watching Strasburg

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

When is the last day for arbitration? Since, I believe, he will be called up the next day. Can't wait to see this kid in the majors.

June 1st. Right now common speculation is that his first big league start will come on June 8th.

dude is going to be a pleasure to watch develop

I don't think there's been a time in my life where DC sports have looked as promising as they do now. Ton of awesome **** going on.

[Teller]

He walked the most. Also surrendered the most grand slams in MLB history. Most wild pitches. No Cy Youngs. And his average record in a season was 12-11. No offense, hog, but the guy was perhaps the most overrated player in the history of the game.

Do you ever do ANYTHING in a thread besides jump in and try to stir **** up? Ever?

[KDawg]

Back to Strasburg... The guy has an 82 mph curveball... His changeup is freakin' 86-88 mph.

[KDawg]

Oh yeah, funny tidbit from last night.

After the sixth everyone thought he was done, we gave him a standing ovation. The whole crowd was on its feet. No acknowledgment, we found out why when he came back on for the start of the 7th.

They pulled him and as he walked off, another standing ovation. Again, no acknowledgment... So the majority of the fans, who were not National fans, booed the snot out of him. It was kind of funny.

in ESPN's report, Stras said, "I've never had a standing ovation [on the road] before in my whole life," Strasburg said. "It's great to hear and everything but the game wasn't over. I feel like I haven't really proven anything in my career [yet]. ... I still have a lot to work on."

I respect that. But at the same time I don't think it takes much to tip your hat. But it's not a big deal. Of the 12,590 people there, 10,590 were there to see Strasburg. Some folks are making it out to be much bigger than it is. He actually had a really good response to the question of why he didn't acknowledge the crowd.

I don't go to many Red Wing games, but the last one I went to had no more than 2,000 people in the stands.

[Popeman38]

He walked the most. Also surrendered the most grand slams in MLB history. Most wild pitches. No Cy Youngs. And his average record in a season was 12-11. No offense, hog, but the guy was perhaps the most overrated player in the history of the game.

Overrated players don't throw 7 no hitters. Or whoop Robin Ventura's ass when he charged the mound.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

He walked the most. Also surrendered the most grand slams in MLB history. Most wild pitches. No Cy Youngs. And his average record in a season was 12-11. No offense, hog, but the guy was perhaps the most overrated player in the history of the game.

Win-loss record and amount of Cy Youngs are probably the two worst possible ways to evaluate a pitcher.

If Nolan Ryan was overrated, then so is 90% of Cooperstown.

[Bubble Screen]

Do you ever do ANYTHING in a thread besides jump in and try to stir **** up? Ever?

Not stirring anything up, man.

Overrated players don't throw 7 no hitters. Or whoop Robin Ventura's ass when he charged the mound.

He also was the leader in many "dubious" pitching categories. I don't have the time to go look it up now. But I will post them later. Don't get me wrong, the 7 no hitters are a terrific feat. But they don't tell the whole story.

Win-loss record and amount of Cy Youngs are probably the two worst possible ways to evaluate a pitcher.

If Nolan Ryan was overrated, then so is 90% of Cooperstown.

Ok, this is dumb. If Win-Loss doesn't mean anything then why has 300 wins long been considered a benchmark for a pitcher getting into the Hall of Fame? And as I've noted countless times, if you're truly a great pitcher, you can win alot of games, even on a poor team. Steve Carlton is the perfect example of this. Went 27-10 one year on a last place team. Also won the Cy Young. They're only a bad way to evaluate when the pitcher you're defeding "has none". C'mon, the guy pitched 27 freaking years in the majors and couldn't win ONE Cy Young?!

[Popeman38]

Ryan played in more seasons (27) than any other player in modern major league history. Ryan ranks first all-time in strikeouts (5,714), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.56), and no-hitters (7).

He is also fifth in innings pitched (5,386), second in games started (773), seventh in shutouts (61) and is tied for 14th in wins (324). Opposing hitters hit only .204 against Ryan during his career, though they had a .309 on base percentage against him. He also limited hitters to a .298 slugging percentage. Ryan had 15 or more strikeouts in a game 26 times, second only to Randy Johnson, who has 28.

Ryan also ranks high on the list for four "negative" records; he ranks first all-time in walks allowed (2,795), first in wild pitches (277), third in losses (292—most in the post-1920 live-ball era), and ninth in hit batters (158).

