We can still find pleasant topics to fill our thoughts in the winter doldrums brought on in part by the constant barrage of disconcerting news. Read any books lately? Seen any movies? Attended a basketball game? Played in the snow? These activities can occupy us, but we can also talk about baseball, even here in the heart of football playoff season. The one topic that I’ve written about that has brought some feedback are those times baseball has been the topic.
Shohei Ohtani has a fabulous career going while still a young player. At least the Dodgers think so since they are paying him $700 million over a 10 year period. Really. Are players worth that much? Juan Soto’s 15 year contract will yield him $765 million, although 15 years is a long time to play. Stars like these two usually make a bundle from advertisements and endorsements, too. The starting pay for players isn’t too bad since the MLB’s minimum starting salary is $760,000.
Baseball likes personality stories. When Randy Johnson, sometimes called “The Big Unit,” played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, his team and the San Diego Padres became involved in a bench-clearing scuffle for some reason. Johnson stands 6’10” tall and could be seen head above the rest. In the excitement his Diamondback hat fell to the ground. Finally he reached down to retrieve it, but without looking picked up a Padre’s cap and put it on. There he stood towering over the rest and looking rather silly. It must not have felt quite right. After a few seconds he took it off, looked at it, and found the right one. The announcers in the booth had a good laugh over it, as did I.
Johnson earned the reputation of a menacing pitcher and never shirked from throwing brushbacks very close to batters. Over 22 years while playing for six different teams, he won 5 Cy Young Awards, a World Series in 2001, a World Series MVP, a Pitching Triple Crown in 2002, 10 All-Star selections, and induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. And he will probably always be remembered for hitting with a 100 mph fastball a pigeon that exploded in a cloud of feathers. On first viewing, I thought it was a fake video.
Remember Frank “Sweet Music” Viola? It was a real treat watching him in the 1987 World Series where he was named the MVP. That night we let the kids stay up late enough to watch the whole game. The Cy Young winner pitched 15 years, seven of them with the Minnesota Twins.
Best known for his change-up pitch, he also had a good fastball and curve all of which he put to good use in winning 176 games.
Nolan Ryan stands at the top of my list of outstanding pitchers. A bit of sarcasm from one commentator says quite a lot about ability and longevity: Nolan Ryan’s arm was so damaged by the first 5000 innings of his career that he was only able to strike out 16 Blue Jays when he no-hit them at age 44. Huh? Pitchers are usually taken out of the game after 90 some pitches, right? Check this stat out. Ryan threw 235 pitches in a 13-inning game in 1974, struck out 19 batters, earned no-decision, even though his Angels won in the 15th inning.
Nicknamed “The Nolan Express,” he holds 51 MLB records, one being his 5,714 career strikeouts. Our above mentioned friend Randy Johnson came in second with 4,875. Sandy Koufax was an excellent player who pitched 4 no-hitters, but Nolan Ryan pitched 7 no-hitters. The list of records gets parsed and analyzed to much more than we’ll list here, but baseball’s Hall of Fame adds the following narrative.
By 1979, Ryan was baseball’s strikeout king and the game’s most intimidating pitcher. Ryan’s fastball – officially clocked at 100.9 miles per hour by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1974 – at times traveled so fast that it was tough for batters to see it, let alone predict where it was going. “I’ve never been afraid at the plate but Mr. Ryan makes me uncomfortable,” Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson once said. “He’s the only pitcher who’s ever made me consider wearing a helmet with an ear flap.”
The 26 year old Robin Ventura took issue with a pitch coming too close for his comfort and charged the mound where the 46 year old Ryan stood. Videos look to me as if Ryan got the best of the younger player.
Sandy Koufax who some called “The Left Arm of God” must be mentioned. He retired after only 12 seasons in the National League for the reason of severe arthritis and pain in his pitching elbow. This youngest inductee in the Hall of Fame counted 2396 strikeouts in his tally.
It’s a fun trip going through the statistics and reminiscing over a few of these great baseball pitchers. Of course, pitching isn’t the only facet of a team, and sometime it will be fun to consider the greats playing in other positions . But there’s still a few pitchers of interest to include today.
The 1920s of a hundred years ago produced some names that are still recognizable today. Take Grover Cleveland Alexander, for example. In three seasons he won at least 21 games. He retired in 1929 after winning his career total 373 games. Walter “The Big Train” Johnson won 416 games, and “Lefty” Grove won an even 300.
I used to enjoy listening to the humorous “Dizzy” Dean holding forth on his radio broadcasts, but his fastball and curve while a pitcher earned him respect. An unfortunate line drive struck him in the toe and one thing led to another that ended his active career. Bob Feller’s debut in 1936 drew attention when he struck out 15 batters in his first game. Four years in the service robbed him of a chunk of career statistics, but he was one of the great ones. But for now, let’s get back to football.
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