Quote:
Originally Posted by brian1961
One thing that should be stressed with Sandy Koufax is the fact that, for the most part mind you, he did not have a team behind him that could give him a lot of runs. I recall the term, "small ball", being associated with Koufax & Drysdale. The Dodgers had Frank Howard, but even mighty Hondo struggled in their home parks. They had Tommy Davis, who put up spectacular numbers in '62, and won a pair of batting titles, if I recall correctly. Their biggest warrior was the dynamic Maury Wills. I know expressing this won't convince you, probably. Nevertheless, as someone who grew up during Sandy's string of banner years, I well remember the press being mighty impressed with Mr. Koufax because he did not have a team of sluggers and better hitters behind him, yet was the most invincible hurler in MLB.
The same could be said for Nolan Ryan and Sam McDowell on that count.
Cheers----Brian Powell
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This would affect Koufax's won-loss record, but nobody here is criticizing his won loss record. It has nothing to do with his short peak, absurd road/home performance gap, ERA, none of the criticisms actually made of Koufax in this thread. Further, that even Frank Howard couldn't hit at Chavez would seem further evidence that Chavez is a pitchers paradise, which hurts Koufax's argument.