Here is the official Ranking of the best-hitting MLB pitchers of all time The first will shock you

Most insiders think that the DH is here to stay in the National League, so with hitting pitchers about to go the way of the dinosaur, it’s worth taking a look at those hurlers who raked (relatively speaking).

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The best-hitting pitchers of all time

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The universal DH is here to stay, which means that hitting pitchers have gone the way of the dinosaur, except for Shohei Ohtani, who gets to exist in a class by himself. Let’s remember the old days by taking a look at hurlers who raked (relatively speaking).

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Brandon Backe

Backe played eight seasons, from 2002-2009, and most of them were undistinguished, posting a 31-29 career record, with a mediocre 5.23 ERA. However, as a hitter with the Astros — they were still in the National League during his stint — he showed some serious potential. He had four home runs in 133 career at-bats, but power wasn’t the most impressive part of his game; Backe was an overall solid hitter. He finished his career with a .256 average and a .731 OPS.

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Ken Brett

George Brett’s older brother was a pretty fair player in his own right, posting a career 3.93 ERA in 14 seasons. Given his family history, it’s unsurprising that there was some thunder in his bat. Brett’s two best years as a hitter came in 1973 and 1974, when he combined to hit .281 with six home runs in 167 at-bats, and post a .766 OPS. When accounting for the offensive environment of that era, Brett was, amazingly enough, an above-average hitter relative to his non-pitching peers.

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Bullet Joe Bush

Bush possessed both an all-time great nickname and some serious chops as a hitter. His career straddled the end of the Dead-ball era, and the beginning of the Live-ball era. When Bush got significant plate appearances in 1921 and 1922, he proved that not only was he not a pushover, but he also was a tough out. Bush hit .325 in 1921 and .326 the following season and then topped both of those years by hitting .339 in 1924. For his career, he finished with a .253 average and seven home runs.

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Madison Bumgarner

Bumgarner’s exploits as a hitter are well-documented. He’s taken Clayton Kershaw deep and has 19 career home runs in 594 at-bats — roughly a full season’s worth. Bumgarner’s two best years as a hitter, by far, were 2014 and 2015. He combined for nine home runs and 24 RBI, and hit .252. His .749 OPS was not only superlative for a pitcher, but it also made him an above-average offensive player overall. The best part about Bumgarner’s work at the plate? He never got cheated on any of his swings.

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Don Drysdale

As far as hitting pitchers go, Drysdale is a legend. He hit 29 home runs in 1,169 career at-bats, but what is particularly amazing about his work as a hitter is that the majority of his production came in two flukish, outlier seasons. As a 21-year-old in 1958, Drysdale hit an astounding seven home runs in just 66 at-bats, good for a .591 slugging percentage and an .852 OPS. Seven years later, at age 28, he hit .300 in 130 at-bats, cracked seven more home runs and had an .839 OPS. Oh, and he won a Cy Young and is in the Hall of Fame. Not bad, not bad at all.

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Wes Ferrell

Here’s a pretty good synopsis of Ferrell’s talents as a hitter: His 38 career home runs are the all-time record for a pitcher, he was so good as a hitter that he was often used in a pinch-hitting capacity, and he had two seasons with an OPS better than .950, not to mention two more above .800. Ferrell might have been playing in the 1930s, but those numbers are impressive in any era. He wasn’t too shabby as a pitcher, either, winning 193 games in a 15-year career.

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Yovani Gallardo

Gallardo had an impressive early start to his career, finishing seventh in the National League Cy Young race in 2010, but his talents weren’t limited to the mound. That same season, he slugged four home runs and finished with an .837 OPS while also managing to hit .254. That was by far his best offensive season. A move to the American League in 2015 finished him as a hitter, but he made the bottom of the Brewers lineup formidable every time he pitched.