Who Was Better?

You can't say it any better than that.

For all his greatness, Greg Maddux came up pretty small in the postseason over his career.

 

Maddux had a 3.27 ERA for his career in the playoffs, 2.09 in five World Series starts. He wasn't nearly as bad as people made him out to be in the postseason.

Ryan pitched exactly once in a World Series, coming on in relief to save a game for the '69 Mets.

 

Better comp: Nolan Ryan and Dan Marino.

 

I guess Maddux gets a tough comparison because when you are that great, you expect Koufax or Gibson in the WS, when that comparison really is unfair.

 

Bill Russell or LeBron James?

 

Incomparable. Two different positions, two different eras, two different games, really.

 

As a player, James. James just never had the teams built perfectly around him like Russell had.

Now, did James fuckery have a hand in that? Maybe.

 

I don't know how to mine the stats for this, but I watched Ryan for a long time and it always seemed to me that he lost more one run games than any other pitcher I could think of. I loved them both, but if I had to choose I'd have to take Maddux.

 

LeBron or Jordan? I’d take LeBron, who I think is the GOAT. And I saw all of Jordan’s career going back to his freshman year at UNC.

 

Ken Griffey Jr. or Stan Musial? The connection? Both from tiny as hell Donora, Pa.

 

I’d take Musial, who is a pantheon level Hall of Famer who is still somehow overlooked. His hitting stats are just ridiculous. Ruth, Mayes, Aaron, Wagner, Cobb, Williams and Musial are, to me, the greatest of all time. Everyone else is below their level.

 

Musial was amazing. I still can't figure out how he hit so well out of that twisted up stance with his hands back behind him... but he damn sure did.