Lidge is a great pitcher Pujols is a great hitter The problem with the "great pitching always beats great hitting" theory is not only is it not true, but it doesn't really tell you anything. On average, pitchers will beat hitters. That's the nature of the game. So, in order to have a great game, or more accurately, a great series of games, a pitcher has to win the vast majority of battles. One mistake can lose it. All a hitter has to do to help his team beat that great pitcher is win the battle occasionally. You have to have a great team to win a lot. A great can consist of great pitching, great hitting, and great defense. More likely than not though, it will not have all three. Whether it's great pitching, good hitting and average defense. Or good pitching, great hitting and good defense, or any other combination, it takes all aspects of baseball to win. Anybody can highlight a single matchup to try and prove the old conventional wisdom as true. But history tells us it takes a lot more than just great pitching to win consistently.