Its all good folks, I hear ya, but...
I saw Ryan at/near his career prime - 1970's. As a fan, he offered non-statistical qualities that made him larger than life. You had to be there to understand, to feel it, to live it - extraordinary! He did things no other pitcher could do. He was more electric and often more dominating than any other pitcher who ever played.
I was a kid 8 years old in 1973 when he won 21 games for the Angels (team won 79). Had 2.87 ERA, tallied 2 no-hitters, broke Koufax's single season strikeout record with 383, and perhaps most astonishing was his 26 complete games, yes you read that right - 26 complete games. And I didn't even list all the 1-hitters and 2-hitters. Try all you want Seaver, Carlton, Catfish, Perry, Palmer and whoever else - you are never going to put up those kind of numbers.
Of course, I did not see him in Houston or Texas, where many, many years contributed to watering down his stats. But, like Koufax, with a limited time of incredible greatness, he had the most wow factor of the absolute greatest to ever play.
Ruth, Cobb and Mantle's cards are expensive because collectors perceive the overall greatness (statistical and non-statistical) warrants the price. How do the other similar era "better" pitchers RC's stack up to Ryan's ?
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