Nolan Ryan

[kairos12]

Threw:

7 no-hitters

12 one-hitters (tied Bob Feller)

18 two-hitters

Ridiculous.

[AltairIV]

1. Endless discussion on pitchers and their stats.

No question when he was "on" he was one of the most dominating pitchers in the game. But for my money Bob Gibson was THE most feared pitcher in game.

[OAITW r.2.0]

4. He killed my beloved Red Sox in 1967.

Remember that series well....I was 14 and got caught up in the Impossible Dream team...

[rsdsharp]

7. Dominating, rather than dominant, is how I always described him.

7 no hitters, 5700+ strikeouts, all time H9 leader, but also career leader in walks, and an average won-loss record over his career of 13-12.

[Redleg]

8. I remember watching Gibson late in his career

While he had lost his best stuff, he still had the mental game that made him so great. I also remember how delighted I was when Tom Seaver signed with the Reds, my favorite team. Unfortunately, the Reds didn't make it back into the World Series until long after that.

[twodogsbarking]

9. Sandy Koufax had a different style but he too could get it done.

Ryan broke his records.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Ryan was the oldest MLB pitcher to throw a no-hitter

Age 44, against the Toronto Blue Jays. He struck out at least one batter in each inning, finishing with 16 Ks altogether. 44!!

Super ridiculous!

Good post. 👍

[Bleacher Creature]

3. His durability was amazing.

Both in terms of the length of his career and his lack of injuries. I'm always fascinated by pitchers who throw heat while never having major arm injuries. Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson were the same way.

[JT45242]

6. Clemens juiced

Clemens was finished when the red Sox let him go. His arm was shot if not for the steroids he took for the rest of his career.

That's part of what Ryan so incredible. Good for a long time and clean.

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. Netflix has a great Ryan documentary.....pretty extraordinary man. nt

[ProfessorGAC]

10. Fun Ryan Stat Fact

He is the only pitcher in the modern era (live ball) to have led his league in ERA & have a losing record.
In '87, he had an ERA of 2.76 & finished 8 & 16.
Started 34 games, was pitcher of record in only 24, 6&2/3rds innings per start, 1.3 strikeouts per inning.& Batting average against was .200.
He actually had a great season, but the Astros were so bad that year, he never got the run support.