The Greatness of
Nolan
Ryan
I have been a baseball fan
since 1977. The first memory I have of watching baseball on TV was during
the
World
Series that year. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the
New York
Yankees, I would later learn as I educated myself on the subject of baseball
history, were facing each other in the Fall Classic for the first time since
1963. That year, the Dodgers, behind the pitching of
Sandy
Koufax,
Johnny Podres,
and
Don
Drysdale, swept the Bronx Bombers. The '77 Series, however, marked the
birth of "Mr. October", as
Reggie Jackson
slugged three home runs on three successive pitches in Game 6 to clinch the
Series for the Yanks.
Less than two years later,
on
July
13, 1979, I watched the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball. They were facing
a 32-year old fireballer named
Nolan
Ryan. That night, he nearly threw his fifth career no-hitter without
his best stuff. He "settled" for his 7th one-hitter while striking out 9
in a 6-1 victory.
It was this type of performance
by the Ryan Express that helped him gain the respect of his peers and the
adulation of millions of baseball fans all over the country. Every fifth
day, fans came to the ballpark to see if Ryan was going to add another milestone
to the baseball record books and a notch to his no-hitter belt.
Nearly a decade after his
retirement, and only two-and-a-half years after his induction into the Baseball
Hall of Fame, the name Nolan Ryan surprisingly draws the ire of some of his
detractors. Just recently, I encountered some baseball "fans" on an Internet
message board that expressed their beliefs that Ryan shouldn't be called
a "great" pitcher. They also stated that no-hitters weren't "special". All
they do, these "fans" stated, was make a good baseball story.
I couldn't disagree with
them more. Nolan Ryan, while (most would agree) not the greatest pitcher
in baseball history, was certainly the greatest power pitcher to ever toe
the rubber. His numbers, I contend, don't leave any room for debate on this
subject. First, he held hitters to an all-time low .203 batting average and
6.55 hits per nine innings (also a record). In 1972, he set the single season
record by allowing only 5.26 hits per nine innings while winning 19 games
and posting a 2.28 ERA, as well as a league-leading 329 strikeouts. All this
for an Angels team that finished in fifth place, 18 games behind the Oakland
A's. In 1973, Ryan set another single season record with 383 K's (and 2
no-hitters), while posting a 21-16 record for a team that went 79-83 (15
games out of first place). In '74, he went 22-16 while the Angels finished
dead last at 77-85. Ryan dominated
American League
hitters while receiving very little run support on teams that finished no
better than fourth between 1972-1977.
Ryan's strikeout totals
are mind-boggling. His record of 5,714 will never be touched, and he struck
out 10-or-more in a game 215 times (another of his records). In order for
a pitcher to approach Ryan's strikeout record, he would have to average nearly
300 strikeouts over 20 seasons, which is nearly impossible. To put Ryan's
strikeouts in perspective, consider that if current 'K' king
Randy Johnson
were to strike out 300 hitters for the next 7 seasons, he would get close
to Ryan. A pitcher is going to have to average over a strikeout per inning
and develop a workout regimen that would enable him to maintain his style
of pitching throughout his career and stay healthy enough to avoid arm injuries
and long stints on the disabled list.
His 7 no-hitters, the last
of which he threw in 1991 when he was 44 years old, is another unreachable
record. In front of the
Arlington
Stadium faithful, the ageless legend fired a 94-mph fastball by
Roberto Alomar
to finish the game and guarantee himself a trip to Cooperstown.
In addition to his 7 no-hitters,
he also set the major league record for most low-hit games (19) and allowed
four hits or less in 96 games during his career. In 1974, in one season,
he struck out 19 hitters in a game three times (twice against Boston and
once against Detroit).
When you consider his 5,714
strikeouts, 7 no-hitters, 53 major league pitching records, 300 strikeout
seasons, opponent batting average, and hits allowed per nine innings, Nolan
Ryan was one of the top 10 greatest pitchers in the history of the game.
However, when the discussion turns to power pitchers, I would put him second
to none.
» Rob Olds, 34, is a Nolan Ryan
historian and has his own website highlighting the career of the Ryan Express
at http://www.nolanryanheat.com
Please visit Nolan Ryan
Heat, my
website on Hall of Fame
fireballer
Nolan Ryan. You
can access his
career stats, essays, and
lots more:
