Posted by mirky on 8/28/2013 2:56:00 PM (view original):
Nolan Ryan. When he was on he was awesome, but you never knew what you were going to get. As I remember him, if his curve was working it was lights out, but he could be very wild and consistency was an issue. When he would pitch I would always watch because you never knew when it might be special (back then it was Monday night baseball or the Saturday game of the week). I believe that Ryan gets overrated or underrated by stat geeks. Some look at his K's, no hitters and longevity and want to make him the greatest pitcher of all time. Trust me he was no Tom Seaver who for some reason never gets his due anymore . Others look at his walks and try to diminish him. Yes, he is just an average pitcher with 7 no hitters and 5700 K's. That argument doesn't even make sense. Blyleven and Morris better than Ryan? Really? I would be very skeptical of any list of top 50 pitchers that did not include Ryan.
My Rating of pitchers I've personally seen pitch, not including current pitchers. I Saw Gibson and Marichal but outside of the peak. So roughly the last 40+ years
1. T Seaver
2. P Martinez
3. G Maddux
4. R Johnson
5. J Palmer
6. R Clemens
7. N Ryan
8. D Sutton
9. S Carlton
10. J Smoltz
Obviously the order might vary based on individual preference but I can't think of any other pitchers with completed careersbin the last 40 years that I would put on this list. Hunter? Niekro?
People (scribes, etc...) always remember the gas that he threw but almost always forget about his unhittable curve when he was on. There was a lot of talk of Blyleven's curveball back in the day but when Ryan's was on, his was equal to- if not better than than the latter's.
My own opinion here is that his "surface" numbers (the K's + no- hitters) are what about 90% of folks look at when thinking of Ryan but having said this, and having seen him pitch in his prime and then his latter years that he is a HOFer, but not the best pitcher I've ever seen.
My own list would be (this from the cuff, without much fore- thought...)
1- Tom Seaver
2- Pedro Martinez
3- Jim Palmer
4- Steve Carlton
5- Greg Maddux
6- John Smoltz
7- Roger Clemens
8- Gaylord Perry
9- Randy Johnson
10- Nolan Ryan
I probably could have added Ferguson Jenkins or Ron Guidry but I just haven't had enough time to really think about this list...