Dave Stieb vs. Jimmy Key

[Senser81]

1) Who had the better career?
2) Who was the better pitcher?
3) If you had one postseason game to win, whom would you choose as your starter?

[Warner2BruceTD]

I'll take Stieb for all of the above.

The career numbers are close (right down to identical ERA+), but when Stieb was on he was practically unhittable. He threw one no hitter, and lost four others in the 9th inning. He once lost two no hitters in back to back starts with two outs & two strikes in the 9th. Think about that...he came within two strikes of matching Johnny Vander Meer. One of the four almost no-hitters was a perfect game bid that went to two outs in the 9th.

Stieb was one of the last nasty SP's who would throw at you if you leaned over his plate. The pussified modern liberal baseball scribes turn their noses at that today, but this was once a legitimate strategy to prevent batters from leaning over the plate to take outside pitches the other way. He led the league is HBP five times and was well known as the kind of guy who would brush back his mother if he had to.

Key was more of a finesse guy, with low strikeout totals, even when he was young. He's more well known because he played on the first wave of the Jeter/Rivera/Williams/Posada Yankees teams.

Key had better postseason numbers, with a larger body of work, but with my life on the line i'm still taking Stieb in a one game scenario, because he had the dominant, no hit stuff at his best.