Round One (Players): Sandy Koufax versus David Justice

[Fishercat]

Sandy Koufax (1959, 1963, 1965-1966)
Take out your dictionary, look up clutch and notice the picture of the great Sandy Koufax. What? It's not there? Alright then, find a picture and paste it in, it deserves to be there. Koufax led his Dodgers to three out of four World Series wins, posting a 0.95 ERA in 57 innings pitched, 61 strikeouts, 36 hits allowed and four complete games. In 1963, he topped Yankee great Whitey Ford with a World Series record of a 15 strikeout performance and thus earning the newspaper headline of 'K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-Koufax' which helped him to win his first World Series MVP. In 1965 (a year remembered for his physical pain, DOMINANT numbers and the Yom Kippur situation) against the Twins he put up a 0.38 ERA in 24 innings with 2 complete games. But yet the real story is that he pitched the do or die game 7 with the pain he was feeling and he did it on two days rest by clinching another Dodgers victory with a three hit shutout. Who says there is no such thing as clutch?

versus

David Justice (1991-1993, 1995, 1997-2002)
He had a knack for picking the contenders (or the luck of being sent there) as David Justice went to the World Series six out of his fourteen seasons in the MLB. He was by no means a top performer, but he did have his moments of impact which led to a World Series win for his team. In 1995 with the Atlanta Braves, David Justice hit a crucial homerun in game six versus the Cleveland Indians that ended up being the only offense we would see in that effort and what was clinched the Braves the '95 title. And 2000 with the New York Yankees, Justice followed up his impressive 2000 season campaign with a .538 SLG% against the Seattle Mariners that won him the ALCS MVP as the Yankees would then beat the Mets in 5 for the title. Again, his career numbers were nothing to speak of in the postseason (.224 BA, .335 OBP, .382 SLG%), but he was able to help his teams twice to a title in some fashion.

[Fishercat]

It's Sandy freaking Koufax

[missionhockey21]

Koufax was the description I had the most fun writing by far. A World Series God.

[redsrbetter]

Koufax kills this one for me too.

[catman]

No question about this one. Koufax was the most dominating pitcher I ever saw in person. His stuff was untouchable.

[DirtyKash]

David Justice was one of my favorite players to watch growing up. Easy vote here.

[missionhockey21]

No question about this one. Koufax was the most dominating pitcher I ever saw in person. His stuff was untouchable.

Something like that makes some of us younger posters feel quite jealous.
Can you imagine how the baseball world would react today if a pitcher of his stardom pitched a three hit shut-out on that short of rest... to win the World Series? It almost seems so unreal as if it were a fairy tale. Simply amazing.

[catman]

Well, being old has its advantages.
Sandy Koufax went to spring training a couple of years ago (maybe 10) and worked with the Dodger pitchers a bit. He was throwing about 88 on his fastball and his curve was just as good as it had been. One of the players asked him why he didn't try for a comeback and he said "I had my fame. Now its your turn."

[missionhockey21]

Heh, that's very true. Although I suppose every generation of fans has those particular players they feel like they born just a bit too late to be lucky enough to see them in action.

As for the other part of your post, that's unbelievable. What an amazing talent.