Monday, April 8, 2024
GOAT has come to stand for “greatest of all time.” I don’t think there’s any doubt that Tom Brady is the greatest professional football quarterback in history. I think that for a six-year period, Sandy Koufax was the greatest pitcher in baseball. Brady won seven Super Bowls and Koufax had four no hitters, one perfect game, and pitched in four World Series championships, was the MVP for two years, and won the Cy Young Award for two years. His career was cut short because of injury to his arm.
I think that Caitlin Clark has done more for women’s basketball than any player ever, and has performed better than any woman, ever (and maybe any man!). Some people are saying she can’t be the GOAT because her team never won the NCAA tournament, though they reached the finals twice. I don’t buy that, it’s a team sport.
But I have to be honest: Would Brady be considered the GOAT if he never won a Super Bowl, or won “only” one or two? Would Koufax be considered GOAT if he and his team never won the World Series? Or does he have to have had a longer run before injury took him off the field?
Can you be GOAT if you don’t take your team to the overall championship? A LOT of people have taken their teams to overall championships but they certainly weren’t and aren’t GOATs.