# Most strikeouts, lifetime: 5714

# Longest service: 27 years

# Most no-hitters, career: 7

# Most strikeouts, season: 383 (AL, 1973)

# Most seasons, 200+ strikeouts: 15

# Most seasons, 300+ strikeouts: 6

# Most consecutive strikouts, game: 8

# Most low-hit (0/1 hit) games, career: 16

# Most low-hit (0/1 hit) games, season: 3 (1973)

# Most walks, career: 2795

# Most seasons leading majors, walks: 8

# Most strikouts per 9 innings, season: 11.48

# Most strikouts per 9 innings, career: 9.57 (as of 1990)

# Fewest hits allowed per 9 innings, season: 5.26 (1972)

# Fewest hits allowed per 9 innings, career: 6.41 (as of 1990)

# Oldest to pitch a no-hitter: 44 (5/1/91)

# Fastest pitch (as listed in the Guiness Book Of World Records): 101.9 MPH

[Rudechain]

Pretty disgusting.

My favorite pitcher of all time, Nolan Ryan, could fan guys with the best of 'em, but never had the era or stunning W-L record to go along with it. Ryan walked a crapload of guys too.

It remains to be seen what he'll do in the bigs, once the scouting reports and tendencies are out there, but you can't help but believe so far.

I got to mean Nolan in Texas years ago when he pitched for the Rangers.

An extremly nice guy and humble to boot. I took some kids to a baseball camp as a chaperon and he was there. One kid in particular had pretty lively arm even at 12 years old. Well Nolan took notice and came over to give the kid a few pointers. ( I bet that kid still cherishes that memory)

At the end of the day, he hung out with the chaperons for about half an hour just shooting the breeze and telling us about his career, and his love for baseball. When we got back to our hotel room, there were tickets for the Rangers game that weekend that he sent to us. ( about 20 tickets in all) He included a note thanking us adults and hoping to see us at the ballpark that weekend.

Now on to Strasburg: Sadly, I moved from DC and have only got to see highlights. But he looks like he is the real deal. I like how they are limiting his pitch count and working him up through the minors.

The Nats look to be developing some solid pitching and that bodes well for the future.

[richard saunders]

Anyone gamble and buy tickets to the Nats game Friday June 4th for Strasburg's MLB debut?

I bought six for myself and a group of friends. Found a promotion code online NATS40 and was able to grab some at 40% off. Keeping my fingers crossed that the date stays the same. Sitting right by the foul pole though.

[Rudechain]

C'mon, the guy pitched 27 freaking years in the majors and couldn't win ONE Cy Young?!

Well if someone can pitch in the league for 27 years that says quite a bit.

Ryan was a fireballer. He was going to throw it by you and dare you to hit it.

He won 324 games, good enough to tie for 14th overall.

5714 strikeouts, the next closest is Randy Johnson with 4875.

I see where your coming, but a Cy Young is not the only measure of a good or great pitcher.

[KDawg]

How did my thread about Strasburg become a thread about Nolan Ryan?

[Bubble Screen]

Well if someone can pitch in the league for 27 years that says quite a bit.

Ryan was a fireballer. He was going to throw it by you and dare you to hit it.

He won 324 games, good enough to tie for 14th overall.

5714 strikeouts, the next closest is Randy Johnson with 4875.

I see where your coming, but a Cy Young is not the only measure of a good or great pitcher.

He might have won 324 games, but he also LOST 292, which is the MOST losses of ANY pitcher in the live-ball era (post 1920). And winning 324 games isn't even that impressive, considering he pitched so many years. That translates to a whopping 12 wins a season. Yay!

And the strikeout record is overrated. Compare the number of years that Ryan pitched compared to Johnson. And factor in games played.

[Rudechain]

He might have won 324 games, but he also LOST 292, which is the MOST losses of ANY pitcher in the live-ball era (post 1920). And winning 324 games isn't even that impressive, considering he pitched so many years. That translates to a whopping 12 wins a season. Yay!

And the strikeout record is overrated. Compare the number of years that Ryan pitched compared to Johnson. And factor in games played.

I am probably a bit biased cause I watched Nolan's career living in Texas but that also gave me a little more insight to his attitude.

He was going to throw it by you and dare you to hit it.

Wins and losses also have to do with how many runs your team scores.

You do realize that Cy Young lost 316 games? And his teams were better than Nolans in my opinion.

Randy Johnson played 22 seasons, and he's another hurler I admired, but he averaged 17 wins per year and on better teams in my opinion. The only team I think Nolan was ever on that was as good was them Amazing Mets with Tom Seaver.

