Last Updated: October 21st, 2026 by Matthew Brown
When a nickname for a particular type of player has transcended the sport, it's special. Theories have been made as to where the term "southpaw" has come from. Some say it's from boxing.
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Others from baseball. I've always believed it was from the beginnings of baseball, but no matter what, it's a cool term that became a part of the general American lexicon.
We've got a list of all-time left-handed pitchers who made people love to call them southpaws.
13. Sandy Koufax: The Left Arm of God
By many accounts, Sandy Koufax is the greatest lefty to ever take the mound. It doesn't matter that his career was cut short by injury. He was the best they'd ever seen.
With 2,396 career strikeouts and three World Series titles, Koufax had a career that some Hall of Famers would still have dreamed about. Add to that he retired while still in his prime, and it's hard to argue with his greatness.
12. Randy Johnson: The Big Unit
Randy Johnson was probably the athlete I was most scared of when getting into sports. The thing is, hitters were genuinely scared of him too. Fastballs that zipped in at 100 mph and sliders that looked like a frisbee but could hurt resulted in the second-most career strikeouts of all time.
The Big Unit displayed big dominance every time he towered over the opposition from the mound.
11. Warren Spahn: The Winningest Lefty
The great Warren Spahn was a winner. With the most wins of any southpaw, he was a master at giving the Braves a chance to take the lead and hold it for the duration of every game he pitched.
He threw a whopping 63 shutouts in his career, and it could have been more, because he had to miss three years due to World War II military service.
10. Steve Carlton: Lefty’s Legacy
With all the modern-day pitchers who throw hard sweepers to get swings and misses, they can thank Steve Carlton for innovating it for southpaws. He had arguably the most devastating slider from a left-handed pitcher in the history of baseball.
This is something that carried him to over 4,100 strikeouts in his legendary career.
9. Carl Hubbell: The Screwball King
Sometimes, one great performance that didn't really matter to the rest of the season can still make a legend of the game. Carl Hubbell took to the mound in 1934 to pitch in the All-Star game. He struck out five hitters in a row.
The thing is, they weren't just any hitters. They were future Hall of Famers Joe Cronin, Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, and Babe Ruth. This lefty used a screwball to make all of these legends look like non-All-Stars.
8. Lefty Grove: The Power Pitcher
When you're simply known as Lefty, you must be the premier left-handed hurler in the game. Lefty Grove wasn't only the premier southpaw of his time; he was the premier pitcher, period.
The Hall of Famer won a mind-boggling nine ERA titles, which led him to the magic threshold of 300 career wins. Add on the two World Series titles he led the A's to, and you can see why he's an all-timer.
7. Clayton Kershaw: Modern Mastery
As someone on the West Coast, I am quick to admit that I'm partial to Clayton Kershaw. I have dug into his stat page more than any other pitcher. Trust me, he's objectively one of the greatest ever.
Of all the starting pitchers who threw more than 1,600 innings in their career, Kershaw is tied for the all-time best ERA+.
He's tied with Pedro Martinez, who has been argued as the greatest pitcher ever, no matter the handedness. By this metric, Kershaw is right there with him.
6. Eddie Plank: The Pioneer
The great Eddie Plank has always been one of the forgotten great pitchers. Maybe it's because he was the first dominant southpaw the game had ever seen. Plank started his career in 1901, throwing in a way that puzzled hitters simply because he threw with a hand they never really saw pitchers throw with.
That led to 326 career wins and 2,246 strikeouts. For that time, those strikeout numbers were elite.
5. Whitey Ford: The Chairman of the Board
With all the championships, all the legendary players, and all the overall greatness that comes from being a part of the New York Yankees, there is still a big argument to be made that their greatest starting pitcher ever was a southpaw in the '50s and '60s.
Whitey Ford was one of the best in baseball throughout his 16-year career. A 10-time All-Star, he won a Cy Young and led the franchise to an impressive six World Series championships.
4. Johan Santana: The Changeup Artist
For about a stretch of five seasons, it could be argued that Johan Santana was the absolute best in the business. He won two Cy Young Awards, three ERA titles, and led the league in strikeouts three times. He didn't even have overpowering stuff.
It was just pinpoint accuracy and masterful pitch selection. Even though injuries cut his career short, he was still great enough to be included on this list.
3. Tom Glavine: The Craftsman
I consider myself lucky to have been able to watch Tom Glavine in person. I felt like the entire stadium was at peace during his start. He pitched with a sense of calm that made me wonder if the opposing hitters were lulled into some sort of trance.
That's how good Glavine was. He earned two Cy Young Awards while battling his teammates, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, because they were the best trio anyone had ever seen on one team.
2. Billy Pierce: The Underrated Star
This is an entry where there could be a serious discussion to take another look at the career numbers and re-evaluate whether the pitcher should still be left out of the Hall of Fame. Billy Pierce was an amazing pitcher who didn't get amazing run support. His ERA title in 1955 was thanks to a minuscule 1.97 ERA, but he got tagged with 10 losses.
He still was able to attain 211 wins in his career, but it could have been closer to 300 if his hitters came through more often. A 3.27 career ERA is tied with Hall of Famer Jim Bunning and is better than Randy Johnson.
1. Mickey Lolich: The World Series Hero
Athletes who deliver in the biggest moments get remembered forever. That's how it was for Mickey Lolich. His epic three complete-game wins in 1968 earned him the World Series MVP and a lifetime of love from the city of Detroit.
He ended with a great 2,832 career strikeouts, leading all of baseball in that category in 1971. He, like all the rest on this list, embodied what it's like to be called a southpaw.
