is Nolan Ryan the best pitcher ever?

Question

I think Koufax would have passed him up but he didn't due to injuries. And no more talking about his wins being low. He was on the Astros and the Rangers, two of the worst winning franchises in history. I love the Rangers but they used to suck

Answer 1

When people remember Nolan Ryan they remember all the strike outs and the 7 no hitters. What people forget to remember was he was a very wild pitcher, whose pitches were all over the place.

Not only does Ryan hold the all time SO record of 5714, but he also holds the all time record for BB at 2795. He is the only modern day pitcher to walk over 200 batters in a season more than once(202 and 204). He lead all of baseball in BB's 8 times, finishing second 3 times, third 2 times and so on to the total of 19 top 10 finishes.

Then there is the wild pitches. He holds the career record there as well with 277. Leading all of baseball 6 times in that department, finishing second 4 times, all the way down to 14 top 10 finishes.

He also plunked 159 batters over the course of his career, which was good for 8th all time when he retired(9th now). He had 13 top ten finishes in that category(7 top 5).

Ryan quite possibly was the most intimidating pitcher of all time. But that does not make him the best pitcher of all time.

Answer 2

I think both Walter Johnson and Tom Seaver were better pitchers, and some others have already been named as well. I think Ryan had a bit of an advantage in that batting skills declined as he improved.

Nolan Ryan did pitch in the third game of the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. He came on in relief of Gary Gentry, and used both his fastball and his curve to devastating effect, striking out Paul Blair looking to end the game. He was tagged for a couple of hits, but Tommie Agee snared Andy Etchebarren's bloop to end the worst threat. The Mets won the game 5-0, the win credited to Gentry as he lasted five innings. Most people remember Agee's two catches in the game and forget that this was Ryan's only World Series appearance. If pitching in the World Series is some sort of litmus test for greatness, Ryan passes.

Answer 3

Ryan when he was on might have been the best ever. Ryan wasn't on but maybe every fifth start. Wasn't until late in his career that he learned how to pitch at all. Until then he reared back and dared the hitter to catch up to his fastball. On days when it wasn't top speed Ryan was quite hittable.

I once saw and article about relitive ERA and Greg Maddux actually came out as the best pitcher in baseball. Not sure I really go with that. Guidry over a 5 yr period was the best I've seen in my lifetime.

Gibson, Koufax, Walter Johnson, Clemens, Cy Young. Been quite a few awesome pitchers to come thorugh baseball.

So if you consider pitching as in the art of getting hitters out and keeping the game close, then it's Probably Whity Ford. The best thrower of all time was Ryan but only the last 5 years of his career could he pitch. Not surprisingly soon as he learned to pitch his ERA went down, his win total went up depsite losing a few MPH off his fastball. It only came in at 98-100 MPH in his late 40s.

Answer 4

No, he was a great pitcher who had a longer career than most, and ended up with far more strikeouts than anyone else because of it. At the end of the day, though, winning the game is what matters most. ERA is crucial too. Ryan's career ERA was 3.19 and he was 324-292 for his career, giving him a winning percentage of .526. He only won 32 more games than he lost, so with a record like this, he can't be called the best pitcher ever.

A few more dominant pitchers in my mind are:

Sandy Koufax
Roger Clemens
Walter Johnson
Bob Gibson
Christy Mathewson

Answer 5

He was one of the greatest...and has some records..and proved he could be unhittable a lot(7 no-hitters but no perfect games)...the best I would say no..unfortunately you have to look at big game pitchers, like Ford or Gibson, you have to pitch big in the World Series to be the best..I never saw Koufax, but he was suppose to be incredible, and I am sure there were a number of greats in the negroe leagues too

Answer 6

I would call myself one of the biggest Nolan Ryan fans of all-time, but even I wouldn't call him the best pitcher ever (that would be Sandy Koufax)... A more appropriate title would probably be the most dominant pitcher ever, or the most feared pitcher ever.

Answer 7

No. He was an average pitcher with an above average fastball who managed to stay around for a long, long time. Give Koufax or Drysdale...or for that matter Ron Guidry or Tom Seaver any day

Answer 8

Nolan Ryan had seven no hitters in his career, the most in MLB history. The next closest has 4. I'm gonna go with yes.

Answer 9

I think Nolan Ryan was the best pitcher ever, the fact that he holds the record for most records should say it all.

Answer 10

The best pitcher ever? No, not even among the top 15.

The most remarkable pitcher ever? Quite possibly!