dodgers held four Cy Young Award winners, with Scherzer, Price, Clayton Kershaw and Trevor Bauer. In 2018, Cleveland had the Cy Young trio of Bauer, Shane Bieber and Corey Kluber. The 2018 Astros had Verlander, Cole and Dallas Keuchel, all winners of the award. John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux were all Cy Young winners and spent many years on the Braves together. The 2000 Yankees had winners Roger Clemens, David Cone and 35-year-old Doc Gooden on the same squad. 22 years prior, they had the trio of Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter and Sparky Lyle. Hunter joined Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers a handful of seasons earlier in Oakland. Don Newcombe, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax were all peak pitchers in baseball with the Dodgers.
From my brief look throughout baseball history, there seem to be plenty of Cy Young trios. But five on one team? That'll require an awful lot of research that I look forward to doing one day — if you know of another roster, let me know! — but it seems like it's a pretty special assemblage of players that doesn't come around all too often.
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