Two days ago this post looked at pitchers that reached number one in the Bill James Starting Pitcher Rankings in the ten seasons from 1984 to 1993. I picked that particular time frame to center on Roger Clemens, who debuted in the 1984 season. While Clemens dominated that period, twelve other pitchers reach number one for at least one day in that time frame. The post centered around the graph on this spreadsheet, and shows the thirteen pitchers vying for position during that decade.

Now that more data is loaded, this post looks at the next ten years, 1994 through 2003. To me, this is the start of the Pedro Martinez era, as Martinez became a starter in 1994 with his move to the Montreal Expos. In reality, it is the Martinez, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, and Clemens era. From the start of 1994 until early September 1993 2003, one of those four ranked number one in this system. It was not until 9/2/2003 that Curt Schilling broke the streak, and then for just a brief period.

The data and graph sit on this spreadsheet. The era starts off as a battle between Maddux and Johnson, lasting until Johnson gets injured during the 1996 season. In 1997, Maddux continues to pitch well, but Clemens reasserts himself, passing Maddux in June, while Martinez shoots up the chart, and passes Maddux in August. Johnson pitches well all year, but cannot dig himself out of the injury hole in one season.

Then 1998 happens. It was the middle of what came to be known as the steroid era. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa each top Roger Maris‘s single season home run record. Nomar Graciaparra, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez redefine the offensive expectations of shortstops. The Yankees put together one of the most dominant teams ever, and smash their way through the regular season and the post-season. Meanwhile, we hardly notice that four of the greatest pitchers of any era are all at the top of their game.

Martinez starts out hot, and dominates through May. Maddux comes back, and takes over the top slot on June 6. Johnson and Clemens each start a hot streak early in July, and both pass the Ms to wind up the season with Clemens at the top of the list and Johnson second.

All of this leads to the morning of Sept. 7, 1998, the day of convergence.* Clemens, Martinez, Johnson, and Maddux stand 1-2-3-4 respectively, and all hold Rating Scores over 600. Here is what their seasons looked like at that point. Johnson did not have the ERA of the other three, but he was blowing everyone else away in terms of strikeouts.

* This was the day McGwire tied Maris, and also my wedding anniversary.

That would be it for Clemens and Maddux. While still very good, they faded in 1999, letting Johnson and Martinez duke it out until Schilling rose to challenge them late in 2003. It’s clear now that most missed one of the biggest stories of 1998.

Correction: Fixed a 1993/2003 error.