Who's the best?
I likewise vote for Johnson, especially based on his WAR and JAWS stats that clearly outdistance the rest of the pack. However, had Matty and Johnson pitched in todays game, I truly believe Matty would have been the better of the two pitchers due to his uncanny ability to throw 3 pitches for strikes. Walter Johnson was the hardest thrower of his time (with all due respect to Joe Wood), and primarily used his blazing fastball to overmatch hitters. While his secondary pitches were somewhat formidable, they could not compare to Matty's incredible fade away (screwball) and curve. Matty likewise threw hard, and considering he could pinpoint 3 world class pitches "on a dime", it makes sense that he would be the better candidate to dominate the hitters of today who feast on 95 mph fastballs. Most pitches today throw gas and it is the hurler that commands one or two of their secondary pitches that reign supreme. Some classic examples are Pedro Martinez (change, curve), Kershaw (curve, slider), Clemens (splitter), and Maddux (change). Of course this is all speculation, but it certainly appears that baseballs finest pitchers have to have a spectacular secondary pitch to dominate. Regards, JoeT
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