Nolan Ryan what if's

[Runscott]

Ryan was so much fun to watch live. The old Arlington stadium had a ramp that sunk down behind home plate, so you could go down there and be basically at the level of Ryan's pitches. It was quite a rush. We would go to every game he pitched after he had won #299, but he just could not pull off #300 at Arlington. I lived in Houston when he and Carlton were trying to break Johnson's all-time strikeout record. I believe Carlton broke it first, and then the two of them went back and forth for the lead until Carlton broke down - Ryan, of course, kept plugging away. If I dug around I could probably find 20-30 ticket stubs from games I saw him pitch with the Astros and Rangers.

Point I'm making - Ryan provided his fans with tremendous entertainment. You knew when you went to his games that there was a real chance you could witness a no-hitter. I was lucky enough to be at his last one, and was also at a 1-hitter where he lost it in the ninth. I also saw him get pounded a few times.

But I have to agree that Seaver and Carlton were of more value to their teams.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Ryan was so much fun to watch live. The old Arlington stadium had a ramp that sunk down behind home plate, so you could go down there and be basically at the level of Ryan's pitches. It was quite a rush.

I wish I could have done that!

Closest I ever got was in college an ex player started a bating cage that the local minor league team and college teams went to.
They had one cage that was set for low 90's, and like everyone else I just had to try it. Maybe 100 pitches worth and I finally got a tiny bit of one just enough to hear, didn't even deflect the pitch. I could only see the ball as it left the machine, and once when it was about halfway. Apparently my eyes are as slow as the rest of me.
And the cage had decent control, only a fastball and I was told, not much motion on it.
I can't imagine what another 5-8 mph with motion and a chance of an 80+mph curve would be like.

That changed my entire perspective on pro ballplayers in general. It made me realize that even the guys that bat .200 are actually quite good.

Steve B

[alanu]

Nolan Ryan was my favorite player growing up. I remember always having to wait 2 days to see the Angels home boxscores since the local paper wouldn't pick up the west coast box scores the next day and without ESPN or the internet, the paper was about the only place to get the stats. Frank Tanana was one of my favorites too when he was also a strikeout pitcher with the Angels.

To me Ryan is like the big homerun hitters, you watched him to see him strikeout batters (or noogie Robin Ventura) instead of hit HR's.