His career ERA is 4.49, and he shit the bed numerous times in “must win” games. He wasn’t just some #3 pitcher who the doggies HOPED would offer some innings and give them a chance to win. He was THE guy, who they needed big games from, and he just didn’t deliver those games when they were needed.
Add another Johnson into that list
I am not certain he belongs with THAT class, but sure. But I would put Clemens on the board before Randy.
You don't think he belongs with Maddux and Clemens?
Certainly not a hill I am willing to die on, but yes, I view Maddux as being better. The difference is a hair-width, but you need to draw that line somewhere.
Gibson I keep forgetting about. And the change in the shape of the field is something he had zero to do with, so I have a hard time using that against him. But I would be ok adding Clemens and Gibson to the list I mentioned earlier. And Randy as well, seeing as he is SOOO close (though I do feel that Maddux, at least, is better, so Randy wouldn’t be able to win, imho — 900 additional innings between contemporaries is pretty convincing).
Almost 900 additional IP for Maddux (in the same era) makes him a clear better option than Johnson. Johnson was a lefty and a K artist while Maddux was a P2C and a righty, but everything else, numbers-wise, is very similar. Basically it comes down to lefty vs more innings. I prefer innings to arm, personally.
Umpire aid sucks, and is why I am a HUGE proponant of the robo-umps whenever they are ready. But unfortunately, there is no way to confirm or deny any of that actually happened, so I CHOOSE to ignore it.
Ty Cobb: <seething>
There’s marginal accumulators(like a Harold Baines or a Biggio) but Aaron is not one of those. Aaron finished in the top 20 for MVP for NINETEEN straight years(13 of those years were top 10). Can anyone else make that claim??? It seems rather remarkable to me. He was absolutely elite for an incredibly long time. Health and durability are important attributes to possess.
Take away the first 3 seasons and the last 3 and he averaged over 38 home runs per season for 17 years. Yeah, pretty mediocre....
The guy who created the narrative was a consultant for the movie.
Cobb still had enough life in him to call the publisher and tell them to stop the biography.
