3 reasons why Nolan Ryan never won the Cy Young Award

Widely considered one of the best pitchers of all time, Nolan Ryan has several MLB records that may never be touched. Ryan's 5,714 career strikeouts are a number that may hold until the end of time. The definition of a flamethrower, we may never see a strikeout artist like him again.

However, it may come as a surprise to fans everywhere that Nolan Ryan never won a Cy Young award in his career. The award, which is given to the top pitchers in both the American and National Leagues, was one accolade that eluded Ryan during his 27-year career.

"Nolan Ryan’s record of 7 no hitters might never be broken" - @mlbelites_

While his accomplishments in the Majors cannot be denied, upon closer examination, there are three glaring reasons why he was never able to claim pitching's prestigious award. These are the reasons for his lack of a Cy Young award: his win/loss record, his walk rate, and the fact that he was never "the best pitcher" in a given season.

1. Nolan Ryan's win/loss record

While Ryan was certainly one of the most entertaining pitchers of his generation, he was never someone who racked up a large number of wins. Now, while that is not solely his fault as teams need to score runs for their pitchers, one's win/loss record matters when it comes to Cy Young voting.

Over the course of his 27 seasons in the MLB, Ryan finished with nine or more losses in 21 of those years, with the most coming in 1976 when he finished 17-18 for the California Angels. Ryan finished his career with an overall record of 324-292.

2. Walks, walks, walks

While Ryan will forever be the most prolific strikeout artist of all time, that style of pitching comes with one downside: walks. The art of pitching for a strikeout involves playing with power and location, and when those two do not align, a pitcher can pile up the walks, something that Ryan did throughout his career.

Although he owns the all-time strikeout record, he also holds the record for the most bases on balls in a career. His 2,795 total walks are nearly 50% more than second-place Steve Carlton, who issued 1,833 in his career.

3. He simply wasn't the best pitcher in any given season

While Nolan Ryan has some unbreakable records, some of those are due to his astonishing longevity. However, upon analyzing Ryan on a year-to-year basis, he was unable to win the Cy Young award because he was never the best pitcher in any given season.

"Today in 1973, Nolan Ryan fires the first of his seven career no-hitters." - Super 70s Sports

The closest he came to winning the award came in 1973, where he finished second behind eventual winner Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles. Palmer finished the season with a 22-9 record with a 2.40 ERA, along with 158 strikeouts. Unfortunately, for Ryan, his win/loss record of 21-16 probably cost him the award as he posted a 2.87 ERA with a career-high 383 strikeouts with the Angels.