Quote:
Originally Posted by Hankphenom
I'd have him top 15, if not top ten, that's the truly elite considering how many great pitchers there have been. Even his K's, which you cite as a negative: Where was he when he retired--#3, 4, 5? Not too shabby. Of course,they didn't strike out as much during his time. Where do the big boys like Bill James have him? They might be in your camp with the new metrics, but my God, the guy could win and suck up a ton of innings and do it year after year after year. If I'm a manager, I'd want Spahnie on my staff!
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Joe Posnanski has him as the 59th best player of all-time (although he stresses that he is not really trying to put people in an absolute position).
59th includes hitters and pitchers, and includes Negro League players.
His top 20 pitchers (I pulled this from the book and could not find a straight list, so I may be overlooking someone)
1) Walter Johnson
2) Satchel Paige
3) Roger Clemens
4) Lefty Grove
5) Grover Cleveland Alexander
6) Randy Johnson
7) Greg Maddux
8) Cy Young
9) Christy Mathewson
10) Pedro Martinez
11) Tom Seaver
12) Bob Gibson
13) Warren Spahn
14) Nolan Ryan
15) Bob Feller
16) Smokey Joe Williams
17) Steve Carlton
18) Gaylord Perry
19) Sandy Koufax
20) Bert Blyleven
I think his placement is reasonable. I'd probably move a few around on his list and would have Grove, Mathewson and Seaver a bit higher. I think Ryan is too high. And I struggle with Clemens and how to consider him, but generally think it is a pretty good list.
In my mind, the top 8-10 or so are in their own category, and then the rest come after. But looking at this list is informative. During his career, Gaylord Perry reached #2 all-time in K's, but did not strike out many batters per game. Guys like Bob Feller and Bob Gibson are more valuable (hobby-wise). Pedro Martinez, Sandy Koufax and Greg Maddux are very valuable. They each had transcendent peaks, where even fans of other teams felt they needed to tune in when they were pitching.
The list of pitchers who have real value is very short. Few care about Bert Blyleven and Gaylord Perry from a hobby perspective. Steve Carlton won 300 games and 4 Cy Youngs and is not particularly valuable.
Spahn may be a top 15 all-time pitcher. I'd probably have him in that range. Possibly a little lower, but likely still top 20. I might move Steve Carlton above him. Possibly Bob Feller due to his incredible peak, (there was no Cy Young Award during his peak, but he would likely have won at least 4 Cy Young Awards and possibly more), though I may be biased because I collect barnstorming items and Feller was a legend in that arena.
Of course that's my personal list based on my preferences and my knowledge of baseball, which is of course, not all-encompassing.