Top 106 Baseball Players: #5 - Nolan Ryan

Nolan Ryan

Nolan Ryan had the longest career of any player in baseball history, and set numerous Major League records along the way, though not all of them were positive.

Ryan started his career in 1966 with the New York Mets, but did not fully show his promise during his time there, partly due to service with the Army Reserve, which took him away from the team frequently throughout the season. He was a member of the World Series-winning 1969 Mets, pitching 2 shutout innings in relief in the lone World Series appearance of his career.

After the 1971 season, he was traded to the California Angels, where he was finally able to become a full-time starter, and he began to show his still immediately. In his first season with the Angels, he led the league with 329 strikeouts, which would be the first of 11 times he led the league. He also led the league in walks allowed for the first of 8 times, and wild pitches for the first of 6 times, which showed both sides of him.

In his second season with California, he broke Sandy Koufax's single-season strikeout record by one, fanning 383 batters that season. Koufax remarked jokingly that he had also broken his walk record by 91. He finished #2 in the Cy Young voting that year, the closest he would come to winning the award, which is one of the greatest travesties in the history of baseball.

He also recorded his first 2 no-hitters in 1973, and he struck out 17 batters in the second one, still the record for most in a no-hitter. The next year, he recorded his third, this time setting a record with 8 walks in a no-hitter. He threw his 4th in 1975, tying Sandy Koufax's career record, with all 4 coming within 3 seasons.

In his 8th and final season with the Angels, they finally made the playoffs, and he pitched well, giving up just one run and striking out 8 in 7 innings, but the Angels lost the game and the series anyway. After the season, he signed a big contract with the Houston Astros, allowing him to pitch in his home state.

He reached 3000 career strikeouts during his first season in Houston, and was able to pitch in the postseason a couple times. In 1981, he pitched against Fernando Valenzuela in the NLDS, giving up only 2 hits in a complete game win, which would be the second and final victory of his playoff career.

In 1983, he passed Walter Johnson for first place in career strikeouts. During the season Steve Carlton passed him several times to take the lead, but Ryan ended up pulling away and making the record his permanently. He was the first to reach 4000 strikeouts two years later.

During his first 7 seasons in Houston, he failed to lead the league in strikeouts, then had a sudden resurgence in 1987, when he led the league in ERA and strikeouts at age 40. Though he pitched well, the Astros did not offer him much run support, and he finished the season with an 8-16 record.

After the 1988 season, he was unable to reach a deal with Houston, and signed instead with the Texas Rangers. With Texas, he led the league in strikeouts again in 1989 and 1990, surpassing 300 strikeouts in 1989 at age 42. It was also during the 1989 season that he became the only pitcher ever to reach 5000 strikeouts.

He threw two no-hitters for Texas, one in 1990 and another in 1991, giving him 7 for his career, still the most by any pitcher ever. He decided to retire at the end of the 1993 season, but ended up finishing a few weeks early when he tore a ligament in his elbow after giving up his record 10th career grand slam.

Ryan is the career leader in strikeouts by far, and threw more no-hitters than any other pitcher ever. He also holds the career mark for fewest hits allowed per 9 innings and most seasons played. He also, however, is the all-time leader in walks allowed and wild pitches. He is the greatest pitcher to never win a Cy Young, and had a small role on his only title team, but there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest ever to take the mound.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #53 - Bert Blyleven

Bert Blyleven

Bert Blyleven was a pitcher known for his curveball, and he threw it with such consistency that he was able to play for 22 years and pitch nearly 5000 innings.

Blyleven was called up to the Minnesota Twins in 1970, when he was just 19 years old, after only half a season in the minors. By 1973, he led the league in shutouts with 9, and earned Cy Young votes for the first of 4 times in his career.

After two more seasons in Minnesota, he grew unhappy with his salary, so the Twins traded him to Texas. He pitched for the Rangers for a year and a half, and in his final start of the 1977 season he pitched a no-hitter just two weeks after returning from a groin injury. The team, however, objected to a rude gesture he made to the camera during the game and traded him after the season, making him the first player ever to be traded immediately after a no-hitter.

His next stop was Pittsburgh, where in 1979 he was able to reach his first World Series. He gave up only 2 runs in 10 innings of work, easily the best in the series, and won his first championship. Just a season later, however, he grew tired of the Pirates, and again demanded a trade, this time heading to Cleveland.

After an elbow injury cost him most of the 1982 season, he struggled in 1983 upon returning, but was finally at full strength in 1984, when he recorded a 2.87 ERA and finished 3rd in the Cy Young voting, his first time being considered for the award in more than a decade.

Even with him pitching well, the Indians were struggling, so he again asked for a trade, and this time he was sent back to Minnesota, and he had a great season, leading the league with 206 strikeouts, 5 shutouts, and 24 complete games, which is a number no pitcher has approached since.

He passed 3000 strikeouts in 1986, then returned to the World Series in 1987. He won two games in the ALCS, then picked up another win in the World Series, finishing with 12 strikeouts and a 2.77 ERA as he earned his second championship.

He led the league in losses in 1988, and was released as a result. He went to play for the Angels, where he flipped his record, going from 17 losses to 17 wins, which earned him the Comeback Player of the Year award and a 4th-place finish in the Cy Young voting at age 38.

It took 14 years for Blyleven to get voted into the Hall of Fame, and before he was elected he was the only member of the 3000 strikeout club not in the Hall. He never won a Cy Young, and only received votes 4 times, but he was a very effective pitcher for a very long time, and pitched very well in both of his World Series appearances, which has earned him a spot among the best baseball players of all time.

Top 106 Baseball Players: #59 - Don Sutton

Don Sutton

Don Sutton's career was not one of dominance, but of quiet consistency, with 21 seasons of double-digit wins and triple-digit strikeouts, but only a couple of instances of leading the league in any category during his career.

Sutton reached the majors in 1966 with the LA Dodgers, and he was very good as a rookie, recording 209 strikeouts, the most by any rookie in 55 years. While he never led the league in strikeouts, he surpassed 200 K's 5 times, finished in the top ten 14 times, and is #7 all-time in strikeouts in league history.

In the early 1970's, he had 5 straight seasons in which he finished among the top 5 in Cy Young voting, getting as high as third place when he set a career high with 21 wins in 1976. He led the league with 9 shutouts in 1972, and also had the most starts in 1974 with 40.

The Dodgers reached 3 World Series in the 1970's, but lost in all 3 appearances. In 1974, they lost to the Athletics in 5 games, with Sutton recording the only win for the Dodgers, in addition to the two wins he had recorded in the NLCS. He also won a game against the Yankees in the 1977 World Series, but went 0-3 in his 3 postseason appearances in 1978.

Sutton led the league with a 2.20 ERA in 1980, and over the next 7 years Sutton bounced from Houston to Milwaukee to Oakland and finally to the Angels, before returning to the Dodgers for one final season with the team where he spent his first 15 seasons. He was released in August of 1988, just months before the Dodgers finally won a World Series.

Sutton's career was far from spectacular, but he was a very good pitcher who maintained a high level of play for a very long time. He pitched in 4 World Series, starting out great in his first appearance, but slowly going downhill in each subsequent appearance. He never won an MVP, Cy Young, or World Series, but he is a Hall of Famer, and his longevity at an All-Star level is what earned him a spot on the list of the all-time greats.