Tuesday, July 20, 2004
PITCHERS BETTER THAN cl*m*ns
Remember, his name doesn't deserve vowels or capitalization. Anyway, the All-Star Game buildup on Fox and r*ger's solid performance this year has caused alot of sports pundits to throw that term around that they like to throw. "Best ever." People like Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, and Kevin Kennedy (idiots in my mind) like to call people the best. Is cl*m*ns one of the best ever? There's no doubt. Hell, on Baseball-Reference.com's cl*m*ns page, the sponsor says he's on of the best 3 or four pitchers ever. It is time to dispell this myth. Here are some things about r*ger that, to me, take him out of the running for best ever. I'll follow that with some pitchers that I feel are better.
It is true that cl*mens has 321 wins at the moment and will probably end up in the top 10 on the all-time win list. However, only one of the all-time winners has a higher ERA than clemens. clemens is not a clutch pitcher. If there were a one game palyoff at the end of the season, I don't know if I'd want roger to be on the mound. His ERA in the postseason is 3.47 which isn't bad but his record is 8-6. His Divisional round ERA is 4.50 and he's 2-3. His LCS ERA is 3.90 and he's 3-3. We all know about Game 6 in the 86 WS but who started that game and asked out cuz he had a boo-boo? clemens! In 2 starts in the 86 series, he only pitched 11.1 innings. In all of his postseason starts, he has averaged less than 6 innings a start. When I think of best all-time pitchers, they're usually capable of at least getitng you to your top set-up man and then the closer.
The mark of great pitching is consistency. There isn't a whole lot of consistency for roger ERA wise throughout his career. Seven times in his career, his ERA has fluctuated a run or more in between seasons. In 1993, for example, his ERA was 4.46, then it went down 2.85 then it went up to 4.18.
Now its time for the pitchers I think are better than cl*mens in no particular order:
1. Walter Johnson (Senators)
Johnson played for one of the worst teams in baseball history. Despite the fact that they were perennial last place finishers, Johnson was able to win 417 games with them. Johnson has the most Shutouts of all-time with 110. His career ERA is 2.17 (the league average during his career averages to 3.17). Johnson's ERA was 68.5% of the league's ERA. If cl*mens had that eprcentage, his career ERA would be lower. In 21 seasons, Johnson's ERA was below the league average 20 times. Only in his last season did it rise above the average. Johnson won 62.6% of his starts for a team that was over .500 only 9 times during Johnson's career.
2. Grover Cleveland Alexander (Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs)
Alexander probably could have won 400 games if he didn't fight in WWI. He is second in shutouts with 90. GAC averaged 19 wins a season. In his 20 year career, his ERA was below the league average 19 times. The only time it wasn't was his last year.
3. Satchel Paige (Indians, Browns, Athletics)
He was 42 when he made his MLB debut in 1948. Although he was primarily a releif pitcher in the majors he managed to win 28 games in 6 seasons (5 really, he was brought in by the KC Athletic's in 1965 for a 3 inning, 0 ER start when he was 59). There aren't any statistics for his Negro League games but there are alot of stories about Paige. In one month he started 29 games. He never made an error in the big leagues. He claims to have won 104 games in 1934. "He was the bets pitcher I ever faced" - Joe DiMaggio. He claims to have won 2,000 of 2,500 starts. In 1933 he won 21 straight and had over 60 consecutive scoreless innings. He was the first player enshrined in the Hall of Fame for his Negro League accomplishments.
4. Sandy Koufax (Dodgers)
No player has ever had such a dominating stretch as Koufax did at the end of his career. Koufax also had an impressive 0.95 ERA in the post-season. From 1961-66, he averaged 25 wins and 285 Ks with an ERA of 2.19. Although Koufax didn't have a lengthy career, he was for a time the best pitcher in baseball with 3 Cy Youngs (back when there was only one awarded, not two). He won the pitching triple crown three times.
5. Cy Young (Spiders, Cardinals, Pilgrims, Naps, Braves)
The fact that the award for best pitcher is named after this guy says alot. There's alot of records in baseball that people say will never be broken (Dimaggio's hit streak for example) but Young's record will not be ebaten. 511 wins, nearly 100 more than anyone else. More than 100 CGs more than anyone else. 76 shutouts. He went 2-1 in the 1903 World series. He also had a career batting average of .210 with 18 HRs (alot for back then). Yes, I know he pitched in a completely different era from cl*mens but in his 22 year career, he only had 2 seasons in which his ERA was higher than average. Furthermore, there was alot of offense in the 1890s. The league ERA in 1894 was 5.47, a run higher than now.
6. Pedro Martinez (Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox)
Before you call me a stupid homer, look at the numbers. Pedro's career ERA is almost 2 runs lower than the league average. Pedro has accomplished a number of amazing feats. In 2000, his ERA was more than 3 runs lower than the league average. In 1995 he threw 9 perfect innings against the Padres only to have his no-hitter lost in the 10th cuz the Expos couldn't score a run in 9 innings. In Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS, he pitched 6 innings of no-hit relief with an ineffective fastball. He then went on to be the ONLY pitcher to win a game against the Y*nkees in the 1999 playoffs with a 7 inning, 2 hit, 0 ER start. His career winning percentage is an impressive .712. He's won 3 Cy Youngs (should be 5), 2 pitching triple crowns, been selected for 7 All-Star teams, led the league in ERA 5 times, is the active ERA leader, has the highest active winning percentage and the third highest all-time winning percentage (cl*mens is 19th), is the active WHIP leader, is the active Hits/9 IP leader and is second all-time, and is second all-time in K/9 IP.
