Claudecat's Place: Was Johnson the Best Ever?

[Can_of_corn]

That is a lot closer, Dick doesn't wear shades tho.

[DrungoHazewood]

I wonder where they put Addie Joss.

He's 133rd in JAWS among starters, and his 45 rWAR put him 15 or 20 wins out of the grey area. Sucks that he got sick and died young, but he only played nine MLB seasons in a league very heavily favoring starting pitchers. Among his bb-ref comps three of the 10 are HOFers, but one on overall value (Monte Ward, the SS/P/labor rights pioneer), one on a curveball legend (Candy Cummings), and Dizzy Dean who had perhaps the shortest career and fewest wins of any HOF starter.

[OFFNY]

Number5 said:

 

I believe that he had a farm machinery accident as a child that resulted in his unusual delivery.

 

weams said:

 

I always thought that was ........

Mordecai Brown.

 

o

 

You are correct, Roy.

It was Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown that had his hand mangled in a childhood farming accident, which subsequently allowed him to throw an incredibly wicked curve ball.

In 1997, I actually talked to a man that saw ........

 

A. ) Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown pitch.

B. ) Saw the first game ever at THE ORIGINAL Comiskey Park in 1910.

C. ) Had his heart broken when it was found out that his beloved White Sox had thrown the 1919 World Series (he in fact went to one of those World Series games against the Reds.)

 

His name was Gardner Stern. He was born in 1904, was a life-long White Sox fan, and was a guest in Ken Burns' baseball documentary.

I simply called information for Chicago, Illinois (in 1997), asked for his phone number, and he was nice enough to talk to me for about 20 minutes about the entire Black Sox scandal, plus his lifelong fandom of the White Sox.

 

o