Posted By:
Jeff LichtmanJay,
The first six years of Koufax's career when he was a sub-500 pitcher comprised a total of 689 innings. I think we can agree that being used a bit more than 100 innings a year for a guy who threw 311 or more innings three times in his career suggests something was amiss in how he was handled. That being said: Randy Johnson, before he became Randy Johnson that we know, pitched five years and 816 innings. I'm sure there are other great pitchers with similar starts. Tom Glavine, a borderline HOF pitcher who will certainly make it if he wins 300, pitched 645 innings before he became "Tom Glavine." Before he became a .500 pitcher, he needed to pitch 891 innings. Of course, the Braves sucked during Glavine's rough period but so did his ERA. I'm not suggesting Glavine is even in Koufax's neighborhood, just trying to make a point with a pitcher that is very likely HOF-bound. I think, as I stated previously, our difference lies in what we define "greatness" to be. I think that while greatness can be acheived over time, the truly greatest of all time period that Koufax had just overwhelmes anything else in his career. You'll clearly never get me to say that Koufax's career numbers are "great." But that doesn't stop me from claiming that he is one of the greatest pitchers to ever live.
Jeff
P.S. And how does Billy Williams make the HOF and not Rice?