Ken Holtzman

When he was coming to the majors, Ken Holtzman was supposed to be "the new Sandy Koufax", since Jewish left-handed pitchers are not exactly dime a dozen. Alas, as good as Holtzman's career was (he is arguably the second greatest Jewish pitcher ever), it doesn't exactly measure up to Koufax. Witness:

Win-loss (we know, not a good indicator of pitching prowess, but what can you do): Holtzman 174-150 (good), Koufax 165-87 (great). ERA: Holtzman 3.49 (good), Koufax 2.76 (great). Strikeouts: Holtzman 1601 (good), Koufax 2396 (great). World Series wins: Holtzman three (great), Koufax four (even greater!) No-hitters: Holtzman two (wow!), Koufax four(!!!!). (Seriously, there is no catching Sandy, for Holtzman, or for any Jewish pitcher that follows.)

Life: Holtzman died this year at the age of 78. Koufax, ten years senior, is still kicking.

Jew Score: Holtzman 12 (great), Koufax...