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Early in his career, Ryan suffered from lack of control and blisters.

Growing up in little Alvin, Texas, Ryan was a high schooler with an awesome fastball but almost no control. The New York Mets selected him in the tenth round of the 1965 free-agent draft. In 1966, he blazed his way to 272 strikeouts, 127 walks, and 17 wins (all Carolina League highs at the time) at Greenville, frightening batters and catchers alike with his velocity. He missed most of 1967 in military service, and in 1968 the raw right-hander was rushed to the Mets.

Despite a chronic blister problem (he tried several remedies, including soaking his fingers in pickle brine) and a month on the disabled list, Ryan went 6-9 in 1968 with a 3.09 ERA and struck out 133 batters in 134 innings. Ryan also walked 75 batters, displaying a lack of control that plagued him early in his career. Ryan led his league in strikeouts six times in his first twelve major league seasons; each season, he was also the league leader in walks.

If Ryan's wildness made his coaching staff nervous, it scared the daylights out of opposing players. In a high-school playoff game, Ryan had thrown a fastball that fractured a hitter's arm. His next pitch broke the following batter's helmet. The third batter appealed to his coach for mercy, but eventually mustered the nerve to stand in and strike out on three pitches.

Major leaguers were often similarly humbled (or injured). One player was said to have incurred a concussion after being hit with a Ryan changeup, and even the great Reggie Jackson was quoted as saying he was "scared" to face Ryan.