Making sense of Nolan Ryan's stats and a belated hello

[moogpowell]

Thanks for the kind and well considered responses. A few more thoughts on Ryan. What I find most admirable about Ryan as a player is his longevity, playing 27 years, his fearsome disposition and competitive spirit. Also, someone tweeted that Nolan Ryan’s ERA was 3.09 the year the Beatle's White Album came out in 1968. It was 2.91 the year Nirvana released Nevermind in 1991.

His popularity straddles vast geographic and chronological swaths. From the ‘60s to the ‘90s and playing in Texas, California and New York he has fans from all over so his collecting appeal makes sense. I just maintain that as a player he is likely overrated and if not objectively then definitely relative to others mentioned here.

I will be the first to say though that his cards are the best looking in the aggregate of any player I can think of. Not just because he is a handsome fellow but his action shots are consistently great to look at. A few come to mind instantly like 1974 and 1980 among others mentioned below.

The seven no-hitters are incredible but does that record really mean much? A no-hitter, as remarkable as it is, adds up to a single win. As for all-time leader in strikeouts, again, amazing, but what IS the importance of a strikeout? How is a strikeout say better than a pop out to an infielder? The strikeout suggests dominance yet is ultimately a glamor stat that gets the blood pumping more than a pop out yet is it (materially) better if at all? And look at the dizzying amount of walks. I would much rather have Maddux, Carlton or Palmer in my rotation.

Anyway, I hardly mean to bash Ryan. I fully appreciate his appeal but for a pitcher who never won a Cy Young and was wilder than a bucking bronco on amphetamines I would rather invest in players who by my estimation offer better bang for the buck given current card prices.

[STL1944]

...and of course there is the awesome 1989 Upper Deck of him throwing a football. A football... Love it!

[D. Bergin]

Count me in the NOT over-rated crowd for Ryan.......and I don't own a single Nolan Ryan card that I'm aware of.

Walks schmalks, LOL!! Despite what your Little League coach kept telling you...........a walk is not the same thing as a hit.

Ryan, despite playing for 27 years, is the All-time leader in Hits per 9 innings allowed (not an accumulating stat).......and it's really not even close. This is a list with specialized relief studs on it, like Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman.

He might have walked a lot, but he kept the ball out of play and didn't give up very many HR's.

37 Games of a Complete Game 2-hitter or less is just mind-blowing. We're going to start putting starters in the HOF who don't even have that many CG's in total.

No, he wasn't as efficient as Seaver, or Carlton or Spahn but he created an excitement level and sparked imaginations and expectations unlike many others.

[D. Bergin]

Came across a really dumb-founding thing about Nolan when looking at his splits throughout his career.

He was actually more effective in innings 7-9 then he was at any other stretch of the game.

The generally accepted wisdom, is that the more often a lineup can see a pitcher throughout the course of a game, the more success they have off that pitcher.

One of the biggest reasons we see very few complete games nowadays.

Ryan, in another example of him subverting expectations, usually got stronger as the game went on. The 1st inning was easily the worst of his career. 7 through 9, the strongest.

The saying you see with some pitchers "You have to get to them early, if you want to get to them at all", was a bit of a literalism, when it came to Ryan.

This may also be applicable to other pitchers I'm not aware of.......but it really stuck out like a sore thumb to me, when looking a Ryan's stats.

Again, not saying Ryan was consistent in any way........just exciting in a jaw dropping way. Koufax, in his much shorter career, was mind-blowingly consistent from inning 1 to inning 9. Another incredible power pitcher, but with a somewhat different approach.

[Exhibitman]

Ryan needs to be put into context to understand his appeal. From 1972-1979 he was the most exciting pitcher in baseball. Led the league in K's 6 times in those 7 years, five of them over 300Ks. That left an indelible mark on the baseball consciousnesses of all the kids of the 1970s. He went back to it in 1987 with another 5 years of league-leading Ks as he went far beyond everyone else in Ks and no-hitters. That takes it to the kids of the late 1980s. Basically, two generations of collectors see Ryan as one of the most exciting, greatest performers in history. Those kids are the main collecting cohort today. No amount of statistical analysis will erase those impressions. The greatest pitching performance I ever saw was Jack Morris against the Braves in the WS. The most exciting performance I ever saw was Nolan Ryan dominating the Angels with the Rangers one game.

[Tyruscobb]

Nolan Ryan is an all-time great pitcher. Where he ranks in the pecking order is a great debate. Other posters have outlined his favorable statistics, so I’ll just point to some adverse ones.

He is the all-time walks leader. Ryan has the third most loses - almost 300. He only has the 249th lowest era. Ryan is only 20th in pitching WAR. Ryan never won a Cy Young award. Ryan only had two 20-win seasons. He never lead the league in wins. Ryan was only an eight-time all star.