Mattingly's & Koufax' Best Seasons

[LouGehrig]

Koufax's best years came at the END of his career. Mattingly's came at the beginning. What if that had been reversed?

If we look at Mattingly's record with his best years at the END of his career, he would be a Hall of Famer. If he had a mediocre first few years, developed into the game's best player for six years, and then retired because of a bad back, he would be in the Hall of Fame.

That's exactly what happened to Koufax.

http://baseball.suite101.com/article.cfm/mattinglys_koufax_best_seasons

[parlo]

Mattinglys numbers from 1984-1989 are very impressive, but he didnt dominate the game the way Koufax did in the early 1960s. I realize that there are many people who are very fond of Donnie, but IMO, he is not a Hall Of Famer regardless of where you place his peak years.
Koufaxs 5 year peak is one of the greatest of all time, perhaps even THE GREATEST.