Nolan Ryan - what a stud

[Runscott]

Watching the 1979 all-star game on Root Sports. Nolan Ryan fans the leadoff batter, Davey Lopes, on three pitches. Parker did better - he struck out on four pitches. Okay, then he walks Garvey and Schmidt hits a triple which Fred Lynn almost caught. Great stuff.

[71buc]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Watching the 1979 all-star game on Root Sports. Nolan Ryan fans the leadoff batter, Davey Lopes, on three pitches. Parker did better - he struck out on four pitches. Okay, then he walks Garvey and Schmidt hits a triple which Fred Lynn almost caught. Great stuff.

Hey Scott I'm watching that as well. I sat with my Dad in the RF bleachers during game that and had a close up view of both of the Cobra's throws. Its hard to believe that was 35 years ago!

[the 'stache]

I don't think Ryan is human. I mean, at age 44 he was averaging 10.6 K/9 IP. That's ridiculous.

Imagine what Ryan could have done if he played on a team like the Yankees in the late 70s and early 80s, or the Reds in the 70s instead of the Angels, Astros and Rangers. I can't believe that he only won 20 games in a season twice, and that was with the Angels. I mean, in 1987 he led the NL with a 2.87 ERA. He struck out 270 batters in 211 IP, an average of 11.5/9 IP. He only allowed 6.5 hits/9 IP. His 3.10 K:BB was the best ratio in the league, and his WHIP of 1.139 was outstanding.

And he was 8-16! With those numbers, he should have won 20.

Ryan could have won 400 games if he played on some good teams. As it is, he played 27 years, and only 4 times did his teams win over 90 games, and the Miracle Mets of 1969 is one of them; they won 100. So, for his last 24 seasons, his team won 90 games or more 3 times. How sad is that?

Ryan is often overlooked when the great pitchers of the game are mentioned. It's Johnson and Mathewson, Young, Feller, Gibson, Koufax, Seaver, Carlton, Spahn, Maddux, Johnson, Martinez, etc. Where's Ryan? Well, he walked a lot of batters. Yes, he was a little wild at times. But he only gave up 6.6 hits per 9 innings for his career. And a 3.19 ERA for well over 5,000 IP means he didn't allow a lot of the guys that got on to score.

Pedro Martinez had a 2.93 ERA
Greg Maddux had a 3.16 ERA
Randy Johnson had a 3.29 ERA

Nolan belongs on the short list of great pitchers in our lifetimes.

[clydepepper]

I have always been a big fan of Ryan's - enough so that I made the trip all the way from Georgia to his Induction Weekend.

Along with the 1987 season, another couple of amazing season stats are:

1974: 202 BBs but a 2.89 ERA

1977: 204 BBs but a 2.77 ERA

He might still be pitching if he had not had to work through so many situations created by his walks.

I grew up being a Koufax fan, even though I only actually saw him pitch (on TV) a very few times. When Ryan came to Houston, I got to see him more often and was always amazed.

[Touch'EmAll]

Gee, I haven't posted here in a long time, Gotta chime in on this one.

I grew up in Orange County during the 1970's about a half hour away from Anaheim Stadium. Ryan was simply in a league by himself.

I never did see a no hitter, but my dad took me to the game where he was officially timed with the new Guiness Book fastest pitch ever. Always pre game banter amongst the crowd, "do you think he might throw another no-hitter tonight?"

I always get ticked when people talk walks and winning percentage. He holds the major league record for fewest hits per 9 innings. His "stuff" was the most dominant of my lifetime, hands down, no questions asked, period!

Put him on the 1970's Oakland A's, Reds, or Yankees and I bet he would have done 30 wins once or twice. At least a couple World Series rings. Multiple Cy Young awards.

In 1973 two no-hitters. Breaks Koufax's single season strikeout record. Pretty good wins despite lowly Angels. And they give the Cy Young to Jim Palmer. Really???

And like anybody anytime soon will be going for a record 8th no-hitter?

[Touch'EmAll]

ok, maybe Ryan not the best stuff, I don't know about others because I never saw them play.

Walter Johnson
Lefty Grove
Satchell Paige
Bob Feller
Sandy Koufax
Nolan Ryan

These 6 are all candidates for the very best stuff, imo.

[Runscott]

The announcer at the '79 AS game was talking about how dominant Ryan was, and said something like "he's been doing this for a long time." If only he knew how much longer Ryan would be doing it!

I was amazed to see those NL'ers getting around on his 100-ish fastballs, especially given that back then they didn't get to face him Someone must have told Schmidt to start swinging as Ryan released the ball.

[the 'stache]

Even if Nolan Ryan's career ended up very differently-if he'd never thrown a no hitter, never won 300 games or struck out 5,000 +, he'd be one of my all-time favorites for this one moment alone:



Robin Ventura charging Nolan Ryan never gets old!

[the 'stache]

In fact, the only autographed ball I have is from Nolan Ryan. I saw him pitch I think twice as a Ranger.



5,714 strikeouts Nolan threw. If you threw 250 strikeouts a season, it would take just under 23 years to break that record.

You want to talk about unbreakable records today, especially with the rash of Tommy John surgeries--that's an unbreakable record.

[Duluth Eskimo]

I had the opportunity and decided to take it to travel to Milwaukee and watch Ryan win his 300th game in typical Ryan style. I didn't have much money, but some friends and I decided to road trip to see the game. One of those games I will always remember and so glad I travelled to be there for.

[Runscott]

Bill - I hear you. I also only have one single-signed baseball (signed by a baseball player - Don Meredith doesn't count) and it's also a Nolan Ryan.

[Davino]

It sure would have been amazing if he was on some better teams, his won/loss would go way up with more wins.