The Great Dodger

Since I noted this for Andy Pettitte, let’s check in on the record Kevin Brown left behind in LA: not so shabby, for all the griping about his contract. Yes, Brown lost 2002 and half of 2001 to injuries, a risk everyone knew the Dodgers were taking when they signed a 34-year-old pitcher to a 7-year contract. But consider his place on the club’s all-time list: Brown leaves LA with a 2.83 ERA, just shy of the top 10 in Dodger history; his .644 winning percentage ranks him 9th in club history. In fewest baserunners/inning, even pitching in a more hitter-friendly Dodger Stadium than in years past and in as great a hitter’s era as the National League has seen since the Depression, Brown ranks first at 9.90 (a 1.1 WHIP, for you rotoheads), ahead of Koufax and Drysdale and Sutton and Dazzy Vance and Rube Marquard. Then, go down to ERA+ (ERA adjusted for league and park context), and Brown’s first again, by a long shot, at 149 (49% better than the league) to 132 for Ron Perranoski and 131 for Koufax, with Andy Messersmith and Vance close behind.
Yes, it’s tough to compare 872.2 innings of Brown to 2324.1 of Koufax, 2757.2 of Vance, 3432 of Drysdale or 3816.1 of Sutton. But that’s not the point. The point is, when you even have to explain why a guy wasn’t the best pitcher you ever had on a franchise over a century old, it’s hard to say he didn’t live up to his end of the bargain.

One thought on “The Great Dodger”

  1. I think that because Pettitte’s departure just rubs people the wrong way (in that it is always desirable, I think, to have players spend all or most of their careers in your organization, and he seems to be leaving because George lowballed him a bit), the fact that Vazquez and Brown are arguably an improvement on Pettitte and Clemens gets overlooked. Brown certainly could break down again – over two years, he almost certainly will – but if healthy he’s better not only than Clemens, but even than Pettitte.

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