Ohtani or Ruth?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by bk400

The only way Yamamoto could be considered better than Bob Gibson is if you include his resume in Japan, which was awesome and better than any MLB pitcher over the same number of years.

I love this quote, not sure if apocryphal:

"Don't dig in against Bob Gibson. He'll knock you down. He'd knock down his own grandmother. Don't stare at him, don't smile at him, don't talk to him. He doesn't like it. If you happen to hit a home run, don't run too slow and don't run too fast. If you want to celebrate get in the tunnel first.
And if he hits you, don't charge the mound because he's a Golden Gloves boxer." -- Hank Aaron

I thought the grandmother thing was Early Wynn. A writer said Early you're so mean you'd throw at your own grandmother, to which he (allegedly) replied, only if she was crowding the plate.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by bk400

A more serious debate might actually be Kershaw versus Gibson.

There you go! I’ll give the ball to Gibby to win any post-season game, but Kershaw gets the nod with regard to overall career dominance based on his incredible sabermetric statistics.

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by bk400

The only way Yamamoto could be considered better than Bob Gibson is if you include his resume in Japan, which was awesome and better than any MLB pitcher over the same number of years.

50-16 with a 1.42 ERA his last three seasons in Japan. Not bad.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by Tabe

50-16 with a 1.42 ERA his last three seasons in Japan. Not bad.

Yes, with 3 MVPs, 3 Cy Youngs, 2 Triple Crowns and 2 no-hitters in that same time frame. He also won an Olympic Gold medal and a WBC championship.

As for Kershaw v. Gibson, I'm firmly in the Gibson camp. Post season baseball is so different, especially for starting pitchers.