Which MLB teams had the best World Series rotations of all time?

The glory days: back when a pitcher took the mound to start a game and usually stayed there until it ended or the sun went down. According to baseball history, the Cubs' starting crew of Orval Overall, Jack Pfiester, Ed Reulbach and Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown posted a 1.00 ERA and threw four complete games while beating Detroit in five to win the 1907 World Series.

Backed by one of the greatest rotations of all time, the '27 Yankees made quick work of Pittsburgh with a World Series sweep. Hall of Famers Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock, George Pipgras and reliever Wilcy Moore, who started the Game 4 clincher, combined for a 2.00 ERA and did not allow a home run during the Series.

The '29 A's boasted a pair of 20-game winners in Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw. Though the rotation was not dominant in beating the Cubs in five games of this World Series, Philadelphia's starters — all right-handers to face a right-handed heavy Chicago lineup — had a 3.16 ERA and struck out 32 batters during the Fall Classic. Howard Ehmke went 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in two starts against the Cubs.

We're going back to the last time the Indians won a World Series — and they were able to get the job done thanks to strong starting pitching. Though Bob Feller was on the mound for the only two games Cleveland lost to Boston in that Series, its starters had a 2.22 ERA. Bob Lemon went 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA, and Steve Gromek went the distance in Cleveland's 2-1 win in Game 4. 

Back in the days when starters could consistently pitch complete games on minimal rest, the Yankees' sweep of Philadelphia was dominated by its rotation. The foursome of Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, Ed Lopat and Hall of Famer Whitey Ford gave up just three earned runs and no homers over 35 2/3 innings to make quick work of Philadelphia.

The '54 World Series is best known for Willie Mays' sensational over-the-shoulder-catch in deep center field in Game 1, but the other story should be the Giants pitching. New York's starting group of Sal Maglie, Johnny Antonelli (who went the distance in Game 2), Ruben Gomez and Don Liddle posted a 1.80 ERA despite yielding 12 walks in a sweep of Cleveland.

The Yankees' run to the '56 World Series title was no doubt highlighted by Don Larsen's legendary perfect game against Brooklyn in Game 5. What perhaps is overshadowed by Larsen's historic outing is that fellow starters Whitey Ford, Tom Sturdivant, Bob Turley and Johnny Kucks each threw complete games over the final five games to help New York win in seven. Those Yankees starters had a 1.79 ERA during the Fall Classic.

Los Angeles completely dominated the New York Yankees in a quick four-game sweep for the title, and it was essentially a three-man job. The starting rotation of Sandy Koufax, Johnny Podres and Don Drysdale allowed a combined four runs and struck out 36 batters over 35 1/2 innings. Ron Perranoski was the only other Dodger to pitch in the series, going two-thirds of an inning.

While Sandy Koufax was the star of this series, going 2-1 with an 0.38 ERA, 29 strikeouts and two complete games, it was not necessarily a one-man mission that allowed the Dodgers to beat Minnesota in seven games. Claude Osteen went 1-1 with an 0.64 ERA and also tossed a complete game. Don Drysdale had a 3.86 ERA in the series but went the distance for a 7-2 win in Game 4 that evened it at 2-2.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were aiming for a third World Series title in four years, but the arms of the Baltimore Orioles had other ideas. Starters Dave McNally, Hall of Famer Jim Palmer and Wally Bunker combined to yield just two runs — both in Game 1 — and 16 hits over 29 1/3 innings to sweep the Dodgers. Moe Drabowsky was the only Oriole pitcher to take the mound in a relief role.

The St. Louis Cardinals might have had the great Bob Gibson on their side, but it was the Tigers pitchers, particulary Mickey Lolich (3-0, 1.67 ERA), who helped them win the series in seven games. Down 3-1 in the series, Lolich and 31-game winner Denny McLain combined to allow five earned runs and were the only pitchers the Tigers used while winning the final three games.

Let's not harp too much on the fact that the stellar trio of Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer was far from dominant during the actual 1970 World Series. Cuellar and McNally each won 24 games during the regular season and Palmer notched 20. It doesn't get much better than that. During Baltimore's five-game Series triumph over Cincinnati, none of the three posted an ERA lower than 3.00, but each earned a winning decision while McNally and Cuellar recorded complete games.

Paced by Ken Holtzman (1-0, 2.13 ERA), "Catfish" Hunter (2-0, 2.81 ERA) and even "Blue Moon" Odom (1.59 ERA in two starts), the A's starting pitchers from their seven-game World series victory over Cincinnati had a 2.51 ERA. Hunter's 8 2/3-inning performance in Game 2 was one of the highlights of the entire series.

