Is Randy Johnson the greatest left-hander of all-time?
After an incredible 22-year career, the Big Unit has decided to hang it up.
Randy Johnson announced his retirement on Tuesday night and just like any sports fan or columnist does, we can’t just enjoy his career: We have to dissect it and compare it to others.
SI.com’s Tim Marchman broke down the battle between Johnson and Sandy Koufax while posing the question: Is the Big Unit the greatest left-hander of all-time?
During his five-year peak, Koufax ran up a 111-34 record with a 1.95 ERA, striking out 1,444 in 1,377 innings. From 1998-2002, Johnson’s record was 100-38, with a 2.63 ERA and 1,746 strikeouts in 1,274 1/3 innings. Koufax won five straight ERA titles, leading in strikeouts and wins three times and innings twice. Johnson won three ERA titles and four strikeout crowns while leading in innings twice and wins once.
Taking these numbers at face value, you’d say that as marvelous as Johnson was at his best, Koufax was that much better. But then Koufax pitched in a great pitcher’s park in a great pitcher’s era, while Johnson pitched in good hitter’s parks in a great hitter’s era. Going by ERA+, which adjusts for park and league effects and indexes them on a scale where 100 is average, Johnson actually has the better of it over their five-year primes, 175-167. Perhaps more impressively, he led his leagues in ERA+ four times during his best five year run. Koufax did that twice.
What makes Johnson so special isn’t that he had a five-year run to rate with Koufax’s prime, though; it’s what he did outside of it. Leave aside that run from 1998 through 2002 and Johnson’s career record is 203-128 with a 3.28 ERA –essentially Curt Schilling’s entire career, Hall-worthy in its own right. Add Koufax’s prime to that and you have something unfathomable, something that I’d say rates as the best career any left-hander has ever had.
This is a great debate, but I’m going to stay out of it because I never saw Koufax pitch and therefore, it would be unfair for me to proudly boast that the Big Unit was better. All I’ll say is that Johnson was one of the greatest pitchers I have ever seen in my era and I’m going to miss what he brought to the mound every fifth day.
The thing that often gets overlooked when people gush about Johnson is that he was a great student of the game. Even over the last couple years as injuries started to take their toll on his performance, nobody studied opposing hitters more than the Big Unit did before he took the hill.
Yes, he was a great intimidator with an electric fastball and outstanding strikeout ability. But the guy also loved the game of baseball and in an era of steroid abusers and cheaters, fans can appreciate what the Big Unit brought to the table.
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To answer your question…..No! He is not the greatest lefthander of all time. He is, perhaps, the greatest lefthander that lasted 22 years. Kudos to Johnson, he was great. I did see both Johnson and Sandy Koufax pitch, and actually was lucky enough to see Koufax in person. Sandy Koufax is the greatest lefthander of all time.
The article mentioned hitters’ parks and pitchers’ eras. But, it failed to mention the “loaded” lineups a pitcher would face day in and day out in Koufax’s day. The overall talent today is watered down due to the number of teams.
In 1960 the National League had 8 teams, expanding to 10 in 1962. As a result, in 1962 there were only 80 position players starting in the National League. Today there are 16 teams resulting in 128 starting position players. 48 of today’s National League starting position players would not be in the lineup in 1962.
Everyone has an opinion, but I have seen both Johnson and Koufax pitch in their prime. Sandy Koufax is the greatest.
I’d compare Koufax to Gayle Sayers…great talent cut short in their primes. But I don’t believe they were either the best ever at their positions. Longevity plays into the conversation.
Koufax was mediocre before his 5 year run and anyone that assumes he is the greatest, has to assume he would have continued his dominance, and there is no way to predict that. I believe he may have been the greatest lefty of the raised mound era, but the greatest lefty of all time? I think you’d have to give it to Johnson. For half his career he had to face 9 batters, not 8 batters and a pitcher. You can argue that today’s game is watered down however the talent pool is worldwide as opposed to when Koufax played, when 99% of major leaguers were American born.
