Top 5 LHP's of All-Time

Great lefty pitchers have always seemed to come few and far between in the major leagues.  However, whenever true left-handed talent floats through the league, everyone and their mother is able to recognize it.  Here is a list of who I believe are the five greatest left-handers to ever take the bump in a major league baseball game.

5. Whitey Ford

This may be my bias as a Yankees fan here, but I definitely believe that Whitey Ford needs some recognition as a top 5 guy when discussing LHP’s.  Whitey had a great career with the Yankees and has 6 World Series Championships, 1 World Series MVP award, 1 Cy Young award, and was voted a 10-time all-star.  He was definitely not the biggest guy to take the mound, but Whitey was always ruthless and fought for every single out that he recorded.  Over a 16-year career, he struck out almost 2,000 batters and had an ERA of 2.75.

4.  Warren Spahn

Warren Spahn comes in at number four on the list.  Over a twenty-year career, Spahn was voted an all-star an amazing 17 times.  He played almost his entire career for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves where he won a World Series title and Cy Young award in 1957.  Over his whole career, Spahn averaged an ERA of 3.09 and struck out over 2,500 opponents.

3.  Clayton Kershaw

Some people would say that it is absolutely ridiculous to consider Clayton Kershaw as a top 5 pitcher at this point in his career.  I would definitely have to disagree.  Kershaw has been an absolute powerhouse ever since entering the league in 2008.  He has an absolutely devastating hook to complement his 90+mph fastball and this has been absolutely detrimental to his opponents thus far.  This can be seen with the 1,900 strikeouts that Kershaw has recorded over just 9 years in the league.  In this time, he has also won 3 Cy Young awards and been voted an all-star 6 times.  He has a career ERA of just 2.39 thus far.  All Clayton needs to do now is win a World Series title and he may move up even higher on the list of best left-handed pitchers.

2.  Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson.  The Big Unit.  Any fan of baseball knows who this guy is.  He was the greatest pitcher of the 1990’s and an absolute freak athlete.  There will probably never again be a 6’10’’ left-hander who could dial up the radar gun to 100+mph.  He is arguably the greatest lefty of all time, and some may go as far as saying he is the greatest pitcher of all time.  He played in the league for over twenty years and in that time recorded over 4,800 strikeouts.  This is second only to Nolan Ryan who played five more years in the league than he did.  Johnson was a 10-time all-star and won a World Series title in 2001. 

1. Sandy Koufax

If there is any baseball player that I wish I was alive to see play, it would have to be Sandy Koufax.  My grandpa would tell tales of his talent until he was blue in the face, and growing up, there were few names that I idolized more.  While Koufax didn’t have the longest career, he was always extremely efficient and won the hearts of all Brooklyners during the 1950’s and 60’s.  Koufax had an absolutely lethal arsenal of pitches and was extremely dominant on the mound.  He won an MVP award in 1963 and was a 3-time Cy Young award winner.  Koufax won 4 championships as a Dodger, and was a 7-time all-star.