The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #66 Nolan Ryan

Firing in at #66 is Nolan Ryan. The Ryan Express is the most prolific strikeout pitcher in the history of baseball. His 5,714 career strikeouts are 839 more than any other pitcher in history which is a record that ranks right at the top on the list of the most unbreakable records in sports. Ryan led the league in K/9 and H/9 innings an unbelievable 12 times each. Perhaps more remarkable, he finished in the top-5 in K/9 innings 20 times and H/9 17 times. His seven career no-hitters are three more than any other player in MLB history. He has the most shutouts of any pitcher to debut since 1942 and his 383 strikeouts in 1973 are the most in a single season in history. Ryan is tied with Randy Johnson for most 300-strikeout seasons with six and he joins Johnson as the only pitchers in history to lead the league in strikeouts four consecutive years on two different occasions.  

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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