Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
I would think on best 4 or 5 years Unit would be way up there?
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Up there, but not quite there. Using Baseball Reference WAR, though frankly I'm not a big fan of WAR:
Top 4:
Grove: 11.2, 10.4, 10.4, 9.8 = 41.8
Johnson: 10.7, 10.1, 9.1, 8.6 = 38.5
Koufax: 10.7, 10.3, 8.1, 7.3 = 36.4
Top 5
Grove: 11.2, 10.4, 10.4, 9.8, 9.5 = 51.3
Johnson: 10.7, 10.1, 9.1, 8.6, 8.4 = 46.9
Koufax: 10.7, 10.3, 8.1, 7.3, 5.7 = 42.1
These are the methods trying to punish Grove and reward other favored candidates, but Grove still wins. I'd put Johnson and Spahn 2nd and 3rd. Spahn obviously fairs poorly in top 4 or 5 season only ranking as his great value was his consistent excellence and not short greatness. My takeaway from the first 630 posts last year was that there is no math-based rational argument for Koufax at all, but the emotional ties to him are very strong for a great many.