Nolan Ryan was a Savage!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ย. 2024
- Nolan Ryan has the most career MLB strikeouts.
Part of the reason is that he was intimidating on the mound. Here's a few examples of why Ryan was an intimidating Pitcher. You can either get hit with the baseball or his fists (ask Robin Ventura)...and his curveball played off his inside fastball. And his fastball was one of the fastest of all time (allegedly clocked at 108 mph...but see this video challenging that: • Did Nolan Ryan throw 1...
Don't forget, Nolan Ryan also had a nasty changeup too.
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.7 (1/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2rPGOyKs0VE/mqdefault.jpg)
I remember reading a quote by Ricky Henderson about being Nolan Ryan's 5,000th strike out....."If he ain't struck you out you ain't nobody." Pretty classic
Amazing, since Rickey Henderson was a great hitter in his OWN right.
In a game against the Red Sox in 1974, Nolan threw 235 pitches over 13 innings while striking out 19! Absolutely mind boggling!
I was 13 years old, and I remember! Being from Boston and the game played at the Big A 10:30 EST, no way to find out except listen to the radio for score or wait for the afternoon paper.
He made Advil ads for a reason ;)
He also took a loss, despite the 19 Ks and having a 1.38 ERA for that game- I swear Nolan has to have had the most snakebitten career in history when it comes to wins/losses. If you look at his quality starts, and compare them to the quality starts of someone like Roger Clemens, (who pitched almost the entirety of his career on great teams) Nolan would have 438 career wins if given the same winning percentage. 2nd most all-time behind Cy Young and 75 wins ahead of the next pitcher to debut after WWII.
How times have changed. Back in the day pitchers were required to go the distance. When players had their contracts renewed, salaries were determined by their performance of the previous year. Complete games was one factor. The more complete games a pitcher had, the more money he received. Nowadays a pitcher is yanked as soon as he reached 100 pitches.
@@KevinMiller-xn5vu MLB is breeding lollygaggers.
My absolute favorite player as a kid. When Nolan was still pitching for the Astros, my dad took me down to Vero Beach, FL to see a spring training game between the Astros and Dodgers. It was a 3-hour drive each way and the weather was looking iffy, but we decided to go anyway. The game never started due to rain, disappointed we made our way back to the minivan and saw the Astros leaving the clubhouse area and begin to jog down the road leaving the ballpark. Sure enough, Nolan was about mid-pack and my dad pulled the minivan up, rolled the window down and asked if he would sign a ball for me. Nolan said to drive on and he'd meet us at the stop sign up ahead. I've had that autographed ball on my various nightstands for almost 40 years now.....
Great great story. Gala Nolan did that for you
If you want to know how great Ryan was then you’ve got to listen to the hitters of his era talk about him, he was genuinely terrifying to many.
“His era”? Which era? 😅
Lmao
Nolan Ryan played long enough to K a guy and his son except it never happened cuz after facing Ryan guys just didn’t have kids
Trying to hit off Nolan Ryan is like trying to drink coffee with a fork.
@@jessehammer123 lol
And he threw 97 when he was 46 years old. Best pitcher ever in my opinion.
@@FlameBracer Agreed.
He is 75 now. Bet he can throw his age in MPH
Legitimate old school...like Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew and maybe Ichiro Suzuki...serious fundamentals performed in excellence. Nolan was a workhorse and gave no rips when it came to throwing down...favorite picture is that headlock with Ventura and hes TCB. God Bless Texas!
@@brucevonah511 At age 66, he was still throwing 86.
@@brucevonah511 I'd almost guarantee you are correct. LEGEND!
There will never be another pitcher like Nolan. 51 MLB records. And most will likely never be broken. 5,714 strikeouts. 7 no hitters. Good luck topping those!
He also lost 4 more no-hitters in the 9th inning!
Yep! I loved Art Howe’s comment on Nolan: “I never struck out against Noley……and that’s only because I never had to face him!” 😂😂😂
He was a freak in that he was able to pitch so well for so long. He must have had a super high tolerance for pain.
He also threw 8 one hitters. Unbelievable when he was on, he was pretty much unhittable.
Third losingest pitcher in MLB history and not in the top ten in wins.
Lifetime .206 batting average against, and pitched until 46. Another record he holds
Today's hitters would be batting .106 lifetime against Ryan!
