Should MLB replace Cy Young awards with the "C. Mathewson" and "W. Johnson" awards?

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by bravos4evr

yeah but dead ball era pitchers had huge parks, a ball that was spit on, brown, misshapen at times, faced a lower quality hitter , didn't throw at full strength most of the time and didn't have the slider, splitter or cutter to put more pressure on their elbow and shoulder. and all sorts of other things too.

The thing is, you can't blame pitchers for their era. The deadball guys got the era they got, as did the guys in the 80's, as did everybody else. The modern era is one of specialization, such is the way of things, but punishing people and ignoring evidence because of some sort of "yeah but " thing is intellectually dishonest. Remember, the numbers are park and league adjusted.

Point well taken Nick with reference to the large ballparks and "mushed" dark baseballs. I totally agree it is virtually impossible to judge a statistic like ERA "post-WW2" VS. the dead-ball era. I also agree that NO sabermetric including WAR can adjust accordingly, that is with 100% certainty. It's almost as if pre-1920 pitchers need to be placed in a separate bucket and only measured against their peers from that same era. On another note, the other HUGE advantage post 80s/90s pitchers have versus their pre-80's peers are the incredible conditioning programs (+ PEDs) that were established which is why pitchers no longer show a rapid decline in performance as they approach their mid-30s. Imagine pitchers like Gibson, Palmer, etc staying physically fit to 40 or longer??? Pre-1980, lifting weights was considered extremely harmful for pitchers, yet in reality, the mindset changed to realize it was essential for continued and enhanced performance. That concept has created a significant durability for post-90's pitchers with many star hurlers maintaining their skill sets to 40 and over.