I do see where your coming from, but I think your discounting the intagibles.

[shuler74]

back on topic......He looks like an absolute beast , I hope he'll be able to continue is awesome play in the bigs.

[Rudechain]

How did my thread about Strasburg become a thread about Nolan Ryan?

Good question.

I am not privy to Strasburg's personality from afar but what is his attitude towards hitters? With his fastball, curve and change-up it seems to me that he has a mix of Ryan and possibly Maddux.

Maddux had pinpoint accuracy, particuarly when he arrived in Atlanta. From footage I have seen, I get the same impression with Strasburg.

He also can just rear back and throw it by you, like Ryan or Randy Johnson.

[Mufumonk]

Not stirring anything up, man.

He also was the leader in many "dubious" pitching categories. I don't have the time to go look it up now. But I will post them later. Don't get me wrong, the 7 no hitters are a terrific feat. But they don't tell the whole story.

Ok, this is dumb. If Win-Loss doesn't mean anything then why has 300 wins long been considered a benchmark for a pitcher getting into the Hall of Fame? And as I've noted countless times, if you're truly a great pitcher, you can win alot of games, even on a poor team. Steve Carlton is the perfect example of this. Went 27-10 one year on a last place team. Also won the Cy Young. They're only a bad way to evaluate when the pitcher you're defeding "has none". C'mon, the guy pitched 27 freaking years in the majors and couldn't win ONE Cy Young?!

Ryan threw 5,360 innings and had a career ERA of 3.19. That is impressive. It's only .3 higher than Greg Maddux who finished at 3.16 over 23 years. And you could argue that Maddux is the greatest pitcher of our generation. He played on some notoriously bad teams. In '72 he finished 19-16 but had an ERA of 2.28, 9 shutouts, 329 K's and 20 complete games. The only problem is he went up against Gaylord Perry that year (24-16, 1.92 ERA, 5 shutouts, 29 complete games). He was runner-up to Jim Palmer in '73 (22-9, 2.40 ERA) the year he shattered the modern era strikeout record. He lost out to Catfish Hunter in '74. Ryan never won a Cy Young award because he didn't get the run support the other greats of his era did.

7 no hitters.

12 1 hitters.

18 2 hitters.

Think about that for a minute.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Ok, this is dumb. If Win-Loss doesn't mean anything then why has 300 wins long been considered a benchmark for a pitcher getting into the Hall of Fame? And as I've noted countless times, if you're truly a great pitcher, you can win alot of games, even on a poor team. Steve Carlton is the perfect example of this. Went 27-10 one year on a last place team. Also won the Cy Young. They're only a bad way to evaluate when the pitcher you're defeding "has none". C'mon, the guy pitched 27 freaking years in the majors and couldn't win ONE Cy Young?!

Because the masses are dumb.

But not as dumb as calling Nolan Ryan the most overrated player of all time.

[grhqofb5]

Man, people are just cutting and pasting from that other thread about the greatest modern day pitcher.

How about this: Strasburg is the greatest AAA pitcher of all time.

[theDCfan]

Strasburg doesn't even look like he's trying in AAA to be honest, looks just like he did in Harrisburg, bored out of his mind. He wants some competition.

[Bubble Screen]

I am probably a bit biased cause I watched Nolan's career living in Texas but that also gave me a little more insight to his attitude.

He was going to throw it by you and dare you to hit it.

Wins and losses also have to do with how many runs your team scores.

You do realize that Cy Young lost 316 games? And his teams were better than Nolans in my opinion.

Randy Johnson played 22 seasons, and he's another hurler I admired, but he averaged 17 wins per year and on better teams in my opinion. The only team I think Nolan was ever on that was as good was them Amazing Mets with Tom Seaver.

I do see where your coming from, but I think your discounting the intagibles.

Don't give me the excuse that he played on bad teams. Great pitchers don't need alot of run support. I gave you the Carlton example. Lots of pitchers pitch on mediocre teams. That's a copout.

Btw, Cy Young didn't pitch in the live ball area. I said "post 1920". Ryan lost more games than any other pitcher in the live ball area. That's a fact.

Because the masses are dumb.

But not as dumb as calling Nolan Ryan the most overrated player of all time.

The masses are dumb. Yeah, ok. Seems like if a stat doesn't suit you, or the player you're defending. That's lame.