@@davidkoziol7777If that.
With the proliferation of pitch counters in today's game, Ryan's records for no-hitters & strikeouts looks to be Untouchable! Even w/modern pitching science & advanced medical techniques, Ryan's "old skool" off-season regimen stands the test of time!...All Hail, Ryan's Express!
Early control problems and terrible teams prevent Ryan from being the all time greatest. But thats just statistics. He's the greatest pitching marvel ever.
Ryan just wasnt that great
I dont think there will ever be another pitcher like Nolan
Incredible pitcher. Don Drysdale used to say that half of the plate belonged to the batter the other half belonged to him and he would let the batter know what side he wanted. Nolan Ryan took the entire plate. One of if not the Best pitcher ever.
What a legend. Can’t imagine the feeling when you see his name on the lineup card, let alone when you step into the box.
He doesn’t just strike them out, he embarrasses them
I once heard a story that was told to illustrate not just how hard he threw, but how incredibly competitive he was. I will have to refer to the batter as just “the batter” because I have forgotten who he was.
So Ryan nails him in the ribs first pitch and the guy goes down into the dirt and is in obvious pain, but one of most baseball players little unwritten rules is that you don’t show how much it hurts. So the batter hops up and trots down to first with his free base on balls and when he gets there, he yells over to Ryan “Hey Ryan, my daddy hits me harder than that.”
He seriously underestimated Ryan’s competitive spirit.
The next time the batter comes up, Ryan reaches back and fires one of his 100 mph heaters, AND HITS THE BATTER IN EXACTLY THE SAME SPOT AS THE FIRST PITCH!” 😂😂😂
So this time the batter is down in the dirt for a bit rolling around in serious pain, and after getting checked out by the trainer and given the ok, he heads down to first base with his free, if not hard earned, pass.
While he’s standing there, Ryan looks over at him and dryly asks…”Your daddy ever hit you that hard?”
😈😈😈
People always said he came across as this quiet, polite old country gent, but everyone who knew him said there was a unequaled competitive fire in him.
Different era, different rules.
no he was different period just like all the GOATs ...they all have that crazy competitive fire inside them
Ryan is the all time leader with 5714 strikeouts in his career
#2 was Randy Johnson with 4875 in 22 seasons
An unbreakable record if there ever was one.
My dad left me a couple signed Nolan Ryan baseball cards. One of the coolest pitchers ever.
Very cool!
Same minus “a couple signed Nolan Ryan baseball cards. One of the coolest pictures ever.”
@@blindtortoise4797 took me a second, that’s so messed up but so damn funny 😭
@@blindtortoise4797 Damn.
😂
Dad went to get cigarettes?
Watched him pitch for the Angels in the 70’s. He really was great.
I miss him playing so much. He was incredible to watch live.
One of the greatest. I remember watching him as a kid, sitting with my dad and grandpa. Loved watching him pitch
Robin Ventura, the only batter to collect 6 hit from Nolan Ryan in a single game.
Robin ran straight into a head lock.
@@encinobalboa Yeah he did, and his heart wasn't into to begin with, if you look at all the other mound charges of past hitters no one ever walked into a headlock first.
All time career leader in strikeouts, walks and fewest hits allowed per 9 innings (6.6) Never won a Cy Young though, due to playing on some crappy Angels team and pitching in an era where wins/losses and your teams performance counted for more than they do today.
But most walks as well. Could have been an important factor for those cy young's. But admitted, dude was a monster and scary AF, even more than the big unit.
@@viveknamikaze761 I'll agree with you because I was and still am a huge Nolan Ryan fan and grew up watching him. But...Randy Johnson is someone I would be shook to face, too. He is 6'10' and would stretch as far as possible from the mound with a long arm.
1973 Ryan had 363 strikeouts with 2 no hitters but came in second to Jim Palmer who had 1 more win and half a point lower ERA. Palmer played on the AL East defending champion Orioles that was stacked while Ryan played on a bad Angels team. Straight popularity contest.
@@chuckfinley6747 .... you're either missing the "Oscar" for Charles O. Finley .... or referencing the Angels pitcher! 😄😄👍
But, yeah ... Ryan was often overlooked for the Cy Young.
@@dinojay8410 1987 he led the league in ERA and strikeouts but came in 5th because he was on a horrible Astros team that gave him no run support. His win loss record was 8-16 but he had 5 losses where he gave up 1 run.
