[Notary Sojac]

It's an easy trap to fall into. Rating players solely on stats without reference to the era they played in. Dr. Sowell should know better.

Anyone who pitched largely in the dead ball era, as did Johnson, will obviously have his shutouts and ERA magnified. Pitchers who excelled in a more hitter friendly era (Grove and Spahn are the first two that come to my mind) are always going to be underrated based on those numbers.

A more fun question is "Who's the best player you ever saw?" As far as pitchers go, for me it's Bob Gibson, hands down.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

A more fun question is "Who's the best player you ever saw?" As far as pitchers go, for me it's Bob Gibson, hands down.

A great pitcher.

For me, it's Pedro Martinez.

[EveningStar]

I agree with you different eras. Also, Sowell is living in pre-sabermetrics era. I would rate Marichal and Koufax ahead of Gibson, although Gibson’s 1968 season was the greatest season ever by a pitcher.

[Steve Newton]

I second that.

Gibson OWNED the plate

[FreeReign]

It's an easy trap to fall into. Rating players solely on stats without reference to the era they played in. Dr. Sowell should know better. Anyone who pitched largely in the dead ball era, as did Johnson, will obviously have his shutouts and ERA magnified. Pitchers who excelled in a more hitter friendly era (Grove and Spahn are the first two that come to my mind) are always going to be underrated based on those numbers. A more fun question is "Who's the best player you ever saw?" As far as pitchers go, for me it's Bob Gibson, hands down.

Speaking of eras, Gibson played during the modern day dead ball era of the late sixties with high mounds...etc...that magnified his pitching performances.

That said, Gibson was still one of the best I've seen.