Card #5: Nolan Ryan Highlight

Who Can It Be Now?

It's the one, the only Lynn Nolan Ryan, whose fifth of seven no-hitters is highlighted in this card.  It had been over 6 years -- since June 1, 1975 -- since Ryan had thrown a no-hitter. Ryan spent his childhood throwing rocks and other objects at "any target", according to Wikipedia.  

In the 1950s, that was called being a kid.  These days, that would be called being a vandal.  

Trivial Pursuit

Since this card celebrates Ryan no-hitter #5, let's look at some of the trivia about all of Ryan's no-hitters.

• Ryan threw his first four no-hitters within the space of two calendar years plus 17 days -- between May 15, 1973 (#1) and June 1, 1975 (#4).
• Despite this fact of timing, Ryan never had the same catcher behind the plate twice for any of his no-hitters.  In order from 1 through 7, the catchers were Jeff Torborg, Art Kusnyer, Tom Egan, Ellie Rodriguez, Alan Ashby, John Russell, and Mike Stanley.
• The Angels lineup for Ryan's first no-hitter featured three future major league managers: Jeff Torborg, Frank Robinson (who, at age 37, hit 30 HRs and drove in 97 RBI), and Bobby Valentine.  In Ryan's second no-hitter two months later, none of those three played.
• There was a gap of 6-1/2 years between no-hitter four and five.  Between no-hitter five and six, there was a gap of just over 8-1/2 years.
• In Ryan's first three no-hitters, his second baseman was Sandy Alomar.  In Ryan's last no-hitter, the opposing second baseman was Roberto Alomar.

A Few Minutes with Tony L.

It's no secret that the sabermetric community believes that Nolan Ryan is overrated due to the love affair that baseball fans have with Ryan's strikeout records.  The reason for this belief is that Ryan (a) is first all-time in walks allowed with 2,795, and second place among Hall of Famers -- Steve Carlton -- isn't really close as Carlton is over 960 walks behind; (b) Ryan is first in the modern era with 277 wild pitches; (c) Ryan has the most losses in the post-1920 era; and (d) Ryan hit 158 batters. 

Look, Ryan is one of the best pitchers of all time by any measure.  He may have mediocre stats in some respects, but his lifetime K/BB ratio is still over 2.0 -- a measure of a good pitcher, though the best guys these days tend to have a ratio closer to 3.0 K/BB.  He had such good stuff that hitters couldn't hit the ball hard against him even if they could put the ball in play -- only 6.56 hits per nine innings prove this.

Statistics can be used to prove any argument you want.  Ryan didn't pitch on very many good teams, which could be either a defense for his rather poor win-loss record or an indictment of Ryan to say that either he chose low-stress situations with Texas teams (since as a free agent he signed first with the Astros and then with the Rangers) or he didn't do very much to make his team better, whatever that means.

I am of the opinion that Ryan is one of the best pitchers ever if only for his longevity and his strikeout totals.  Even in the swing-from-the-heels 2000s, he's still far and away the all-time strikeout king -- only Randy Johnson is within 1000 of him.  Saying he lost a lot of games is like saying that Christie Brinkley has trouble staying married -- they both are still fun to watch.

Card #4: Pete Rose Highlight

Who Can It Be Now?
Pete Rose spent his entire career being one of the most divisive characters of his time and perhaps of all time.  "Charlie Hustle" was Rookie of the Year in 1963, MVP in 1973, a 17-time all-star, and, of course, he broke the all-time career hits record once held by the All-Time most divisive character in baseball history, Ty Cobb.

Even so, Pete Rose also was and is an incurable narcissist who probably believed himself to be bigger than the rules of the game that absolutely, 100% prohibited players, coaches, manager, owners, trainers, bat boys, grounds crew, and ball girls from betting on baseball games.  The definition of Narcissism is someone who pursues gratification from vanity or an egotistic admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes that derive from arrogant pride.  Rose's entire personality is tied to his physical abilities and attributes from baseball, and to me that makes him a classic narcissist (disclaimer: I'm not a medical doctor or psychologist nor do I play one on TV).

Family Ties
Rose's son Pete Jr. played a grand total of 11 games for the 1997 Cincinnati Reds.  Junior honored his father on the first pitch of his first major league at-bat by crouching in Senior's trademark fashion.  Just as Pete Sr. spent time in jail (for tax evasion), Junior hit the cell block for distributing a drug called GBL which, if taken orally, is converted to GHB -- the date-rape drug.  According to Wikipedia, Junior said he gave it to his teammates to help them "relax."  Sure, Junior.  Keep talking.

