Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Sandy Kouphax, Rodger Clements
2007-07-18 13:53:46 · 18 answers · asked by Carter F 1 in Sports ➔ Baseball
In his prime Sandy Koufax was the best. And everyone knew it. NL MVP in 1963, and won the 1963, 1965, and 1966 Cy Young Awards by UNANIMOUS votes; in ALL three seasons, he won the pitcher's Triple Crown by leading BOTH major leagues in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average. No one has been more dominant --or-- more widely acknowledged.
Batters feared Sandy and Randy more than Ryan.
Koufax set new standards for what it meant to be a Power Pitcher. He was the first major leaguer with four no-hitters, to average fewer than seven hits allowed per nine innings, and to strike out more than nine batters per nine innings pitched in his career. Arthritis ended his career at age 30, if Tommy John surgery had been around in Sandy's day, who know what career records he'd amassed.
2007-07-19 04:32:33 · answer #1 · answered by harmonv 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nolan Ryan is very overrated: he's very famous for all his strikeouts and no-hitters, but people forget he's also the all time leader in yielding walks, and he was a .500 pitcher almost all his career, he won 300 games just because he played a whooping 27 seasons.
Clemens would be the best, a pitcher always out to win the game, the go-to guy that would be welcome in any great team. It's amazing he's won so many games in this era of 5-man rotations.
Koufax is simply awesome, he would have easily been the greatest of all time had he not got injured and retired early, his stats are so impressive in that great 6-year stretch of him, so out of this world.
To me, the greatest pitcher of all time is the unmentioned Walter Johnson. Major leaguers from that era, including Ty Cobb, have repeatedly said his fastball was so fast it wasn't visible. He won 372 games for a Senators team that was below mediocre most of the time, one can only imagine all the games he would have won had he played for winning team.
2007-07-18 17:29:05 · answer #2 · answered by Operaz 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
OMG, you guys on Ryan need to look!!!!!!! Why can't you see that 7 games in 27 seasons doesn't make you great.
Now, back to the argument. Koufax was not the best pitcher ever in his prime. That honor would belong to Pedro. Not even close. Koufax is one of the all-time greats, though.
Clemens, Maddux, and Randy Johnson all belong in the top fifteen, with Clemens in the top five. The pitcher that best combined longevity with dominance was Walter Johnson.
Take away Ryan's strikeouts and no-hitters. Set them to the side. Now, look at his innings and ERA, especially relative to his league. His numbers are remarkably similar to Phil Niekro. Lots on innings, good performance, if inconsistent, and lots of walks.
2007-07-18 14:19:48 · answer #3 · answered by desotobrave 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Out of that group, it's Roger Clemens by far.
Koufax had an amazing peak period, but he didn't sustain his greatness over as long a period of time as Clemens.
For all those who say Ryan and point to his strikeouts, they seem to forget about the fact that he also holds the record for walks by a mile, and could be amazingly inconsistent from one game to another. And while they point to the no-hitters and one-hitters, they seem to forget about all the nights he got knocked around because he couldn't locate his pitchers. He's a deserving HOFer, but anyone who thinks he's the best of all time really needs to look more closely at the numbers.
Clemens and Tom Seaver are the best pitchers of the past half-century, and they should be ranked ahead of the rest of that list.
2007-07-18 14:11:02 · answer #4 · answered by Craig S 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I have to agree with Zorro. Walter Johnson was the man. The two most dominant pitchers I've seen (since '67) were Bob Gibson and Randy Johnson. If they had their 'A' game going, you may as well not bother playing the game, you couldn't beat 'em.
2007-07-18 19:17:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
In his prime sandy koufax was the best, he was completely dominant before his career was cut short by injury. However, factoring longevity into the equation, I'd have to vote for Walter Johnson as the greatest pitcher ever. 417 career wins, a 2.17 era, and over 3500 strikeouts, all for a team (the Senators) that wasn't very good during his career.
2007-07-18 14:10:56 · answer #6 · answered by bcb534 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Walter Johnson or Christy Matthewson
2007-07-19 03:36:06 · answer #7 · answered by eric z 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all it's Koufax, and Roger Clemens,
Second the best while many say it's the Rocket, It reallly is Nolan Ryan. Over 4,000 K's beats Roger's 300+ wins any day.
2007-07-18 13:59:17 · answer #8 · answered by Jake K 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Sandy Kouphax
2007-07-18 14:05:16 · answer #9 · answered by Nicky b 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
None of the above.
Without a doubt it's CY YOUNG
All-time leader in wins, that will never be reached by any pitcher ever.
The best pitcher of the year awards are named after him.
2007-07-18 14:37:26 · answer #10 · answered by Brandon 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