Would go to every game Ryan pitched when he came to town , luckily got to see him 7 times live , hearing that sound sitting behind home , and then seeing that curve would make us in stands knees buckle
Saw his last win live. You know about the no-hitters but did you know that he has twelve 1-hitters.
Also worth mentioning that it was Ryan who helped Randy Johnson turn the corner and become a HoF level pitcher.
My favorite pitcher of all time. I'm 50 years old and I remember him back in the early 90's. My uncle worked at Yankee Stadium and introduced me to him when he was pitching for Texas. I got to sit in the dugout and bullpen and talk with him on 2 occasions. He explained to me in detail, how each finger on your hand, plays an important role individually and together, in throwing different types of pitches. From one finger, up to four finger pitch types. He said if you can master the art of your hand and fingers first at a younger age and practice that, later on when becoming a more mature pitcher, your stance, delivery, style etc., can be taught and mastered over time. I never forgot what he taught me.
👍❤
He had that many strikeouts in an era of hit & run and contact. His control improved so much, he led the majors in SO/W at age 40. If he isn't the best pitcher ever, he certainly had the best career. Randy Johnson a close second for me.
He's third all-time in losses but only fourteenth in wins.
@@howie9751which completely depends on his team's ability to score runs. Which is completely out of his control.
@@danacoleman4007 That excuse may work for 5 or 10 years. But 27 years? No. Mike Scott won a Cy Young award while on the same team as Ryan, even had a better ERA, and the Astros won their division. If teams are not scoring runs for Ryan for 27 years, maybe it's not the team. Also Ryan was .500 in the post season and won of those wins was in relief. He was a .500 pitcher.
@@howie9751 lol
@@howie9751 , just throwing this out there, but looking at run support Ryan had over his career 2 runs or less support, 288 times, compare to others who had long careers , Sutton had 244,Carlton 229, Niekro 222, look at any pitcher and during their career they have a significant low win/loss record with 2 runs or less run support.
I was at the Astrodome in the mid 1980's when Nolan Ryan was pitching against the Atlanta Braves. Nolan Ryan always grunted very loudly when he threw the ball toward home plate. I still remember Ron Gant and Andres Thomas hitting homeruns off of him. In the end, Astros won 6-4. It was a pleasure for me to see Nolan Ryan and Dale Murphy and the rest. I was a Braves fan! Great times.
That was a great era for baseball
He didn't 'always' grunt very loudly. He often grunted very loudly, but a lot of the time he was playing games with the hitters. Later in his career when he was 'only' throwing in the upper 90s I remember seeing him blow two 96 mph fastballs by a hitter without grunting. He grunted on the next pitch. It was a change up!
I don't think I've ever seen a hitter so far out in front on a pitch. After I saw that I tried it in some back yard games (I had a decent backyard circle change). The grunt sells it... but of course, if the batter catches on... so you change it... it's like having an extra pitch in your arsenal. He wasn't just incredibly talented, he was a smart pitcher too.
I was at the Vertunra v Ryan game. My dad had gotten tickets from Bobby Bragan. Mr. Bragan worked for the Rangers in PR and would come down twice a year and speak to my dad’s PR classes. We sat in the players family section. It was a fun game. All Ventura did was make Ryan mad. Ryan retired something like 12 or 15 straight after the fight.
That Rangers White Sox rivalry started 2-3 years prior. There is a great article titled Nolan Ryan-Robin Ventura: The Inside Story of Baseball’s Most Famous Fight. It is a little long read but worth it if you are a Nolan Ryan fan.
Watched the game live. Next day ran out and bought a news paper and he headed the sports section. Wish I still had that clipping.
Tommy Lasorda said, "Others will throw harder... but no one will ever throw hard LONGER. (Ryan's last major league pitch, hurled against the Seattle Mariners was officially measured at 98.3 mph!) 😮
Greatest pitcher of all time! Love to see the greatest brake-downer of all time give him some love! Keep it up man!
Hard to believe he never won a Cy Young
@@that_deaf_dude99 that’s simply because of the old ways cy young voters used metrics. They valued the pitcher win, when the pitcher win is irrelevant to the pitchers quality
Maybe best of "his" time.
Cy Young and Lefty Grove have something to say about all time.
