Best lefty off all time? My vote is Koufax!

[Mark17]

Either Grove or Spahn was the best. Grove spent his first 5 years in the minors, playing close to his home and birthplace in MD, winning 111 games. Then, as a 25 year old rookie, he began his ML career which saw him win 300 games against 141 losses, a better than 2-1 ratio.

Spahn had 363 ML wins and also began his ML career late, because of the war.

I'll take Grove as the best and a very close second is Spahn. If I was a GM I'd prefer Warren, as he was a much more congenial fellow. So it's a toss-up.

If Grove begins his career in the majors, and if not for WW2, both Spahn and Grove may have been 400 game winners. Their career ERAs were virtually the same.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Their career ERAs were virtually the same.

Only if we ignore context.

Relative to time and place, against the league:
Grove: 148 ERA+
Spahn: 119 ERA+

Raw:
Grove: 3.06
Spahn: 3.09

Grove beat his league average by 48%, which was for a very long time the all-time record for a starter. Spahn by 19%.