Nolan Ryan vs. Greg Maddux
Nolan Ryan and Greg Maddux are two of the greatest pitchers to have played the game of baseball. They were both the top pitchers of their respective leagues and played in many all-star games. This brings up a question of which one is the better pitcher. The only way to find this out is to compare their stats and to compare the different time periods in which they pitched. While comparing stats you have to remember that these two pitchers have completely different styles. Nolan Ryan was a power pitcher and Greg Maddux was a finesse pitcher. A power pitcher throws a lot of fast ball pitches that he tries to throw by the batter any way he possibly can. The finesse pitcher has off speed pitches that he throws for location around the plate rather than just trying to throw past the batter. I would have to say that Greg Maddux is the better pitcher of the two. He has pitched great baseball through what will be remembered as a hitter’s era.
Greg Maddux in his career has only played in one league, the National League. When he broke into the “show” he came in with the Chicago Cubs. Greg was with the Cubs for a short time and then left on free agency and settled in with the Atlanta Braves. He has had many great years with the Atlanta Braves with many more still to come. Nolan Ryan Played for four different teams through his 24 year career. Nolan started his carrer with the New York Mets (National League), then California Angles (American League), then Houston Astros (National League), and ended his career with the Texas Rangers (American League).
Greg Maddux has received four Cy Young Awards in his thirteen-year career. The Cy Young Award is the award that is given to the best pitcher for the year. Nolan Ryan never received a single Cy Young Award. This is an especially hard accomplishment now. The recent years in baseball have been the biggest offensive years that the sport has ever seen. There has been more batters with 30, 40, or 50 homeruns than there has any other time in history. Greg Maddux has to face at least one thirty-homerun man every time he pitches and still has a career e.r.a. (earned run average) of 2.75. Ryan’s career e.r.a. is 3.19 and he did not have to face as many hitters that could hurt a pitcher.
R.A. Dickey, at age 38 received the Cy Young award — becoming the first knuckleball pitcher to receive
...merio should have been a Hall of Famer, but since he was linked to PEDs he will never be in the HOF, but should be. Players every year are slowly falling of the ballot because they were linked to PEDs, but should be in the HOF.
In the August 30, 1905 edition of Detroit’s Free Press, the sportswriters ran a small blurb announcing the arrival of a Detroit Tigers rookie, Ty Cobb. They stated, “Cobb left the South Atlantic League with a batting average of .328. He will not pile up anything like that in this league, and he doesn’t expect to” (Allen 177). Their prediction ironically rung true. Cobb hit better than their projected .328 batting average twenty times in his twenty four seasons (McCallum 217). Tyrus Raymond Cobb’s prolific career leads many fans and historians to believe that he deserves the title of greatest hitter of all time. However, some critics would argue that Ted Williams warrants this distinction. Unfortunately for Williams and his fans, the hitting prowess of Williams falls short of Cobb’s. While Williams arguably displayed a great hitting ability, Cobb remains the better batsman.
The Atlanta Braves is the longest operating franchise in the history of all professional sport leagues in America. They are the only organization to field a team every year that professional baseball has been in existence (“Story of the Braves”). The organization begin in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings and overtime changed the name several more times before landing on what we know today as the Atlanta Braves. The organization began in Boston, moved to Milwaukee for a decade or so before finally making the move to Atlanta in 1966. It was at that time, the organization changed the name to the Atlanta Braves. Years later after the move to Atlanta, Ted Turner purchased the Braves and helped put them on a national platform. During this
Babe Ruth. Hank Aaron. Nolan Ryan. Cal Ripken Jr. These outstanding Major League Baseball players deservedly earned their spot in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Hank Aaron held the league’s home run record with 755 for 33 years, until it was broken by Barry Bonds at the height of the steroid era (Andy). Aaron has never been accused of steroid use; however, Bonds has. Nolan Ryan can be found at the top of the all-time strikeout list, but Roger Clemens is not far behind. Once again, the former has never been proven to have been on steroids, while the latter was found guilty. It is not fair to the players who achieved their greatness on their own merit to be surpassed, or even grouped alongside, those who cheated the game. The Hall of Fame needs to
In 1965, when Nolan was a Senor, he was voted “Most Handsome.” That same year he was drafted by the Mets in the eighth round. Can you believe that 294 people were taken over him. He started pitching in Marion, Virginia, which was the Appalachian Rookie League. The next year he played in Greenville, South Carolina. This league was the Single A Western Carolinas League. He then was promoted to William...
Roger Clemens is arguably one of the greatest pitchers ever in Major League Baseball history. Clemens has built an astounding and exciting career filled with impressive statistics that may rarely be duplicated. His career extends from the early 1980’s into the new millennium, and continues today. During this stretch, nicknamed “The Rocket”, he won more Cy Young awards, seven, than any other pitcher in MLB history. The Cy Young award is given annually to the League’s best pitcher. In 2003 he won the 300th game of his career. He is only one of four MLB pitchers in all time to pass the 4,000 strikeout mark.
and has been in the homerun derby many times. In 2011 he had 23 home runs, 89RBIs
Sammy Sosa won the 1998 National League MVP award. Bernie Williams was the 1998 American League batting champion. Ivan Rodriguez won the 1998 America League MVP award. Pedro Martinez was the 1999 Cy Young Award winner. Rafael Palmiero won the American League Gold Glove Award in 1999.
The greatness cannot begin to be quantified in statistics and numbers. Ty Cobb redefined the words hard work and determination by stretching his limited God-given ability to the maximum, and making himself into a baseball legend. Cobb throughout his lifetime insisted that he was "not a super athlete, rather he had a great desire to win." Thus, Ty Cobb’s motivation and determination to excel created a pathway to his success.
won 29. When he reached that number Comiskey benched him, the player resentment of this was
of all time. Babe had a 92 and 44 record, 67.6%, and a 2.24 career earned- run
Chicago Cubs baseball goes all the way back to April 25th, 1876 when they played the first game in the history of the Chicago National League Ball Club. However; at the time, they were not known as the “Cubs.” In general, they were known as the “White Stockings.” But a select few referred to them as the “Colts,” or “Orphans.” The team played in only five different locations in the 1800s because of the lack of places to play baseball at the time. As years went by, the league became popular, becoming one of the sports first dynasties. Chicago won six of the first eleven inaugural National League Championships (Cubs Timeline). In 1902, Frank Selee began managing Chicago to debut his managerial career. Just like managers, the name changed as well. A local newspaper penned the nickname “Cubs” for the first time. The name grew on people over time and was officially adopted in 1907. The year after that, victory arose in the city of Chicago. The season was filled with some of the greatest old-time baseball players. The batting line-up consisted of many good hitters and not jus...
This record stood until 1961 when Roger Maris hit 61 home runs. He might have been the best baseball player who ever played the game. He led the Yankees to seven World Series and made two million dollars in his career. Jack "the Manassa Mauler" Dempsey was one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. He was a heavyweight champion and fought and won against Georges Carpentier.
...rst all time in total accumulated bases with 6,856. He was second all time in at bats with 12,364. He was third all time in hits with 3,771. He was third all time in runs scored with 2,174. He was also third all time in games played with 3,298. He was elected into the Hall Of Fame in 1982. His autobiography, I had a Hammer, was published in 1990. In 1999, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of breaking Babe Ruth’s record, Major League announced the Hank Aaron Award, given to the best overall hitter in each league.