Juan Marichal or Nolan Ryan?

Question

Who was the better pitcher, and why? Some analysis would be good.

Frizzer - I'm open-minded on this one.

Answer 1

If you are looking for power and longevity along with a limited amount of control for most of his career then I would say Nolan Ryan. He lasted longer because his mechanics did not take the toll on his body that Marichals took on his body. He also had problems throughout his career with control which is the down side to me. His wins and strikeouts are a result of pitching for that long.

Marichal was more dominate in a shorter time, he had more finesse to his game and had better control. His motion was to say the least unorthodoxed but it got the job done. He has meant more to the game since retirement than Ryan has, he develops a lot of clinics and fields in 3rd world latin countries to help the development of Latin players. Ryan has basically left and only wants to hear from Baseball when they are going to give him something.

Ryan's longevity gives him the edge but I would say that neither is one of the top three all-time. I do not always buy a stat sheet as the end all be all of who was better because stats can be convoluted by time and opponents. Nolan racked up numbers for the Angels when their division was really weak, where as Marichal had to pitch against the Dodgers and Braves constantly

Answer 2

I love Marichal, but I have to go with Nolan.

Juan had the six 20-win seasons, but he played in a pitcher's park pretty much his whole career. If you adjust their ERAs to account for the parks they played in, Nolan is about a half run better than Marichal over his career, which was a decade longer also. Nolan's over-rated, has a ugly record, and pitched around everybody trying not to get hit; but he's got the 300+ K seasons and the 27 year career.

Answer 3

Craig, I saw them both pitch, in person, many times and I can tell you that Ryan was the better pitcher. I will not bore you with numbers because you know them as well as I do. Marichal was a finesse pitcher that drove my Dodger teams nuts and he really was a good pitcher, but he didn't have the dominance of Ryan. I have a felling you are looking for high praise for Marichal and although he was good you can't put him in the same category as Ryan. Never thought much of Marichal after he hit John Roseboro in the head with a bat, he could have killed him. Of course, He came to the Dodgers at the end of his career, and pitched a total of about six innings, which I could never understand.

Answer 4

Definitely Nolan Ryan, even though Marichal was an outstanding pitcher. But the stats speak for themselves. Check them out.

Answer 5

Nolan Ryan is better
Career Totals W 324 L 292 ERA 3.19 CG 222 Innings 5386.0 SO 5714!!!

Marichal only won 243 games, has lower ERA but not nearly as many SO.

Note the Strikeouts for Ryan is the record.

Answer 6

I think that Nolan Ryan was better, but I like Juan Marichal more because of his awesome leg kick.

Answer 7

Juan was great, but 'The Ryan Express' is the stuff of LEGEND!

Much longer career and 100+ mph fastball to start. Plus Marichal was a thug who took a baseball bat to Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro.

Answer 8

Nolan Ryan is better

But Juan has the awesome leg kick

Answer 9

Nolan Ryan was the better of the two. He was tough as nails, would throw at hitters who disrespected the game, and had an easy enough name. On a personal note, I know he supports those of us who are in wheelchairs. He once backed his truck over a person's wheelchair...thankfully the lady was not in it! He was such a gentlemen. He paid for the wheelchair, and later spoke at her group meeting. He is an inspiration to those of us who are paraplegics.

Answer 10

I would say Nolan Ryan.