As a thought exercise, let’s assemble the perfect starting pitcher. Or, as close as we can get to it, anyway.
What’s the first thing you’d graft on to this Frankenstein’s monster of a hurler? Would you go straight to velocity and gift him Noah Syndergaard’s four-seamer? Value breaking stuff? How about a Clayton Kershaw in-his-prime curveball? Would you rather select pinpoint Maddux-esque control or would you be lured astray by Randy Johnson’s strikeout ability? Thinking long-term now, how about the longevity and overall whimsicality of the great Bartolo Colon?
As fun as it is to think about what a “perfect pitcher” can take from these names and so many more in the rich history of baseball, at the end of the day, the perfect pitcher needs just one ability: getting hitters out.