@@richardstarr4932 not really a fair comparison. Especially when you look at how the pitching area was moved back and turned into a mound instead of a flat area. Not to mention the fact that Cy Young would use the same ball all game which would get scuffed and deformed helping his pitches while making it harder on hitters.
@@pohorex6834 plus it’s really a popularity contest. 1973 Ryan had 363 strikeouts with 2 no hitters and lost to Jim Palmer who had 1 more win and a half point lower ERA. But Palmer played on the defending AL East champion Orioles while Ryan was on a bad Angels team.
Nolan Ryan never got hurt because his mechanics were just about perfect.
Yes, his motion sequence looks flawless, somehow also a bit old-timey.
Ryan knew that his fastball was capable of killing someone. He also knew that batters knew that he knew. Trying to hit when you know the pitcher can kill you changes the entire dynamic no matter how good a hitter you are. He could also kick your behind. Just ask Robin Ventura.
Is Robin Ventura the guy he has in a headlock punching in the face ?
Ryan was the first pitcher to hit a guy 5 times with 1 pitch. 😂😂
@@H43339 Yes.
@@H43339 yep
@garygemmell3488 That's Awesome !!!
That headlock beat down is STILL the measurement of a baseball fight. NEVER fight an old man, they have tricks... and so do silly rabbits
Noogies!!!
Always got a big cheer from the crowd before the game showing on the jumbo Tron .
Greatest pitcher I ever got to see live.... I was 9 the last time I saw him pitch in Arlington, Texas
I loved watching Nolan pitch especially at night you could see more action of the ball so much better absolutely my favorite pitcher and good old boy thanks for all your years in baseball we so miss talent like yours
Nolan Ryan said the only batter he feared was Jack Clark. (That’s because Jack could pull a bullet.)
The fact he never won a Cy Young award is amazing. To be that dominant and never win the award for best pitcher, that had to piss him off in his later years.
Never won 20 games either. Both points are shocking. Because without a doubt. To me, he was the best of all time.
@@desertmonsoon1 Not even close…. I’m as much a Nolan Ryan fan as the next guy he isn’t the best. Two that jump out to me is Pedro Martinez and Greg Maddux. Granted Ryan had longevity and that says something about a player. Unfortunately players are judged mostly by their peak work and while was a top 1% guy there is a big difference between him, Maddux, and Martinez.
@@jayss10 I can’t argue with your choices.
@@jayss10 great choices for sure but I gotta throw Josh Beckett in there
@@desertmonsoon1 '73 and '74 he won over 20, over 25 complete games, over 320 innings pitched.
That overlay you did was excellent. Really shows the movement
the GOAT... my dad used to say that if he had that breaking ball going for him that night, nobody would be hitting off of him 🤣 because that fastball would just leave those guys standing there or scared the hell out of them 🤣😱
There's a story from his autobiography having to do with one of his Angels no-hitters. Apparently, Red Murff (who "discovered" Nolan) was at one of the Angels games, and watched him during his warm ups (I believe it was) and wrote in his score book "Control of curveball today". Then he watched the K's pile up. Nolan threw a no-hitter that day.
If you ever met Nolan Ryan in person, he was humble, respectful and had a light hearted jovial demeanor. Absolutely a class act, eventhough he was a legend. Always stayed in top shaped even to this moment. But you push the wrong button, you'd quickly regret!!! 😅
I had a friend who played 3rd base for the Minnesota Twins. He broke up a no hitter for Ryan in the 6th one game, the next time he came to the plate Ryan told him (from the mound) that he was going to take his chin off. He said it was pretty intimidating to face Ryan.
Who was that?
Saw him pitch a couple times in person the last several years of his career. The electricity in the stadium was like nothing I've ever experienced, and I've been to a lot of games through the years.
That Pounding he did on Robin Ventura his final year was like Johnny Cash going out with Gods Gonna Cut You Down. What a way to retire! 😂
Nolan Ryan was not only a savage, he was the best pitcher of all time.
The man was a pitching God.
He didn't just strike you out he would make you look like a fool.
My childhood hero!
