Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site umcp-cs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houxz!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!hplabs!hao!seismo!rlgvax!cvl!umcp-cs!petec From: petec@umcp-cs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.sport.baseball Subject: Re: Eastern Supremacy Message-ID: <8012@umcp-cs.UUCP> Date: Tue, 24-Jul-84 21:48:42 EDT Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.8012 Posted: Tue Jul 24 21:48:42 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 28-Jul-84 20:52:49 EDT References: <402@tesla.UUCP> <201@hou2e.UUCP> Organization: Univ. of Maryland, Computer Science Dept. Lines: 27 I don't want to get involved in the comparison between Gooden and Ryan, because I live and root in an American League area, and haven't seen Gooden enough (although the All-Star game was quite an introduction). But I will say some things in defense of Ryan. >>Nolan Ryan was an awful pitcher >>for the Mets, not primarily because the Mets were unable to give him runs but >>he was very wild -- walked quite a lot of batters and lost more games than he >>won. In 1973 (I think) the year he was traded to California, he was a 20-game >>winner and struck out the famous 383 batters. Now, he's back in the NL and >>isn't winning 20 games, neither is his ERA particularly good. Ryan really wasn't so good in his early years with the Mets, but I think part of that is a youngster facing major league hitting and learning the difference between being a thrower and being a pitcher. He isn't winning 20 games, but he has had 3 of his best 4 years for winning percentage (excluding 6-3, .667 record in 1969 as a part-timer) in his 4 years in Houston, and I would take his Houston ERAs of 3.35, 1.69, 3.16, and 2.98 any day. That comes to about a 2.91 average, which is below his career average of 3.10 . Also, Ryan hasn't had to win 20 games; the Astros have often had other talented pitchers, and it wasn't necessary to have Ryan pitch 300+ innings a year. -- Call-Me: Pete Cottrell, Univ. of Md. Comp. Sci. Dept. UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!petec CSNet: petec@umcp-cs ARPA: petec@maryland