Sure, the Big Red Machine was the focal point of Cincinnati's back-to-back World Series championships, However, the starting pitching during this 1976 sweep of the New York Yankees was pretty impressive. Don Gullett, Fred Norman, Pat Zachry and Gary Nolan put up a combined 2.67 ERA while each pitched into the sixth inning.

It just seemed the Orioles were destined to win it all in 1983 — and they did, as the most complete team in baseball that was loaded with quality arms. In beating Philadelphia in five games to win the '83 Series, Baltimore starters Scott McGregor, Mike Boddicker, Mike Flanagan and Storm Davis posted a 1.80 ERA and walked just four batters over 35 innings.

After falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series and persevering through the Bay Area earthquake in this one, Oakland prevailed with a four-game sweep of the neighboring San Francisco Giants. From a starting standpoint it was a two-man rotation due to the break after the earthquake that allowed starters Dave Stewart and Mike Moore to combine for 1.86 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 29 innings.

Granted, this series did not bring out the best in John Smoltz, who was roughed up by Cleveland in Game 3. But Tom Glavine (2-0, 1.29 ERA), Greg Maddux (1-1, 2.25 ERA) and Steve Avery (1-0, 1.50 ERA) were there to help Atlanta and its ultra-talented rotation bring home a World Series title. Maddux's complete-game effort in the opener and Glavine's eight-innings of one-hit ball in the 1-0 Game 6 clincher were pretty special.

If it weren't for Andy Pettitte's rough outing in Game 3 (five ER, 10 hits, 3 2/3 IP), the Yankees' starting ERA of 2.49 against the Atlanta Braves would have been even more impressive. Orlando Hernandez, David Cone and Roger Clemens were brilliant in helping New York sweep the Braves, who batted a paltry .182 with just one home run against those opposing starters.  

We move along one year, and New York's starters proved even stingier in taking down the Mets in five games to prove their dominance on the Gotham baseball scene. With Hernandez, Clemens and Pettite now joined by Denny Neagle in the Yankees' World Series rotation, that group had a 2.41 ERA and struck out 33 with nine walks — just one in the first two games. 

We know the potential for greatness is there with Randy Johnson (3-0, 1.04 ERA in the series) and Curt Schilling (1-0, 1.69 ERA) on the staff. Paced by those two legends, Arizona's starters, which also included Brian Anderson and Miguel Batista, posted a ridiculous 1.43 ERA, struck out 51 batters and allowed three homers during its seven-game series win. Johnson's complete-game, three-hitter, with 11 strikeouts and one walk, in the Diamondbacks' 4-0 win in Game 2 is still World Series gold. 

A big reason for the Marlins rather surprising run to a 2003 World Series championship was how well the starters fared in beating the New York Yankees in six games. That group of Josh Beckett (1-1, 1.10 ERA), Brad Penny (2-0, 2.19 ERA) and Carl Pavano (1.00 ERA) led the way as the Marlins rotation recorded a 2.31 ERA in the Series and held the Yankees to just two home runs.

After helping Arizona win the World Series three years earlier, Schilling was there to make sure Boston ended "The Curse of the Bambino" by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals for its first World Series title since 2018. Schilling, Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe did not give up an earned run in 20 innings of work and the starters posted a 1.90 ERA.

It's probably tough for the casual baseball fan to remember the White Sox starters during their sweep of Houston in '05. Here's a refresher: Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia combined for a stellar 2.89 ERA, while each pitched seven innings to help the White Sox win their most recent World Series.

It wasn't a total surprise that the Red Sox dominated Colorado en route to a four-game sweep for their second World Series in four seasons. Starters Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka combined for a blistering 1.54 ERA and did not allow a run while needing to pitch only 23 1/3 innings.

With Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain leading the way and the emergence of some talented youngster named Madison Bumgarner, the Giants had a strong group in 2010. That was on display during San Francisco's five-game Series win over Texas. Cain and Bumgarner combined to allow seven hits over 15 2/3 scoreless innings of their two starts, and Lincecum went 2-0 with a serviceable 3.29 ERA.

We know the 2010 Giants were special, but the '12 group that swept the Detroit Tigers was just nasty. Barry Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain combined to allow just four runs over 25 1/3 innings — with three coming in the clinching-Game 4 victory. Detroit hitters batted just .205 against them.

Max Scherzer and World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg are as good of 1-2 punch as we've seen in modern times. Third starter Patrick Corbin would be the ace of many MLB rotations. The Nats rode these arms to their first World Series win over the Houston Astros.