Greatest LHPs in MLB history: 20. Jerry Koosman
- 2,556 strikeouts
- 3.36 career ERA
- 53.6 career WAR
Longevity and solid pitching. Jerry Koosman was never elite, but he was better than others before him on this list for a long time and that is what led to his placement as the 20th-ranked left-handed pitcher of all-time despite only having two all-star berths to his name.
Koosman is the first player on the list thus far to not rank in the bottom 10 in either ERA or strikeouts. Among the players listed in the top 30, Koosman ranks 10th in total strikeouts and 14th (among starters) in ERA.
All of the players listed before Koosman ranked below him in at least one of the two categories.
It looked as if Koosman was going to have a Hall of Fame-caliber career, at least after his first two full seasons it did. Koosman was an all-star both years, finished with a 2.08 and 2.28 ERA and threw over a combined 500 innings.
Things started to level off and Koosman got lost on some really bad New York Mets teams but he had great years that were all-star-worthy that may have gotten more attention if he was on a good team.
Koosman finished with a sub-3.30 ERA seven times in his career. He was someone who would have benefitted from the modern game, as his career FIP was lower than his ERA, indicating that he was not the luckiest of starting pitchers.