No 'Other'?

Cause I would, without a doubt, pick Pedro Martinez c. 1999/2000

Cause, uh, in 2000 he had a whip of 0.73, and an era+ of 285, struck out 12/9 ip and had a k/bb of 8.5/1
All of those numbers are better than Maddux or Clemens. At any point in their careers.

As a Loyal And Patriotic American, I only offer dualisms.

I specifically compared Maddux to Clemens because it's Maddux's b-day and because Clemens, unlike Pedro, pitched for the Blue Jays. Though Pedro did pitch for the Les Expos, which counts for something on a Canadian blog.

Roger Clemens, from 1997. No question.

Hey, I was 10. He struck out a billion guys. What do you want?

No, no "Other" and intentionally -- I was about to include it when I realized that might mean the two guys from the original question might combine for about four votes as everyone veered off into Koufax or Gibson or Martinez or one of about 20 other guys. This was meant strictly to compare the two winningest pitchers of the last 20 years.

 

I voted Maddux because it took Roger a while to become reliable in the post season; he got hit pretty hard several times. Maddux was always more consistent.

 

I don't think people appreciate Maddux as much as they should.  Clemens has aged better, but Maddux's peak was incredible.  Maddux has an ERA+ of 273 and 259 in 94 and 95.  The best Clemens ever did was 226.

Maddux went 7 straight years with a WHIP under 1.05!

I'd take Maddux for reasons already given, but also because of his Gold Gloves. When you're comparing pitchers this good, little things like that become a lot more important.

Clemens as a Blue Jay was money. I'd take him over any Maddux, but I'd probably be biased for having seen more of Clemens in those seasons than Maddux in his early years as a Brave. Clemens '97 v. Maddux '95 is no easy pick. One could try bringing up the AL vs. NL differences too.

Obviously you pick any multiple-Cy-Young winner and you won't be a fool. It could depend on the line-up you are facing as well.

Similarly, one could ask which was more dominating: Maddux's streak of four Cys ('92-'95) or Randy Johnson's ('99-'02).

But you could also debate whether apples are better than oranges. Maddux had his own style and has carried into his late years, as has Clemens and Johnson. But ten years ago, I'd expect many, many more people expected professor Greg to be pitching at this time than Randy or Roger. Will Pedro be still pitching in 2015? Will Johan be firing it in at Opening Day, 2023? Vs. Roy Halladay? And now I've clearly digressed from the topic of Maddux and Clemens in their primes. So perhaps I'm also biased by the amazement of the best quadragenarians in the game.

I picked Clemens solely because of the K factor. While they are both dominating in their prime, Clemens ability to overpower hitters and get the crucial K does it for me. By no means am I saying that Maddux doesn't dominate, it's just a very different style and I guess I am biased for Power Pitchers.

I too am sad that there were no 'other' on the list. Late 90's Pedro would've been my obvious choice. Even today, armed with a fastball that barely touches 90, he is still a joy to watch. He is just soooo good. Only thing stopping Pedro from dominating into his 40s is his health. If he is still pitching then, I see no reason why he won't dominate.

I picked Maddux for two reasons.

One: because, for whatever reason, Clemens wasn't always at his best in big games. It might just be random chance.

Two: I don't ever want to root for Roger to win anything ever again. He dumped on the Blue Jays, so he is dead to me. Pfui.