All of these guys were incredible. They were all kings of the mound in their time, and they did it with no MRIs, no trainers, no synthetic and breathable uniforms, no 4-5 days off, no bullpens, no gatorade. They threw misshapen, muddy and tobacco stained balls wearing wool clothing with ratty infield dirt and patchy outfield grass behind them. They left their little moldy mitts out on the mound or crammed them into sweaty back pockets, returned to stifling and dirty dugouts and then marched out to the bump again, expected to finish the whole game. Oh, and maybe be available for the nightcap.
Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson were different pitchers. Hard to compare. If I needed one of them to win a game for me in today's era, Matty would start, go 7.1IP and then I'd have Waddell handle a lefty before turning it over to WaJo to close it out, maybe even ask him to pull a Gossage and get 6 outs. Both great pitchers in their own way, both legends. Love learning as much as I can about all of these guys though. They were all special.
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