A Few Minutes with Tony L.
Just as timely as ever with Opening Day coming up this weekend, the Pete Rose for Hall of Fame discussion has come back up.  Author James Reston, who wrote the book Collision at Home Plate about Rose and Bart Giamatti (that's Paul Giamatti's dad for you younger guys and gals), has changed his mind about Rose's banishment from baseball.  

The basic gist of his argument to me is essentially that Rose has suffered enough through 25 years of banishment.  Indeed, Reston even compares Giamatti's decision to banish Rose as similar to the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie.  For what it's worth, Rushdie parlayed his fatwa into a four-year marriage to Padma Lakshmi, so it must not have been all bad.  

Okay, back to the topic at hand.  Should Pete Rose's banishment from the game be overturned to allow the sportswriters to vote on his Hall of Fame candidacy?  It's a tough question, but one on which I say no.  

The sadist in me wants to deny Rose the narcissist his reinstatement and possible enshrinement until after Rose dies -- just so he can't gloat and enjoy it.

The analytical side of me says that Rose broke clearly stated, clearly identified rules.  It is not like the steroid issue because while steroids were and are illegal, the best that could be said was the the players using steroids were violating a policy which had no punishment attached to it until 2005.  

Everyone in baseball knew what those guys were doing and condoned it.  

No one in baseball knew what Rose was doing, and everyone in baseball knew that betting on baseball would result in lifetime banishment on the first offense.  

So, my take in the end is Rose stays out unless and until we decide that betting on baseball is acceptable for active players and managers.

Someone Needed to Do It

Nature abhors a vacuum. 

Now, in physics, that may not be true. Certainly in our biospheres, however, so long as you don't destroy an area with chemicals, a forest that is cut down will see the undergrowth and seedlings will come back within weeks to fill in that hole. 

As the Wikipedia article cited above mentions, nature abhorring a vacuum is a commonly cited misconception which "may owe more to its colloquial usage in modern times than anything else, as the phrase is commonly used to demonstrate the fleeting nature of opportunity as it is recognized and quickly seized by an opportunist before another opportunist beats them to it. This is sometimes referred to as 'finding a niche'."

That's what I am doing here -- finding a niche.

But 1982 was such a great year for me as a baseball fan. If you have read my other blog, you know that I am a Milwaukee Brewers fan. That means that 1982 was the one and only time I have ever seen my Milwaukee Brewers play in (and unfortunately lose) a World Series. I was a 10 year-old kid in 1982, so I was at my most impressionable while still being able to remember things today about that season.

1982 was also the year I really started collecting baseball cards in earnest. I was able to put together the entire 1982 set by buying wax packs, and my mom was kind enough to pay the $10 plus $2.50 shipping and handling for me to buy the 1982 Topps Update set through the mail.

So, 1982 has a lot of meaning for me as a baseball fan and as a collector. This blog will try to do justice to the cards, the players, and the goings on in 1982.

Let's start with some context for what this year was like.

MUSIC

The top selling song for 1982 was the song that started the year at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart: Olivia Newton-John's paean to the gym and other workouts, "Physical".

Yeah, I didn't like that song much even then. Earworm from hell.

The Number One song did not turn over much in 1982 -- only 16 total songs shared the 52-week calendar, including everything from the classic J. Geils Band song "Centerfold" to Rocky III's (and Auburn's) "Eye of the Tiger" to "Truly" by Lionel Richie.

I'm not sure who 1982's Justin Bieber or One Direction or New Kids was -- maybe it was John Cougar with "Jack and Diane"?

IN THE NEWS

I remember well how god-awful cold it was in January of 1982: January 17 was "Cold Sunday", with the all-time low for Milwaukee of −26 °F (−32 °C) being set on that day.

Also in 1982:

• The Falkland War between Argentina and the United Kingdom took place. 
• Wayne Williams is convicted of killing 2 adult men in 1979-1981 and receives two consecutive life terms. 
• Baseball is delayed in several northeastern cities by a blizzard dumping 1-2 FEET of snow. 
• The Weather Channel first aired. 
• Aston Villa won the European Cup by beating Bayern Munich in the final in Rotterdam. 
• In September, 7 people in Chicago die by ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol. 
• EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World opens. 
• On November 30, Michael Jackson releases Thriller. Oh, and there is your Justin Bieber. 

That is just a tip of the iceberg for the year 1982. Hopefully, my run through the cards of 1982 will be enjoyable for me and for all of you.