And I call him overrated because of the stupid ESPN fan poll a few years back where he was voted the best player of all time. Talk about the masses being dumb lol. You have to admit that's pretty stupid, right? I mean, he's not even one of the ten best "pitchers" of all time.

[Rudechain]

Don't give me the excuse that he played on bad teams. Great pitchers don't need alot of run support. I gave you the Carlton example. Lots of pitchers pitch on mediocre teams. That's a copout.

Btw, Cy Young didn't pitch in the live ball area. I said "post 1920". Ryan lost more games than any other pitcher in the live ball area. That's a fact.

The masses are dumb. Yeah, ok. Seems like if a stat doesn't suit you, or the player you're defending. That's lame.

And I call him overrated because of the stupid ESPN fan poll a few years back where he was voted the best player of all time. Talk about the masses being dumb lol. You have to admit that's pretty stupid, right? I mean, he's not even one of the ten best "pitchers" of all time.

You consider him over rated. Fair enough. I watched him pitch for years and was privy to local news coverage that exposed more of his personality.

Well Juan Marichal never won the Cy. Curt Schilling never won it. I am sure I could find more if I were to dig around, but this is just two that are either in the HOF or will be eventually off the top of my head never to win that award.

I heard interviews of how Nolan was able to intimidate batters, remember how he was always in the voting for awards, and how he was able to continue a level of consistency for 27 years. NOt a small feat to do for a pro athelete.

And I never said he was the greatest of all time. Take a step off that high horse and just consider what has been said of him on this forum. I can't recall anyone stating he was the greatest. I do recall you stating he is over rated, and your reasonings that he never won a Cy Young and having all those losses.

But, he did pitch in the league for 27 years, and went out on his terms. I recall a television interview at the time, where the Rangers really wanted him to stay and continue pitching, but Nolan wanted to stay closer to home.

You and I will simply disagree with this. I believe he was a dominant pitcher.

He never won the CY Young, but the man was in the running several times.

1973- he was 2nd in voting behind Jim Palmer

1974- 3rd in voting behind Jenkins and and Hunter

1977- 3rd in voting behind Sparky Lyle and Jim Palmer

1981- 4th in voting behind Valenzuela, Seaver and Carlton

1987- 9th in Cy Young voting

1989-- 5th in Cy Young voting

So the man was one of the top pitchers in his day according to those who cast a vote for Cy Young. ( once again, nobody said he was the greatest, just not overrated as you have stated)

And Carlton did have a good team around him. How do you exlpain that they won three consecutive NL East titles in 76-78 if Carlton's supporting cast was no good? Or when the won the WS in 1980?

As I stated before, NOBODY said Ryan was the greatest pitcher of all time. But if you consider the guy pitched for 27 seasons, has the career strike out record, and has thrown 7 no hitters. He obviously had something. But if you want to equate something that you heard on TV to what has been written in this forum go ahead.

I have said my piece, Nolan Ryan was a dang good pitcher and was able to reamin in MLB longer than most would expect. For any athelete to remain relevant for as long as he did says far more than "he is over-rated look at all his losses and he never won a Cy Young"

Continue your rant unabated now. I have said my piece, & explained myself a few times so that you could understand.

[KDawg]

You all suck. :mad:

Strasburg does not equal Nolan Ryan. Boo.

[Bubble Screen]

Rude, I said he was overrated based off that stupid ESPN poll a few years back. The one where AMERICA voted this guy the best player ever. Based off that, yeah, he's overrated. Overrated as hell. And that's because most of the people out there have this false belief that he was the best player/pitcher ever. He's not even one of the 10 best pitchers ever!

As for Carlton. I used him as an example of a guy playing on a bad team and still excelling. Again, he once went a remarkable 27-10 on a last place team. That's for all the whiners that said Ryan never played on good teams.

Btw, Schilling isn't making the HOF. He will probably come close though.

[Bubble Screen]

*bump

Found this little gem when I did a research of the greatest pitchers of all time:

"On the other end of the spectrum were pitchers who compiled a lot of impressive lifetime statistics thanks to long careers, but who rarely ranked near the top of the league in a given season. This camp includes Nolan Ryan, Phil Niekro and Don Sutton.

All of these pitchers--Koufax, Marichal, Niekro, Ryan and Sutton--rank in the top 35 all time. But they're not quite top 10 material."

Btw, with Koufax, the guy was saying he didn't pitch long enough to warrant being in top 10. Specifically, he was talking about Niekro, Ryan, and Sutton as the ones pitching a long time and piling up big statistics.