To this day, Robin Ventura refuses to sign anything with him and Nolan Ryan. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I started watching baseball young, 1986 I was 5. I remember never NOT thinking there's something different about Nolan Ryan. I believe there was a Seaver, Carlton, Ryan battle for #1 all-time in K's, until there was no competition whatsoever. Then growing up being all about pitching as I got to the 90's and being more understanding of what was happening, especially in the 88-91 seasons, he was outstanding. Then, I just thought about how many No-Hitters or extra SHO he'd have with teams/defenses like the Cardinals or Astros this year. Just think about how absolutely awful some of those teams were, and still 7 No No's and just 6.6H/9. Maybe 10 and 6 flat with even half of his career played on teams with multiple GG and playoff quality, not to mention maybe pressing for 400W. Absolute FILFTH, that would an 'F' beyond Filth.
Imagine how many no-hitters he would have if just half of his one hitters had not been due to poor fielding.
What is especially amazing is he was so successful playing basically his entire career on bad teams.
Awesome overlays. This is what people can’t realize. To hit a pitch, let alone one coming at 100 mph you have less than 100 msec to swing. The pitch looks IDENTICAL in the time you have to decide!
Yes, you basically have to swing the bat before the pitch releases at the peak of the pitcher's throwing motion from the pitcher 's arm and keep your eyes on focused the ball and guide the bat as closely as possible to it if you know a real heater is coming.
Got to see him live a few time when he came to town with the Rangers. Even in his 40's his Fastball was nasty.
And his curve got better as he aged. He had a lot better control over where he placed it.
Nolan Ryan was a god...
I attended the last game he pitched in his career. He blew out his elbow (?) before the game and still tried to pitch, because he knew the Kingdome was packed with fans who came to see him. He got shelled. I do not think he made it out of the first inning.
The fans gave him a standing ovation and would not stop until he came out and tipped his cap. He was embarrassed, because he did so poorly. We were not cheering that day. We were sheering the career.
His last pitch was still a friggin' heater. lol
"With his injured arm, his final pitch was measured at 98 miles per hour (158 km/h). Ryan's last start was his career-worst; he allowed a single, four walks, and a grand slam in the top of the first without recording an out."
I was at my brother's barber shop and this guy came in for a cut. He played the majors for 4-5 years, mostly as a back up in the late 70s early 80s.
Me and my brother were asking all we could for stats and stories etc...
He told us his first at bat in the Majors was against Ryan. He said he was nervous. Took a few pitches and then just swung the bat at a blur he thought was the ball. He connected and got on with a base hit.
Nolan Ryans fastball/curve combination is about as unfair as it gets. He also had a circle change he would drop in that was pretty great.
Nolan Ryan - 10 times the class of Roger Clemens.
I believe I have this correct. Let me know if I am wrong. When Ryan started pitching in the majors, they said he wouldn't last 5 years because he threw heat. When he was still throwing heat at 40 years old, I think they had to reconsider. I lived in Houston when he pitched there. He was awesome. I'm in ATL now and loved watching Maddux for a different reason. He was all about magical control. By the 6th inning, the plate was about 4 inches wider than at the start of the game. They are my two favorite pitchers of all time.
The man had extreme work ethic and determination that is unmatched. I watched him warm up before a game by throwing ropes from third base line to centerfold. There will never be another like him.
One of the top five if not the top three best pictures ever to play the game
He would definitely make it into my all-time starting rotation.
It's great to see that classic Nolan windup, and the swagger as he steps off the mound after delivery. It reminded me of old nes baseball game I used to play way back, had real mlb players. Classic stars like Ryan, Hershiser, Boggs, etc. Although animations were of course not personalized, Ryan's windup looked just like it is here. I loved choosing the rangers, or ALS specifically for that reason.
DUDE...if you had Nolan Ryan on that old NES, if you didn't know how to play, he, Gooden or Clemens were going to vaporize you. One of the best NES games ever. Game was played a great many of rainy weekends as a kid...I think Randy Johnson was scariest on AL all-star team for some reason.
He threw balls hard and fast, nobody knew where it was going except Nolan and the catcher had a round about idea I'm sure. But balls that curve that hard and fast are a pure phenomenon, hats off to both Nolan and the catchers.
A Nolan Ryan with control would’ve shattered any pitching statistic ever conceived.
I wonder if he got a lot of walks because batters just didn't want to swing against him.
Nolan Ryan is STILL the blueprint that any pitcher could hope to be. The guy was born with a cannon for an arm, he was a savage, and he had brilliant command. And let's not forget those legendary heaters he was throwing.
