Bill James wrote that the largest group of top-100 starters alltime came from the "Blow-em-Away-Lefties" group… he meant high-K lefties with lastingly vicious stuff.

Going from memory here, so check me.  I think he had, in no particular order:

1.  Lefty Grove

2.  Randy Johnson

3.  Steve Carlton

4.  Sandy Koufax

5.  Vida Blue

6.  Rube Waddell (pictured below)

7.  Hippo Vaughn

8.  Hal Newhouser

He wrote, IIRC, that "secondary characteristics" included a tendency to develop late, notably by Unit and Koufax.   ….Bedard also took a few years to make an impact, as opposed to a Tim Hudson or Barry Zito or Cole Hamels, which is why Bedard's reputation hasn't caught up to his ability.

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He also wrote that many of these guys were terrible fielders …. I'll take that one step further:  most were physically powerful men who weren't as light on their feet as, say, a Jamie Moyer.  (James has a story of where a rival club sent over its biggest player to tease the 75-IQ Waddell.  Waddell suddenly hoisted the guy over his head and slammed him to the ground, and then threw a 2-hitter….)

Carlton was one of the league's strongest and most scary men back in the 70's, famous for karate and Oriental disciplines such as pushing his hands way down into a barrel of rice.

…

I wonder how many of these lefties were two-pitch guys. Bedard is … the Unit certainly was … Koufax of course was a 2-pitch guy … Steve Carlton used FB, slider about 95% of the time.

It's easier to master two pitches than three.  Young pitchers who have two awesome pitches, such as Josh Beckett, shouldn't be nagged about a third one.

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=== This Is A Game, Not A Religion ===

When D-O-V points out the similarities between Steve Carlton and Erik Bedard, we don't mean that Bedard is going to win 324 games, or even 162.   We're not predicting him for the HOF.

Carlton is one of the 10-15 greatest pitchers ever, because he was an elite pitcher for 20 years. Bedard has a chance to pitch like Steve Carlton for, say, five (more) years.  He's *done* it the last two.  Bedard has a chance to have 1/3 or 1/2 of a Steve Carlton career.

Bedard might not pitch fifteen more years, but before he's done, he's going to win some playoff games if anybody gives him a chance.

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In 1995, we had a bunch of amigos take extreme offense to the fact that we compared Unit to Koufax, and Junior to Willie Mays.  :- )

Sometimes it doesn't dawn on people:  there's no particular reason that the best pitchers of 1977 are necessarily a superior breed of human being to the best pitchers of 2007.

Players of yesteryear aren't "sacrosanct" and comps to HOF'ers aren't heresy.  This is a game, not a religion.

There's no need to be forever saying that today's top 20 players can't hold the jocks of the top 20 from 1965.  Carlton was one of the five best pitchers of his day; Bedard has apparently become one of the best five today.  No need to turn a great pitcher (Carlton) into a fantasy character out of a Harry Potter novel.  Lefty was just a pitcher, a real good one.

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=== Senator, I Knew Jack Kennedy Dept. ===

The similarities between Bedard and Carlton have been noted before.  Similar temperaments, similar IQ's, similar plus FB's, similar super-deceptive lefty breaking pitches, both with Moyer-like craftiness but using electric stuff while they're working their crafts.

I watched them both pitch.  They got guys out exactly the same way.  Two pitches, a real good FB and a signature breaking pitch, always delivered in a super-brainy way.

Carlton wasn't untouchable.  He had off years.  But he was in a lot of All-Star games and a lot of Opening Day ballgames …

…

In case you didn't notice, a careful consideration of the Vaughns, Waddells, and Carltons of baseball history increases your confidence in Bedard potentially belonging to that class.

A sense of proportion on the best high-K lefties of the 20th century, the Newhousers and Carltons, is helpful as you judge Erik Bedard.  Right now, doesn't give much away to those specific pitchers (Koufax and Unit being special cases, naturally).  Bedard gets people out in similar ways.

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Carlton had up-and-down years, often back-to-back:  check out 1972 and 1973.  :- )

BABVA,

Dr D

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image:  http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/adc/10105656B~Steve-Carlton...