Pearly Gates is...Quick ReferenceRecent postsLinksRichard's other blog:Hall Of Fame:
The "Real" Media:
Halosphere:
Minor League Affiliates:
Other Baseball Blogs:
Other Random Crap (in a good way):
Soccer:Archive
Blog*Spot ArchivesContactRichard Ceccarelli Josh Mandir |
Tuesday, June 15, 2004No Nolan?I'm sure many of you are well aware of the fact that Rob Neyer and Bill James have a new book out. In it, the two gods of sabermetrics examine pitching throughout the years, mainly in beloved list-form. I haven't gotten around to grabbing it yet, but I plan to do so very soon. Luckily ESPN has an excerpt from the book's chapter on great fastballs up right now. This list is Rob Neyer's personal opinion on the ten best fastballs of all-time: Best Fastballs, StartersUm... did we forget someone? Where's the Ryan Express? Here's Neyer's explanation: "Where is Nolan Ryan? Nolan Ryan didn't always know where his fastball was going, so he just missed my cut."I guess I can understand that. Rob must have a different definition of what makes a great fastball- that's all. I wonder what his definition is? [Bill James has] got a four-part definition of "best"; here's my one-part definition: "Was this pitch so good that he could, and often did, get hitters out using this and very little else?"Wha-wha-what!? Ryan had good enough control over his fastball that "he could, and often did, get hitters out using it and very little else," and I think his 5714 strikeout victims would all agree with me. Ryan won 324 games and tossed 7 no-hitters solely on the power of his fastball. That's a great pitch. I've come to terms with the fact that Nolan issued too many walks to join the ranks of the all-time legends, but what does that have to do with his ability to throw that devastating heater? I think even stat-heads can see that his fastball was, by far, the best of his generation, and likely of any generation before or since. |
