Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux .. best staff ever?

mid-1960s Indians were solid too... Sam McDowell, Sonny Siebert, Luis Tiant, Steve Hargan... only .500 club but just awesome strikeout totals

 

We're talking about starting rotations, not entire staffs.

For one season it would have to be the 71 Orioles staff that has already been mentioned.

However, in terms of body of work over a period of years, Glavine, Smoltz & Maddux would be the best in my lifetime.

 

Don't disagree with any of those mentioned, but wanted to throw out a few more:

1. Early 70s Oakland A's --- Hunter, Blue, Holtzman, with Blue Moon Odom or Chuck Dobson as the No. 4. Not bad.

2. 1953 New York Yankees had Whitey Ford, Vic Raschi and Ed Lopat, with Johnny Sain and Allie Reynolds as swingmen. That group would have stayed together longer had Ford not missed 1951 and 52 because he was in the military.

3. 1980 Astros --- Nolan Ryan, Joe Niekro, Ken Forsch, Vern Ruhle and J.R. Richard (for half the season; he was replaced by Joaquin Andujar after his stroke). Pretty salty.

4. 1988 Mets --- David Cone, Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Bobby Ojeda, Sid Fernandez. How'd that team ever lose to the Dodgers?

I know most of those staffs weren't together very long, but if the 1971 Baltimore Orioles qualify (that was Dobson's only really good year), then these do as well.

 

For me:
Mid-sixties Dodgers
Early-seventies Orioles
Mid-ninties Braves
Early-sixties Yankees
And any staff with bad-ass Bob Gibson on it.

 

Because Doc was a choking dog. Not over it yet.

 

Those 1980 Astros were nasty. Too bad Jose Cruz and his nine home runs (or so it seemed) was their only power.

 

Because Doc was twitching every time he crossed the white foul line on the way to the bump.

 

Bitter?

 

A couple of people have mentioned this, but the Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz/Avery rotation was basically only together for one year, 1993. Smoltz was having an awful year when he hurt his arm in 1994 (or maybe because he hurt his arm), and Avery was washed up by 1995.

Also, Kent Mercker wasn't the No. 5 on that 1993 staff; Pete Smith was. I vividly remember the "5 Aces" poster from that season --- a sepia tone picture of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery and Peter John Smith of the 47-71 career record. Mercker became the No. 5 in 1994 (but as I said, Smoltz was awful that year), when he improbably pitched the only no-hitter that any of those five (or six, if you prefer) ever did.

 

Even exlcuding Avery, Neagle and Millwood (all pretty solid No. 4s) both did pretty well with Atlanta as well, but the core was Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux.

 

Had a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five LCS and the lead late in Games Four and Five, if I recall correctly.

 

I know the different group had the 1986 Mets to the wall as well.