Quote:
Originally Posted by RonCo
On the whole you're right. I'll only note here that quality in the moment is different from longevity. Randy Jones' career span was not remarkably unusual, and was most likely considerably more common than Ryan's. But you can find pitchers of every category among those with really long careers.
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Everyone in the modern era with a really long career was above average in getting K's at his peak.
Great finesse/groundball pitchers like Greg Maddux and Tommy John were "only" a little above average in K rate, but they were above average. You can have poor control and be great like Nolan Ryan, or give up homers and be great; but you can't have a great career with a low K rate.
The only possible exception among starters in the live ball era might be Lew Burdette, whose control was so amazing he could be quite successful with a slightly below average K rate.