Brilliant command? He’s the all time leader in walks issued and it’s by a wide margin
@@rich7787 He also had the most K's. And 7 no-hitters. I'm guessing if YOU pitched as many games, you'd have zero no-hitters, far less K's and way more walks. The fleas come with the dog.
@@rich7787 ...he gained command as he got older. When he started in the league he had no idea where it was going. At some point he backed off slightly and started to be more of a control type pitcher.
That overlay was fantastic! Thanks!
One of the best to ever do it.
That Robin Ventura episode is an all-time classic. The tough old-school Texas guy saying "hey now sonny! I've got something for your little yuppie ass right here! Oh look, an unexpired can of whoopass!" Hahaha! This might be the sports version intersection of when the world started its downhill slide...
I don't remember who the pitcher was, but the worst knee buckle I ever saw was against Dave Winfield. Someone through a sweeping curve and he ended up diving out and finished the at bat lying on his back.
It was a called strike.
We all know his FASTBALL was unhittable , but the curve ball was insane 😂
Nolan was a HOSS. I mean he had one heck of a curve and fast ball. Amazing Pitcher⚾️
My favorite player growing up!
Jody Reed was one of my hitting coaches growing up. Mark Shiflet and Ruben Garcua! Nola Ryan and Clemons growing up... The best...
Named my son after him. Couldn’t copy it exactly so we went with Nolan Rylan Bertoli.
Haha so did I (Ryan)!!
I have a friend who has 2 boys Ryan and Landry
The great Sparky Anderson’s answer to why he had so and so pitch in a critical situation, “Well, we didn’t have Nolan Ryan, so….” Reggie Jackson: “Hitting Nolan Ryan was like drinking coffee with a fork.” That same quote was used years earlier by Willie Mays, when asked about hitting Sandy Koufax. Ryan thought that Koufax was the best he had ever seen, and Bob Gibson was the absolute most competitive that he had seen. I am old geezer who was privileged to see him pitch a lot. He basically never played for teams that were NOT on a winning run (in the times he was with them) and still he did what he did.
I was a promotion manager for a brand of potato chips in 1993. Looking for a baseball related promotion and selected Nolan Ryan a month before he was selected for Hall Of Fame. I got all sorts of signed Nolan Ryan Photos from the deal.
Nice.
Would have loved to see how his career would have gone if he didn't play on so many shitty teams.
as a rangers fan... yeah.
To be fair, when he was a ranger he was in his 40's. I got to witness him in person. Barely remember it, sadly. I was so young.
Great observation.
I'm so glad I got to see Nolan Ryan and Greg Maddux when I was growing up. Obviously there were many other great pitchers but those 2 stand out as the best of my generation in my opinion.
That nolan ryan grunt is legendary
Not only was it the blistering fastball, but those curves, sinkers, and sliders were leaving those batters so faked out, their jockstraps were down at their ankles.
Right after every game he would ride 45min on a stationary bike with a big ice bag on his pitching shoulder...Champs like him never had an off season they always stayed in shape.
I read a long time ago Ryan had a pool at home that was six-feet deep - the whole thing - and he'd "run" from end to end for resistance training.
incredible athlete ... truly brilliant but the brilliance was applied with longevity ... words are simply not appropriate !!!
The headlock and a right hand pounding to the face is savage too -1,2,3 strikes to the noggin and you're out!!
I've seen a LOT of people say that Nolan Ryan isn't the greatest pitcher ever. They talk about his W-L record, his status as all-time leaders in walks, and so forth.
There are some worthwhile arguments against his possible GOAT status, for sure.
He's still my favorite pitcher of all time, however... and no naysayer statistics are ever going to change my mind.
the MLB had to put up with this for 27 years
The nastiest stuff ever, he threw that fastball even late in his career at 95 to 101, the curve broke two feet at 76 to 83, and his changeup was often 90 mph. He would have been the GOAT of pitching if he had more command, but even with his at times wildness he was still one of the toughest ever, literally the hardest starter to ever get a hit off of.
When Ryan whipped Ventura's ass he didn't even get ejected from the game.
You won't see a pitcher like that again.
