Best lefty off all time? My vote is Koufax!

[rats60]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Where are the quotes about trying to hit Koufax in 1961?


Nah, just trying to offset the overwrought hyperbole about Koufax. Thing is, no one is willing to explain why he was SO MUCH better at Dodger Stadium if he was truly so great?

If Koufax was so completely unhittable, why was he awful at the LA Coliseum? Careful - if you're not allowed to attribute his success to his ballpark, you don't get to blame his failures either.

WHIP 4th
H/9 1st
K/9 1st
Ks 1st
K/BB 1st
FIP 1st
ERA 7th

Koufax wasn't the best lefty of all time in 1961 but he was one of the best pitchers in baseball. The left field fence at the LA Coliseum was 251 feet from home plate. Dodger Stadium a normal 330 feet and you wonder why Koufax was better in Dodger Stadium? It is common for players to do better in their home park. Sleeping in their own bed vs a hotel, no travel, familiarity with park, fan support, etc. Koufax was no different. Koufax would have been much better 1958-1961 if the Dodgers weren't playing in a football stadium with unusual dimensions, but all you want to do is criticize him for having only 5 years of a home park advantage in LA but his numbers are hurt worse for 4 in the Coliseum.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by rats60

The left field fence at the LA Coliseum was 251 feet from home plate. Dodger Stadium a normal 330 feet and you wonder why Koufax was better in Dodger Stadium?

This is an intentional misstatement/misinterpretation of what I've said:

I specifically excluded Koufax's LA Coliseum numbers earlier for the very reason you mentioned.

I don't wonder why Koufax was better in Dodger Stadium vs the Coliseum. It's obvious.

HOWEVER...

Multiple people are in this thread saying (paraphrase) that the ballpark doesn't matter, Koufax was just plain great. Well, if that's the case, why the failures at the LA Coliseum? If the ballpark doesn't matter, you gotta explain his failures at the Coliseum some other way. Obviously, you can't, because the ballpark DOES matter. This is completely accepted when it comes to hitters - remember all the "what if Williams and DiMaggio switched stadiums?" debates? or all the grief thrown at Jim Rice, Larry Walker, and Chuck Klein - but for some reason, it's not for pitchers. Even in cases where it's blatantly obvious, like Koufax.