The past few months I've had recurring thoughts about that thread about who was the best / greatest left handed pitcher ever. Most of the discussion was about Koufax and Spahn. I saw Spahn pitch, once, as a kid. And Koufax, once. When I saw them I had no sense of past seasons and all time records. Spahn seemed to labor on the mound, Koufax flowed with power. As a kid I thought Koufax the best.
Then Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract comes along, an enlightening book, even for folks that think they know about old ball players. It was then that I decided that the best left hander I saw pitch wasn't S Carlton, R Johnson, T Glavine, Jim Kaat, Andy Pettite, nor Mr. Koufax... it was Warren Spahn.
Here's why. If I owned a MLB franchise and could pick any one left handed pitcher to win one game for my team, Sandy Koufax may well be that guy. But if I owned a MLB franchise and I could pick any left handed pitcher to play not just one game, nor a season, but instead an entire career for my franchise, that left hander would by Warren Spahn. (And with that said, you should be able to see why Kaat was in my little list above.)
With all of that said, (and no, this isn't in the wrong thread, I'm just tying them together) I have found myself wanting to read a book about Sandy Koufax.
So Dan, thank you for starting this thread. Jeremy, Bob, and anyone else who recommended Jane Leavy's book about Koufax, thank you; I've placed an order for that book (although I think I have a copy in a box in an upstairs closet). When this one arrives, I'll read it before I misplace it!
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