My boy threw 80s mph hour curves that moved from head to knees. He got cut from nebraska after car accident caused him to sit out a season cause of broken arm. But the bush league in tahlequah oklahoma couldn't hit that dudes curve. Just nasty. He was making dudes drop to the ground and you hear strike lol. Great times. The silver haired crowd loved it.
Head noogies on Ventura never gets old.
There is a reason why he's the best. Great comp
The overlay was awesome.
The man was a machine.
He is a Legend🤠👑
Ryan didn't pick up a change until later in his career. Hit 90 a few times with it, IIRC.
I was 13 years old at game three of the 1969 World Series when Nolan Ryan came in to relieve Gary Gentry. I’m still pissed at the Mets for trading him, he should’ve played his whole career here!
Grew up as a Dodger fan watching this Man pitch. Dodger fan or not...who ever you liked...When you peeled open a pack of Topps and got a Nolan Ryan....you won.
I loved watching Nolan pitch. And I’ve no doubt some batters would intentionally go ahead and strike out to get it over with before Ryan beaned them with the ball for crowding the plate!
the thing with Ryan was he was inconsistent with his breaking pitch. And that, along with poor run support, kept his W's much lower than they should have been. His fastball would set up the curve and vice versa. If he had them both working and throwing them for strikes, a No Hitter was a possibility every time he took to the mound.
The inconsistency affected his Walks to Strikeout ratio ... at least for the first half of his career.
But when he was on, I don't think there was ever a more dominating pitcher in baseball - period. You don't become the alltime leader in K's and MLB No Hitters, without being a beast on the mound.
I'm going to edit this and say there were 3 pitchers who could have rivaled Ryan ... but didn't...Steve Carlton was one, another was the Big Unit - Randy Johnson, and the other who was just as dominating and arguably the greatest left handed pitcher of all time is Sanford (Sandy) Koufax ... had his elbow arthritis not occurred he could very well be the GOAT ...
Pedro Martinez was as dominate as any pitcher. I had hated the guy but he could pitch
@@tommyr5758 ... as an Expos fan, Pedro was the best pitcher we ever had! Had we not traded Randy Johnson for Mark Langston, we could have had one heck of a Rotation! 😁 He was darn good ... but not in the class of Ryan or Koufax.
@@dinojay8410 I’m too young for Koufax. But he’s often compared to Martinez. Saw Ryan in the 80s and 90s. Loved him. Saw Pedro every time he came to Cleveland. Amazing. Saw a lot of randy during his Seattle day. Fascinating. Of the 3 I saw. I would take randy for a season. Just fearsome. But in a must win game give me Pedro. Both had nasty stuff. Peak Pedro was as good as it’s gets. Nolan unfortunately as you mentioned was inconsistent. But any of those 3 I felt could throw a no hitter every time they took the mound. Only roger Clemons in my lifetime is the only other pitcher I felt like that. It’s a great debate. All of them dominated and batters feared them
@@tommyr5758 . . . Koufax was incredibly domineering. He overpowered hitters and then kept them off balance with his breaking pitches. Add to that he did it as a lefthander. He was often called "the Left arm of God".
By the time he turned 24-25 years of age, he became the most dominant pitcher in the game. He overcame his control problems he struggled with in his early years, and was a proverbial strikeout king.
He set the modernday record for strikeouts in a single season at 362 only bettered by Ryan's 363. In that 6 year period, he won 3 CY Youngs (for all of MLB not for each league), was MVP in 1963, and he pitched 4-No Hitters.
My reason above for saying that Nolan Ryan was the most dominating pitcher was because of his longeviity. The arthritis in Sandy's left arm & elbow forced him to retire at 30 years of age.
I saw Nolan Ryan pitch against the Twins at the Metrodome on Aug. 11, 1992. He gave up two runs through six innings with seven strikeouts in a 3-2 Rangers loss.
If i have to pick a starting 3,4 or5 man pitching rotation, Ryan is my first pick every time, my second pick is randy johnson. The Ryan express, how many no hitters, 7?
BEST ARM TALENT EVER!
When it came to "The Stuff" very few had more than Ryan! Regardless of his W-L record, he was easily one of the top 5 nasitiest pitchers...EVER!! He also holds the record for most hits by a pitcher in one inning....he had 5!!! (dont' believe me, ask Robin Ventura)!
If you can catch a grown man in a full sprint in a headlock and beat his ass like a damn drum, you are an untouchable artifact in the historical record of badassery.