Nolan Ryan

Definitely a shame. 

All right, enough with the pre-game. Here we go...

30. Nolan Ryan-RHP

It's become vogue to label him "overrated," because of his losses (3rd) and walks (1st). But there's something to be said about his dominance, as "The Ryan Express" is first all time in batting average against. Hitters were weaker against him than anyone else, a statement also supported by his No. 3 rank in K's/9. 

Continue reading "The Top 30 Players in MLB History"

Earlier this week, the network aired and I watched Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.’s seventh no-hitter which came against the Toronto Blue Jays on May, 1 1991. A few incredible things about this game: It happened the same day and overshadowed Rickey Henderson capturing the career stolen base record because it was Ryan’s seventh no-no and it came at age 44, it was reported in the early innings Ryan almost didn’t even pitch that night do to fatigue and the overall soreness that comes along with being a 25-year veteran, and even more miraculously, it wasn’t pitched against the dregs of the American League, it came against a team that would win 91 games that year and went on to win back-to-back championships in 1992 and 1993. Although I was only nine when he retired, I realized at my young age he was more than an old Texan who still had his fastball. He was one we’ll probably never see again without the benefit of a new, undetectable performance-enhancing drug. Amazingly, while winning 324 games, striking out a ridiculous 5714 batters (MLB record) and posting a 3.19 ERA over his 27-year career played through four decades with four different teams, the Ryan Express never won a Cy Young Award. Looking at his page on baseballreference, there really isn’t a season that jumps out at me as one where he was robbed of the award since he lost almost as many games as he won (292) and issued 50% more base-on-balls than any other pitcher in history. Regardless, along with his MLB record seven no-hitters, three more than the next closest pitcher, Ryan also tossed 12 one-hitters (tied with Bob Fellers for most all-time) and 18 two-hitters. And who can forget the time a 46-year old Ryan beat the ever-livin’ crap out of Robin Ventura, a player 20 years his junior. Ryan admitted after the melee that he utilized the same maneuver he used on steers he had to brand on his ranch. Apparently when Ryan messes with the bull, he doesn’t get the horns. He punches that bull right in the face.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings: Volume V"

estructive fashion had to be a significant slap in the face of the Rangers president: Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who may have been a tough guy on the mound, was an angel off of it. He continues to exemplify modesty and class--albeit of the Texas downhome-farmboy variety--in his personal life. To see a young punk with marginal major-league skills act like this was surely an affront, and bravo to Ryan and the Rangers management for taking no more from Ponson.

Continue reading "Texas Rangers Show Some Character"

dy Koufax and be unhittable for four or five seasons (and merely outstanding for a handful more) or Nolan Ryan and be unhittable for twenty years.

But you can't be just really good for many years and make it into the Hall, and to me, Mussina fits this definition. He's got some strong career numbers, to be sure, 2600+ strikeouts and 250+ wins, one of a handful of pitchers to win ten or more games for fifteen straight years. Much of these stats, however, are due to his longevity and durability, a guy who's eaten innings with no major injuries for seventeen seasons. He played for some good teams, from the O's of the mid-nineties to the Yanks of the early oughties (those hard-to-name years in the first decade of this century/millennium), which have helped his win totals. His career WHIP, a measure of a pitcher's ability to throw strikes while missing bats, is 1.17, a very solid number. His five Gold Gloves are a good measure of his defensive excellence, and he's a five-time All Star (both awards, however, are often measures of popularity and/or tradition as much as merit)

Continue reading "Mike Mussina for the HOF?"