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Facing Nolan

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Scraps

Scraps 13,560

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It was calculated differently back then to now.  How true all this is who knows, but nerds have said that back in the 70s where the calculations were ended up being almost 10% slower than the ball coming out of the pitchers hand.  So when Nolan would throw 100 in 1974....well you do the math. Now when Chapman for the Yankees throws 105 it was calculated at a different point in the throw and is more accurate of the speed coming out of his hand.  

 

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52,485

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In the doc Fastball they explain how different velocity measurements for different pitchers affected the reading. 
 

for Nolan, the gun was aimed near home plate. Current readings are taken a few feet in front of the pitcher. They back calculated Nolan’s 101 at the plate to be around 108 right after he let it go. 

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Jshep34

Jshep34 2,308

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In the doc Fastball they explain how different velocity measurements for different pitchers affected the reading. 
 
for Nolan, the gun was aimed near home plate. Current readings are taken a few feet in front of the pitcher. They back calculated Nolan’s 101 at the plate to be around 108 right after he let it go. 
Perfect explanation. Think his last pitch was in the low 90s when he blew out his ucl in the pitch before that.

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Hate

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1 hour ago, Felix said:

My favorite Nolan story is still when he drilled his wife in the back when she signed up for a fantasy camp just to face him.  I guess he'd already drilled her so many times, what's one more?

giphy.gif

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Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 52,485

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1 hour ago, Steamboat1874 said:

His fastball ws legendary however it was his curveball that got him all of those no-no's.

Well yeah. Can you imagine digging in for the fastball and out of his hand it’s coming at your head. You immediately bail to save your life and it drops in for a strike. 
And he never had, or allowed anyone to think that he had, enough control to trust and stay in there. 

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29,189

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as for the mph, i wanna say nolan had the "record" for fastest pitch for a while and it was 100.8 (measured in the old way).  i know nowadays when i see 103 on the screen that it's not 2-3mph faster than nolan's fastest pitch, but i had never seen 108.  that's bananas.

plenty of great nolan stories out there, but one i had never heard was during the mlb playoffs last year.  it was smoltz and buck and i think smoltz was telling the story, as it was someone else's story told to him, and he was relaying it.

but essentially the guy he was talking to hit leadoff for years in the 70's/80's, and he always felt like it was his job to take some pitches and go back to the dugout and report on what he saw.  this pitch is tailing away, he doesn't have command of his breaking stuff, whatever.  apparently after his first ab vs nolan one game, he went back to the dugout, and everyone was like, "what did you see?"  and the guy was like, "this game is over."

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closetojumping

closetojumping 62,516

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I got to go with a little league team to some sort of camp at the dome when I was 11. Ryan had to go through his throwing regimen that day, so he did it out in front of all of the kids. They let us walk up and stand 6 feet off the plate while he threw. The fastball was hard to fathom when you're that little, that close, and have some understanding of baseball. Then, he threw a few curves. That shit I still don't track. Blew my mind.

I later wound up going up against some of the best pitchers in the world for our ages from 13-18. Faced numerous dudes throwing well into the '90's. Never saw anything vaguely similar to what I stood next to when watching Nolan. To this day, I believe being a major league position player is one of the hardest jobs in the world. The fucking ball getting up past 95 for every game and sliders and curves that look impossible. Respect. 

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kevwun

kevwun 15,759

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When I was a senior in high school, there was a guy in our district on another team who could throw 95+ and ended up getting drafted in the 3rd round.  He drilled one of my friends square in the back in a game that year and he crumpled like he had been shot.  I still remember the thunk.

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msucolt45

msucolt45 4,052

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My Uncle played for Deer Park when Nolan was at Alvin. He always said that when he batted against him, it seemed that he only had to throw 2/3 the distance, because he was so tall. That and his “early-age” speed on a fast ball, sometimes erratically, made kids very “light” in their shoes and ready to bail out, instead of trying to hit the damn ball.

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BrickTop

BrickTop 474

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My Uncle played for Deer Park when Nolan was at Alvin. He always said that when he batted against him, it seemed that he only had to throw 2/3 the distance, because he was so tall. That and his “early-age” speed on a fast ball, sometimes erratically, made kids very “light” in their shoes and ready to bail out, instead of trying to hit the damn ball.

Hook’em!

Just read he threw 235 pitches in a game, how in the absolute hell? Most I’ve ever seen is I think 110
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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45,880

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My buddies and I used to grab front row bleacher seats at Busch Stadium before batting practice.  $2.  A total bargain.  One time the Astros were in town, and Nolan, who wasn't pitching that day, but the workout warrior we all know about, was running sprints in the outfield.  A BP home run landed near us, one of my buddies got it and yelled to Nolan asking if he could sign it.  Sure enough, he jogged over and scrawled his name on the ball with a pen some lady loaned us.  Couldn't hardly read the signature, and some other drunkard offered us $20, so there went the ball in favor of a half dozen more Budweisers.  Nolan was cool, though.

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Jshep34

Jshep34 2,308

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Went to dome when rangers played astros in a exhibition game and nolan started. Watching him warm up (stretch, long toss) then pitch in bullpen from 15 feet away was incredible. Hear the ball cut thru the air. Him grunting could be heard throughout the dome. In awe.

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29,189

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14 minutes ago, Jshep34 said:

Went to dome when rangers played astros in a exhibition game and nolan started. Watching him warm up (stretch, long toss) then pitch in bullpen from 15 feet away was incredible. Hear the ball cut thru the air. Him grunting could be heard throughout the dome. In awe.

not about nolan, but vin scully would often mention a quick story about pedro when he first came up.  after a pitch, the batter turned to the ump and says, "that sounded low."

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Hate

Hate 20,106

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I saw Nolan take what would have been his 8th no hitter 7 2/3 innings against the Twins in 90 or 91. Dave Winfield broke it up with a single up the middle. Old Arlington Stadium was absolutely electric that night. Fuck Dave Winfield.

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Surly Bevo

Surly Bevo 24,908

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19 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

I still snicker that Rickey Henderson proclaimed himself the greatest ever when he set the all-time steals records.  Then a few hours later Nolan throws his 7th no-hitter and everyone moved on from Rickey’s feat.

That was pretty funny.  Although, with the way the game is played today I would say that both records seem pretty damn unassailable.  

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9,083

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2 hours ago, clapclapclap said:

Got to see his 7th no-no, but more importantly was in the stands for the Robin Ventura game.


(Of course I was an idiot babbling with a chick and missed the charge of the mound...center field seats.  But I got the ticket stub!)

So ??? Did you hit that shit ??

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9,083

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1 minute ago, TexArcher said:

I'll never forget the sound of Nolan's fastball hitting the mitt in the Dome.

Everybody else's was a thump.  His was a thwack.

Yeah it's always amazing when you hear that sound. I remember a kid we had on our team in pony league ball. His pitches made that kind of sound. We had a kid on our HS team who made those same kinds of sounds.  It was kinda scary knowing you had to get in a box against that on a daily basis sometimes.

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cabowabo

cabowabo 4,484

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Went and saw this tonight. Very well done. It’s hard to believe he ended up with 292 losses.  He lost 16 games in 1972 (won 19) with a 2.28 ERA.  He was a 20 game winner and lost 16 games each of the next two years with a sub 3.00 ERA. Dude played on some shitty teams. 

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