[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.