That's it for now. There's alot of other great pitchers out there that I didn't mention and may mention at a later date (Mathewson, Grove etc.). Address all questions or arguments to mailto:rawbeezeitz@yahoo.com
Remember, his name doesn't deserve vowels or capitalization. Anyway, the All-Star Game buildup on Fox and r*ger's solid performance this year has caused alot of sports pundits to throw that term around that they like to throw. "Best ever." People like Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, and Kevin Kennedy (idiots in my mind) like to call people the best. Is cl*m*ns one of the best ever? There's no doubt. Hell, on Baseball-Reference.com's cl*m*ns page, the sponsor says he's on of the best 3 or four pitchers ever. It is time to dispell this myth. Here are some things about r*ger that, to me, take him out of the running for best ever. I'll follow that with some pitchers that I feel are better.
It is true that cl*mens has 321 wins at the moment and will probably end up in the top 10 on the all-time win list. However, only one of the all-time winners has a higher ERA than clemens. clemens is not a clutch pitcher. If there were a one game palyoff at the end of the season, I don't know if I'd want roger to be on the mound. His ERA in the postseason is 3.47 which isn't bad but his record is 8-6. His Divisional round ERA is 4.50 and he's 2-3. His LCS ERA is 3.90 and he's 3-3. We all know about Game 6 in the 86 WS but who started that game and asked out cuz he had a boo-boo? clemens! In 2 starts in the 86 series, he only pitched 11.1 innings. In all of his postseason starts, he has averaged less than 6 innings a start. When I think of best all-time pitchers, they're usually capable of at least getitng you to your top set-up man and then the closer.
The mark of great pitching is consistency. There isn't a whole lot of consistency for roger ERA wise throughout his career. Seven times in his career, his ERA has fluctuated a run or more in between seasons. In 1993, for example, his ERA was 4.46, then it went down 2.85 then it went up to 4.18.
Now its time for the pitchers I think are better than cl*mens in no particular order:
1. Walter Johnson (Senators)
Johnson played for one of the worst teams in baseball history. Despite the fact that they were perennial last place finishers, Johnson was able to win 417 games with them. Johnson has the most Shutouts of all-time with 110. His career ERA is 2.17 (the league average during his career averages to 3.17). Johnson's ERA was 68.5% of the league's ERA. If cl*mens had that eprcentage, his career ERA would be lower. In 21 seasons, Johnson's ERA was below the league average 20 times. Only in his last season did it rise above the average. Johnson won 62.6% of his starts for a team that was over .500 only 9 times during Johnson's career.
2. Grover Cleveland Alexander (Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs)
Alexander probably could have won 400 games if he didn't fight in WWI. He is second in shutouts with 90. GAC averaged 19 wins a season. In his 20 year career, his ERA was below the league average 19 times. The only time it wasn't was his last year.
3. Satchel Paige (Indians, Browns, Athletics)
He was 42 when he made his MLB debut in 1948. Although he was primarily a releif pitcher in the majors he managed to win 28 games in 6 seasons (5 really, he was brought in by the KC Athletic's in 1965 for a 3 inning, 0 ER start when he was 59). There aren't any statistics for his Negro League games but there are alot of stories about Paige. In one month he started 29 games. He never made an error in the big leagues. He claims to have won 104 games in 1934. "He was the bets pitcher I ever faced" - Joe DiMaggio. He claims to have won 2,000 of 2,500 starts. In 1933 he won 21 straight and had over 60 consecutive scoreless innings. He was the first player enshrined in the Hall of Fame for his Negro League accomplishments.
4. Sandy Koufax (Dodgers)
No player has ever had such a dominating stretch as Koufax did at the end of his career. Koufax also had an impressive 0.95 ERA in the post-season. From 1961-66, he averaged 25 wins and 285 Ks with an ERA of 2.19. Although Koufax didn't have a lengthy career, he was for a time the best pitcher in baseball with 3 Cy Youngs (back when there was only one awarded, not two). He won the pitching triple crown three times.
5. Cy Young (Spiders, Cardinals, Pilgrims, Naps, Braves)
The fact that the award for best pitcher is named after this guy says alot. There's alot of records in baseball that people say will never be broken (Dimaggio's hit streak for example) but Young's record will not be ebaten. 511 wins, nearly 100 more than anyone else. More than 100 CGs more than anyone else. 76 shutouts. He went 2-1 in the 1903 World series. He also had a career batting average of .210 with 18 HRs (alot for back then). Yes, I know he pitched in a completely different era from cl*mens but in his 22 year career, he only had 2 seasons in which his ERA was higher than average. Furthermore, there was alot of offense in the 1890s. The league ERA in 1894 was 5.47, a run higher than now.
6. Pedro Martinez (Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox)
Before you call me a stupid homer, look at the numbers. Pedro's career ERA is almost 2 runs lower than the league average. Pedro has accomplished a number of amazing feats. In 2000, his ERA was more than 3 runs lower than the league average. In 1995 he threw 9 perfect innings against the Padres only to have his no-hitter lost in the 10th cuz the Expos couldn't score a run in 9 innings. In Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS, he pitched 6 innings of no-hit relief with an ineffective fastball. He then went on to be the ONLY pitcher to win a game against the Y*nkees in the 1999 playoffs with a 7 inning, 2 hit, 0 ER start. His career winning percentage is an impressive .712. He's won 3 Cy Youngs (should be 5), 2 pitching triple crowns, been selected for 7 All-Star teams, led the league in ERA 5 times, is the active ERA leader, has the highest active winning percentage and the third highest all-time winning percentage (cl*mens is 19th), is the active WHIP leader, is the active Hits/9 IP leader and is second all-time, and is second all-time in K/9 IP.
That's it for now. There's alot of other great pitchers out there that I didn't mention and may mention at a later date (Mathewson, Grove etc.). Address all questions or arguments to mailto:rawbeezeitz@yahoo.com
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