Koufax benefits from playing on a glamor team as opposed to Johnson who went from Montreal, to Seattle, to Phoenix…not exactly attention-getting markets. Babe Ruth had 4 years that compare very favorably with Koufax’s 5 dominant seasons yet most people wouldn’t even put him in the conversation, but if Koufax is considered, so should Ruth.
Johnson’s sheer dominance, along with his longevity make me have to give him the nod as greatest lefty.
One more point with regards to predicting Koufax’s continued success. He retired before they lowered the pitchers mound so it’s quite doubtful he would have continued at the same level when nobody else was really able to.
America is great because everyone is free to have an opinion. And in my humble opinion Sandy Koufax is the greatest lefty of all time.
I based this on personal experience seeing both men pitch during their prime. Who is to say how much longevity enables one to be the greatest at something.
Sandy Koufax had a post-season ERA of 0.95, Johnson’s was 3.50. Koufax had 11 shutouts in one season, while Johnson had 6 in his best year.
As for longevity, Johnson had 13 years of 7-13, 0-4, 7-9, 14-11, 13-10,12-14,9-10, 6-8,16-14, 17-11, 4-3, 11-10, 8-6 records. Hardly a testament to qualifying longevity as a point of greatness.
Randy Johnson is a great pitcher and will join Sandy Koufax in the Hall of Fame. But, you have seen Johnson pitch more recently during your era.
Opinions are like butts, everyone’s got one.
Pedro Martinez was on his way to being considered the greatest righty ever, but then he did something Koufax couldn’t do, which is finish his career. I don’t think people think the same way about Pedro now and I don’t think they would about Koufax if he had to play 8 or 10 more seasons, especially since the mound was lowered. His era would have soared while his k’s would have diminished. He had a great 5 years but in my opinion, Johnson is better, especially considering the span of years that he was great.
I’d take Johnson and Carlton before I’d take Koufax.
Martinez, Ruth, Carlton?????????? Should have, could have, would have. I could also say that if Koufax would not have been injured he would have been very successful for ten more years. We’ll never know, will we??? Either way. But we do know what he did do. Yet you keep harping on how bad he “might” have been to play 8 or 10 more years.
“Span of years” again!!!!! Like the 13 years of Johnson’s that I mentioned when he was 124-123. Span of time means nothing when you have a .500 record over 13 years.
I’ll take Koufax, that makes us EVEN. Two opinions.
I was trying to draw a parallel between Koufax and Pedro to make my point about longevity and how it effects our perception of a player’s career. Koufax’s dominant 5 years stand out more because his career was cut short and had he pitched longer, he would have had some of the down years that ALL pitchers have, as you so pointed out on Johnson. The parallel is this: six years ago, Pedro should have been considered as great as Koufax. In the same number of seasons, he had a record of 166-67 (.712, 2.58 era, despite playing on the pathetic Expos) compared to Koufax’s 165-87 (.655, 2.76 era). If Pedro retired right then, how could one not believe he is at least as great as Koufax since his stats are better and he was just as dominant, in a steroid, juiced ball, low mound, minuscule strike zone era? However, Pedro continued to pitch, has had some less stellar seasons, and the shine has come off his career a bit. The same would have happened to Koufax, is the point I was trying to make. It makes for a great debate. Nobody is right or wrong, no matter how many question marks and exclamation points you use.
This is a very difficult question to answer because both of their careers took vastly different paths. By looking at both pitcher’s statistics over their entire career, Koufax would receive a slight edge over Johnson. The reason is that Johnson’s career averages (most notably ERA & AVE) are diluted by about 5 average seasons pitching in his forties. (ERAs of 4.88, 3.91, 3.81, 5.00, 3.79; Opponent AVEs of .262, .260, .245, .250, .243) Had Koufax pitched at the age of 42, 43, 44, 45, and 46, it is likely that these seasons would have diluted his career stats as well. This gives both lefties a case for being the best. I give Johnson the nod for pitching much of his career in the steriod era. While players like Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa were breaking records, Johnson was putting up ridiculous numbers.
Best in prime: Koufax
Most overpowering: Johnson
Most consistent: Spahn
Best to win: Grove
Best work ethic: Carlton
Greatest: Define it