Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Blog Archive » Randy Johnson vs. Sandy Koufax

Randy Johnson vs. Sandy Koufax


By Mike Silva ~ January 7th, 2010. Filed under: Mike Silva, Statistical Analysis.

Curt Schilling decided to weigh in on Randy Johnson’s retirement over at his blog 38 pitches. He called The Big Unit the “greatest power pitcher in the history of baseball.” Made me think how he matches up with another power lefty who some consider the best ever - Sandy Koufax. I took Johnson’s first Arizona stint (99-04), when his career really took off, and compared it to Koufax “dominant period” between 1961-66

Was Randy Johnson the most “dominant” left hander in the history of baseball?

Sandy Koufax (1961-1966)
W: 129
L: 47
ERA: 2.19
GS: 211
CG: 115
SHO: 35
ERA+: 156
WHIP: 0.97
K/9: 9.4
Awards: 3 Cy Young Awards and an MVP

Randy Johnson (1999-2004)
W: 103
L: 49
ERA: 2.65
GS: 192
CG:36
SHO: 14
ERA+ 176
WHIP: 1.04
K/9: 11.9
Awards: 4 Cy Young Awards

There are darn close numbers for two pitchers. No harm in calling it a draw, but Mr. Schilling might very well be correct in saying the Big Unit is the best lefty of all time.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
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2 Responses to Randy Johnson vs. Sandy Koufax

  1. Christopher Masiello
    January 7th, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    I don’t see how you call it a draw.
    Kofax has the following edges:
    5.5% higher winning percentage
    .46 lower ERA (half a run per game)
    More starts (admittedly that’s a product of the 4 man rotation)
    Better than TRIPLE the amount of complete games (partially due to bullpen era)
    2.5 times the number of shutouts.
    The only places that RJ is better is strikeouts per 9 (+2.5) and CY Youngs. But he doesn’t have an MVP.
    Also consider that Kofax never pitched on the Sabbath. Could you imagine how he would have done against guys suffering from hangovers?

  2. Mike Silva
    January 7th, 2010 at 4:43 pm

    Its really close, and ERA+ indicates that RJ is more dominant versus his peers than Koufax, but many who watched Koufax swear by him. Can you really go wrong?

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