Quote:
Originally Posted by jgannon
You still don't get it. Not everyone was going to post an 0.85 E.R.A. in Chavez no matter how good the park was. To say that Koufax was primarily a product of the ballpark, doesn't take into account that different people were going to perform differently in the ballpark due to their ability. That's why I am comparing him to the other Dodger pitchers.
You just have refused to acknowledge that Dodger Stadium or no Dodger Stadium, Koufax excelled there because he was great in his own right. The home/road splits are being overblown. 2.31 and 1.96 weren't exactly bad road E.R.A.'s.
This debate has been a side one, because one of the reasons people here have dismissed him as not being the all-time greatest lefty has been that he was merely a creature of his ballpark. I say you have to be a great pitcher first to throw 0.85 in any ballpark.
Just skip it.
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I agree 150%. Here’s what certain people are missing. A “high mound” is an advantage to a pitcher, BUT any hurler requires the world-class tools to capitalize on the mound’s higher plane. In Koufax’s case, it was his incredible “12 to 6” curveball that bottomed out right at the hitting zone. In those 5 years of sheer dominance, Koufax’s curveball was as good as any pitcher who ever toed an MLB rubber, combining the curve with an upper 90s riding fastball to dominate hitters as good or better than any all-time great in a 5-year span. The greatest lefty of all-time - NO - just not enough years of dominance to stake that claim. However, from a “peak-value” perspective, he stands at or near the top right alongside any lefty or righty.