Andy Messersmith vs. Dale Thayer — Career Comparison

Andy Messersmith built a career as a starting pitcher and Dale Thayer as a reliever — different jobs with different demands — but on the metrics that apply to both, a comparison is still worth making. Their run-prevention marks were nearly identical — ERA+ of 116 for Andy Messersmith and 117 for Dale Thayer, with skill-based marks of DICE+ 104 and 99 respectively. Role difference aside, the slight lean goes to Andy Messersmith — but these two were remarkably close on the shared metrics.