Nolan Ryan vs Walter Johnson

1of 7 lines

6of 7 lines

Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson compared on their MLB careers: Nolan Ryan played 27 seasons, 1966 to 1993, Walter Johnson 21 seasons, 1907 to 1927. Nolan Ryan has 324 wins to Walter Johnson's 417. Nolan Ryan won 1 title, Walter Johnson won 1 title.

Who has the better career numbers?

Walter Johnson leads in 6 of the 7 lines, Nolan Ryan in 1. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson career totals

807	GP	802
324	W	417, better
292	L	279, better
3.2	ERA	2.2, better
5,387	IP	5,914.2
5,714, better	K	3,509
2,795	BB	1,363, better
1.3	WHIP	1.1, better
3	SV	34, better

How do they compare in the postseason?

Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson postseason

9	GP	6
2	W	3, better
2, better	L	3
3.1	ERA	2.2, better
58	IP	50
63, better	K	35
14, better	BB	15
0.9, better	WHIP	1.4
1, better	SV	0

Where each stands all time

Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson all-time places

1st (5,714), better	Strikeouts (pitching)	11th (3,509)
14th (324)	Wins (pitching)	2nd (417), better

Among the MLB players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson titles and awards
Nolan Ryan	Title or award	Walter Johnson
1	Championships	1

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Nolan Ryan and Walter Johnson season by season

1st	1966	0	1, better	15.00	1907	5, better	9	1.88, better
2nd	1968	6	9, better	3.09	1908	14, better	14	1.65, better
3rd	1969	6	3, better	3.54	1909	13, better	25	2.22, better
4th	1970	7	11, better	3.41	1910	25, better	17	1.36, better
5th	1971	10	14	3.97	1911	25, better	13, better	1.90, better
6th	1972	19	16	2.28	1912	33, better	12, better	1.39, better
7th	1973	21	16	2.87	1913	36, better	7, better	1.14, better
8th	1974	22	16, better	2.89	1914	28, better	18	1.72, better
9th	1975	14	12, better	3.45	1915	27, better	13	1.55, better
10th	1976	17	18, better	3.36	1916	25, better	20	1.90, better
11th	1977	19	16	2.77	1917	23, better	16	2.21, better
12th	1978	10	13	3.71	1918	23, better	13	1.27, better
13th	1979	16	14	3.59	1919	20, better	14	1.49, better
14th	1980	11, better	10	3.35	1920	8	10	3.13, better
15th	1981	11	5, better	1.69, better	1921	17, better	14	3.51
16th	1982	16, better	12, better	3.16	1922	15	16	2.99, better
17th	1983	14	9, better	2.98, better	1923	17, better	12	3.48
18th	1984	12	11	3.04	1924	23, better	7, better	2.72, better
19th	1985	10	12	3.80	1925	20, better	7, better	3.07, better
20th	1986	12	8, better	3.34, better	1926	15, better	16	3.63
21st	1987	8, better	16	2.76, better	1927	5	6, better	5.10
22nd	1988	12	11	3.52	—	—	—	—
23rd	1989	16	10	3.20	—	—	—	—
24th	1990	13	9	3.44	—	—	—	—
25th	1991	12	6	2.91	—	—	—	—
26th	1992	5	9	3.72	—	—	—	—
27th	1993	5	5	4.88	—	—	—	—

What the columns mean: W · L · ERA