Royals interested in Bruce?

[RedsBaron]

This can be said about a lot of players I guess, but if Gary Nolan hadn't been hurt, he'd dominate the Reds pitching leader boards the way Pete Rose dominates most of the hitting ones. Most people remember him as the junkballer on the 75 & 76 reds. I remember a kid who could throw 99 and carry it deep in the game. We already know that he would have been able to transition when the stuff went away.

I can recall Gary Nolan striking out Willie Mays 4 times in one game in 1967. Nolan was barely age 19. He struck out 206 hitters in 226 innings in 1967 and was arguably the best rookie in baseball even though Tom Seaver was voted the NL Rookie of the Year. Maybe the arm injuries were inevitable, but he was worked hard and his dominating fastball was a memory by the time he was age 22.