The Right Opinion
All-Time All-Stars: Part II
Trying to choose the greatest pitcher of all time is at least as difficult as trying to choose the greatest hitter of all time. In both cases, the best we can do is narrow down the list.
Outside a charmed circle of five batters, no one had both a higher lifetime batting average and a higher lifetime slugging average than any of those five. In alphabetical order, they are Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Rogers Hornsby, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. There are other batters whose lifetime records came close, including Barry Bonds, Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg. But close cannot define the greatest.
When it comes to choosing the all-time greatest pitcher, there are even more complications than there are in choosing the candidates for the all-time greatest batter. Batting is much more of an individual achievement, while a pitcher's record depends on what his team does, both at bat and in the field.
A great pitcher who is pitching for a team that scores very few runs may have a tougher time winning games than a pitcher who gives up an average of 3 runs a game, but who is pitching for a team that scores an average of 5 runs a game for him.
When a pitcher has a great double-play combination behind him at shortstop and second base, or a Willie Mays or Joe DiMaggio in center field, that can also keep his earned run average down.
With pitchers, as with batters, a spectacular season should not carry as much weight as a whole career of great achievements. Back in the early 20th century, there were a couple of 40-game winners, and 37-game winner Iron Man McGinnity on several occasions pitched both games in a double-header. But pitching a lot of games in a season was not a formula for longevity.
On the other hand, total wins in a lifetime cannot be the sole criterion, since that obviously depends on longevity as much as on pitching effectiveness. Weighing strikeouts against earned run averages can also vary from one observer to the next.
Since the ultimate purpose of pitching is not simply to strike out batters but to keep the other team from scoring, I would give a lot of weight to shutouts. Here one man stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Walter Johnson is the only pitcher to pitch more than a hundred shutouts in his career -- 110, in fact. Playing for a team that was not always among the best, more than one-fourth of his 416 career victories were shutouts.
With even the greatest pitchers of our era seldom going the full nine innings, Walter Johnson's 110 shutouts seems to be the baseball record least likely to be broken. In order to compare the pitchers of our time with those of the past, earned run averages may have to be used.
Walter Johnson's lifetime earned run average was 2.17. Christy Mathewson had a lifetime ERA of 2.13, but Mathewson played for better teams. It is hard to think of any other pitcher whose lifetime records top theirs, except for records based on sheer longevity, like Cy Young's 511 victories. Cy Young had a lifetime ERA of 2.63 -- obviously great, but not the greatest.
Hard as it is to narrow down the candidates for the title of greatest batter of all time, or the greatest pitcher of all time, selecting who should be nominated as having the greatest versatility seems a lot easier.
There is only one baseball player who, at various times, led the league in both batting and pitching categories. That one man was Babe Ruth.
The Bambino had a league-leading batting average of .378 in 1924 and hit .393 the previous year, when Harry Heilmann hit .403. When it came to home runs, Ruth was the only man to lead the league in that category in 12 different seasons.
Babe Ruth's records as a pitcher are not nearly as well known. But he led the league in ERA with 1.75 in 1916. His lifetime ERA was 2.28, putting him in the company of the greatest pitchers of all time. The Babe still holds the American League record for the most shutouts in a season by a left-handed pitcher, and holds the record for the longest shutout ever pitched in the World Series -- 14 innings.
Is anyone else even close to leading the league in both of these very different and very fundamental aspects of baseball?
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6 Comments
tod -the tool guy in bklyn ny
Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 7:56 AM
My best hitter would be Hank Aaron,retro 1970's, and best pitcher is Vida Rochelle Blue, of the same decade. I wonder if they were polically Conservative, like us?
Howard Last in Wyoming
Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 11:14 AM
The last man to pitch both ends of a double header was Don Newcombe. And he was a pretty good hitter. He was once in awhile used as a pinch hitter. BTW, the most idiotic idea in baseball is to have designated hitters. It ties with no brush back pitchers. Imagine telling Early Wynn, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson, Sal Maglie or Don Newcombe you can not knock down a batter?
The two best pitches I ever saw were Warren Spahn and Sandy Koufax.
Mike McGinn in People's Republic of Maryland
Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 10:02 PM
In my book the true all-time all-stars are our servicemen and women. Pro ball players are little more than self-centered, spoiled, over-paid brats that add little true value to our lives.
In 1970 the average pro ball player’s salary was about $29K. The minimum wage set by the MBLPA was $12K. My father was a USMC Major that year and his salary was about $15K, or 52% of the average pro ball player's salary and 125% of the minimum wage.
In 2010 the average pro ball player’s salary was about $3.34M. The minimum wage set by the MBLPA was $400K. A USMC Major that year had a salary that was about $99K, or 3% of the average pro ball player's salary and 25% of the minimum wage.
When I was a kid my Dad and I used to go watch the Dodgers and A’s play all the time. The games were day games, and my Dad didn’t need to get a loan to pay for the tickets, parking, hotdogs, drinks, and perhaps a memento like a felt pennant. Today you pay an arm and a leg to go to a ball game, and hopefully the kids can stay awake all the way through the night games.
I can’t remember when the last time was that I attended a pro ball game. Ball player salaries have gone up 115 times what they were 4 decades ago, but the enjoyment I derive from watching the game hasn’t increased 115 times. If anything, it’s gone down.
If ratio between an average pro ball player’s salary and a USMC Major’s salary was the same as it was in 1970, the average pro ball player would be making $191K instead of $3.34M.
So, tell me again who the real all-time all-stars are?
Howard Last in Wyoming
Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 11:44 PM
Mike - as a kid I went to Ebbet's Field with my father. The ballplayers then were almost all ex servicemen. Carl Furillo the Dodger's right fielder was a Marine in the Pacific. He was wounded in battle and was offered a Purple Heart. He turned it down, saying ,"I was not valiant enough". Ted Williams was a Marine Corps fighter pilot, who lost five years of playing time due to WW-II and Korea. Hank Greenberg was one of the first to volunteer after Pearl harbor. When the Mets won the World Series in 69, one of the news magazines had some Met's players in a picture in a Iwo Jima pose. Gil Hodges the Met's manager went nuts (he was also a Marine in the Pacific) . The players just won a ballgame the soldiers won a war.
JJStryder in Realville
Monday, July 9, 2012 at 9:49 AM
I've always been impressed with Babe Ruth's ability as both hitter and pitcher. All without steroids.
Ken in Dayton, OH
Monday, July 9, 2012 at 3:02 PM
The "old timers" were cut of different and sturdier cloth than today's gifted, yet fragile athletes. As an aside, I watched Lew Burdette of the old Milwaukee Braves beat the Reds at Crosley field back in the 50's. Lew hit 2 HR's and went 9 innings to beat the Reds 3-1. Back then, relief pitchers were only used in the event of a signifcant injury to the starter or a total blowout. Anything less was an insult to the starter who would often trash the dugout water cooler on the way to the locker room. And many of those guys sold cars and appliances in the off-season to nmake ends meet. Good stuff!!!