Wednesday, June 1, 2022

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHT: 1967 NOLAN RYAN

Today on the blog, we take a closer look at my “missing” 1967 card for Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who made his Big League debut in 1966 but didn’t get a Topps card until 1968:
 


 
The card was part of my “Whole Nine” custom set released last year, focusing on “missing” cards beyond the decade of the 1970’s, which was a fun exercise for me to work on stuff outside my “comfort zone”.
Ryan appeared in two games for the New York Mets in 1966 as a 19-year-old, tossing three innings and going 0-1 with a 15.00 earned run average with six strikeouts and three walks.
He would spend all of 1967 in the Minors before making it back for good in 1968, going 6-9 over 21 appearances with a 3.09 ERA in 134 innings, starting 18 and completing three.
Of course, the rest, as they say, is history, as he would go on to put in one of the most amazing careers in Major League history.
What really needs to be said about a guy who has become more myth than baseball legend?
300+ wins, 5700+ strikeouts, 60+ shutouts, and oh yeah SEVEN no-hitters, two of which came when he was well into his 40’s while with the Texas Rangers!
I used the 1974 template since he was fresh off his record-breaking 383 strikeout season of 1973, his second consecutive 300+ strikeout season, and on his way to make the Mets regret BIG TIME for letting him go.
I love thinking about the fact that he did all of this in the American League, with the designated hitter. Now imagine how many strikeouts he could have had in his prime pitching in the National League where the pitcher batted?!
Would it be safe to say you could add 20-30 strikeouts a season to his total?
Hey, you never know…
Nevertheless, the man became a baseball God, eventually finding his place in the Hall of Fame upon his first year of eligibility as an absolute no-brainer.
I just thank the skies above that I got to see him pitch in-person!