In 1973, Ryan won 21 but lost 16 games, walked 162 batters and allowed over 400 baserunners. Palmer won the CY with 22 wins and only 9 losses, with an ERA nearly 1/2 a run lower than Ryan's.

In 1974, Ryan won 22 but again lost 16 games, walked an incredible 202 batters, allowed over 430 men to reach base, and had an ERA of 2.89. Catfish Hunter won the CY with 25 wins and 12 losses, allowed over 100 fewer baserunners than Ryan and had an ERA nearly 1/2 run lower than Ryan's.

In 1972, Ryan won 19 but lost 16 games and walked 157 batters, with an ERA of 2.28; Gaylord Perry also lost 16, but won 24 times and had a 1.92 ERA and won the CY. Looking back, Ryan's ERA of 2.28 sounds great, but at the time it was only 7th in the league, as were his 19 wins.

Ryan lost more games than anyone in the last 100 years. He issued 50% more walks than anyone in history. He threw more wild pitches than anyone in modern history. He was amazing and fun to watch, but he wouldn't be in my top 100 pitchers if it was important to actually win the game.