[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Rad_Hazard

As a kid in the early 90's I can tell you that I was obsessed with baseball stats and record books and knew all the stats, and I knew of Carlton, despite this being the early 90's and Nolan was dominating the headlines. His no-hitters and fight with Ventura were absolutely legendary. As someone who grew up in the 90's, my favorite players are by far Nolan Ryan, Bo Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., and Frank Thomas. No one else came close. I know that Carlton was great, but to me Nolan is legendary.

Don't get me wrong, Nolan was my favorite pitcher growing up too. His RC is one of my most prized possessions, having been a child of the 80's and 90's - and always will be. But look at it without the bias of your era. Carlton is only great, but Ryan is legendary? Sorry but that doesn't make any sense. Carlton won 4 Cy Young Awards, Ryan 0. He won 20 games 6x to Ryan's twice (Palmer did it 8 times). Who helped their team win ballgames to a greater extent in their prime? It's not even a contest.