Quote:
Originally Posted by G1911
Many anecdotes are first-hand. That does not make them not anecdotes.
Why do you only want to listen to the "informed, professional opinions" of the greats who faced Koufax? The ruleset for judging Koufax is different from that for everyone else. Unless you want to rank Ewell Blackwell as one of the greatest due to anecdotes mentioned earlier.
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Again, if Koufax had discovered some pitching secret, it wouldn't be only his home numbers that greatly improved. His away stats remained pretty flat most years after his alleged discovery. This claim does not mesh with verifiable fact; just like most anecdotes.
Finally, still no one has argued that Koufax was not great during his peak. One poster said he was merely 'good' on the road, which appears to be true looking at his numbers on the road compared to the league averages. His exceptional home park performance and 5 ERA crowns is still a great peak. Nobody in this thread has alleged it was not.
I would love to hear an argument for Koufax based in verifiable fact, in the same standards everyone else is judged too. There must be one that could reasonably be made instead of attempting to replace fact with anecdote, ignore half Koufax's career, ignore anyone else with short term success, ignore highly unusual road/home splits, ignore era/ballpark/league factors etc.
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Here we are back at the beginning again. I put up a post on page three where I discuss that Koufax began his turn the year before the Dodgers moved into Chavez Ravine. Koufax's last road E.R.A. was 1.96. You can ignore or dismiss that the man himself said he began pitching differently. You can ignore a 1.96 E.R.A.
Anyway, maybe we should all start debating that Mantle and Ruth weren't really great home run hitters because they had the short right field porch at Yankee Stadium. And Whitey Ford wasn't really that good a pitcher because of death valley there. A lot of Mays' home runs were cheap, because he began hitting them the opposite way at Candlestick so that the wind would help carry them. Can't work with the conditions in the ballpark you play in, or use it's uniqueness to your advantage. The thing is, that's how baseball is. And one of the things that makes it so interesting and fun. The point is, Koufax was a great pitcher anyway you slice it.
Edit: And yes, I know that the wind was a hindrance at Candlestick Park and was making potential home runs into fly outs. Mays of course, compensated.
07-21-2020, 08:09 PM
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