Nolan Ryan

Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. (born January 31, 1947) is a former American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in a major league record 27 seasons for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers, from 1966 to 1993.

Ryan, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were regularly recorded above 100 mph, even past the age of 40. The media tagged him, or more specifically his pitching, as "The Ryan Express" (a reference to the 1965 film Von Ryan's Express).

Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, and his 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history. He leads the runner-up by over 1,000 strikeouts as of early in the 2007 season. The pitcher in second place as of early 2007 varies between Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson, who are both active and who are both over the 4,600-strikeout mark. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962—walking over 50% more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history.

Ryan is also the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters.

Early life

Ryan was born in Refugio, Texas, but his family moved to the Houston suburb of Alvin when he was 6 weeks old. As a young boy, he enjoyed throwing objects at any target. His father thought that baseball was a better usage for his arm, therefore he encouraged Nolan to play the game.

Ryan joined Little League Baseball when he was nine. Within years, he pitched the first no-hitter of his life. Ryan played many positions to achieve all-star status.

Playing career

New York Mets

In 1965, after graduating from high school, Ryan signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Mets, and was assigned to a minor league team in the Appalachian League called the Marion Mets in Marion, Virginia. When Ryan was called up to the New York club, he was the second-youngest player in the league. He would end his career as the oldest player in Major League Baseball. His first strikeout victim was Pat Jarvis, and he gave up his first major league home run to Joe Torre, future manager of both the New York Mets and Yankees.

Ryan spent 1967 back in the minor leagues because of his inability to find the strike zone. Ryan did not make the majors for good until the 1968 season, and, despite a blazing fastball, even then he was unable to crack the Mets outstanding pitching rotation, led by Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. Ryan was used more as a reliever and spot starter by the 1969 Mets. To deal with frequent blisters on his right (pitching) hand he frequently soaked his fingers in pickle brine after ball games, although its effectiveness was questioned both by Ryan's teammates and coaches.

Ryan pitched well in the 1969 postseason for the Mets. Against the Braves in the NLCS, Ryan completed a Mets sweep by throwing seven innings of relief in Game 3, getting his first playoff win (it would take him 12 years to get another). Then in the 1969 World Series, Ryan saved Game 3, pitching 2⅓ shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles. The Game 3 victory gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the Series, which they went on to win in five games.

On April 18, 1970, Ryan tied a Mets record by striking out 15 batters in one game. Four days later, Ryan's teammate, Tom Seaver, topped it with 19 against the San Diego Padres. It was his time with Seaver and the Mets which Ryan credits in turning him from just a flamethrower to a pitcher. However, by 1971, Ryan had become increasingly frustrated and was considering retiring from baseball. His record for the season was 10-14. He let it be known to Mets management that he wasn't happy in New York and requested to be traded.

Part of his control problem stemmed from the fact that Ryan spent a great deal of time on reserve military duty during his stay with the Mets. Many players of that era spent some time on reserve duty, often a few weeks at a time, in order to fulfill their military obligation. In Ryan's case, his reserve unit was elevated to top priority in 1971, which meant Ryan found himself commuting back and forth between the Mets and his reserve unit every few weeks. Consequently he was never able to establish any sort of rhythm on the mound. Ironically, by the time he was traded to the Angels, Ryan's military obligation had been fulfilled.

California Angels

Ryan was traded to the California Angels in 1972 along with pitcher Don Rose, catcher Francisco Estrada and outfielder Leroy Stanton for shortstop Jim Fregosi (who would later manage Ryan in Anaheim). The deal remains controversial, and has been cited as one of the worst in Mets history. That being said, it is often argued that had he not been sent to another organization, Nolan Ryan would have continued to struggle with his control, In addition, given Ryan's unhappiness and desire to be traded, the Mets were not unreasonable in trading him. In his first season with the Angels, Ryan had a league-leading 329 strikeouts--nearly a third more than the AL runnerup, and to that point, the fourth-highest total of the 20th century. Within five seasons, the season would only be Ryan's fourth-highest strikeout total. He also posted a 2.28 earned run average that year, to date the second lowest in franchise history behind only Dean Chance's 1.65 in 1964.

Although the Angels were a sub-.500 team and remained one for much of his time there, Ryan managed to post some winning records, notably 19-16 in 1972, 21-16 in 1973 and 22-16 in 1974 (the 22 wins remain an Angels franchise record, tied with Clyde Wright in 1970). Ryan also led the league in losses in 1976 with a 17-18 record (one short of the franchise record for losses). In the early 1970s, many teams used a four-man rotation and expected the starter to complete the game; thus almost every game Ryan started ended in a decision.

On July 9, 1972, Ryan struck out three batters on nine pitches in the second inning of a 3-0 win over the Boston Red Sox; he became the seventh American League pitcher to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning, and the first (and currently only) pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the feat in both leagues. (On April 19, 1968, he had struck out three batters on nine pitches in the second inning of a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals; becoming the eighth National League pitcher and the 14th pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the feat.)

In 1973, Ryan set his first major record when he struck out 383 batters in one season, beating Sandy Koufax's old mark by one. To this feat, Koufax remarked, "Yeah, and he also surpassed my total for bases on balls in a single season by 91. I suspect half of those guys he struck out swung rather than get hit."

He threw two no-hitters in 1973, added a third in 1974 and a fourth in 1975, tying another of Koufax's records. In 1974 he twice struck out 19 batters, tying Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton for the single-game record for a nine-inning game, a record later broken when Roger Clemens struck out 20 in 1986.

His fastball was "officially" clocked by the Guinness Book of World Records at 101.8 miles per hour in a game played on August 20, 1974 vs. the Chicago White Sox.

The Angels finally made the playoffs in Ryan's eighth and final year there. He started Game 1 of the LCS and threw seven innings against the Orioles' Jim Palmer, but neither man was involved in the decision as Baltimore won in the 10th inning. Ryan was scheduled to pitch Game 5, but the Angels were eliminated in four. The season complete, Ryan became a free agent.

Nolan Ryan led the American League in strikeouts seven times during his eight seasons with the California Angels. However, he also led the league in walks in six of those years, and finished second the other two seasons: 1975 and 1979. Aside from Bob Feller in 1938, Ryan is the only man since 1900 to walk 200 batters in a season, which he did twice: in 1974 and 1977.

Though Ryan's strikeouts and no-hitters got him considerable media attention, Ryan did not win over Angels General Manager Buzzie Bavasi, who dismissed him as a flashy .500 pitcher (Ryan was 26-27 in the two years both were with the Angels). When Bavasi let Ryan leave after a 16-14 record in the 1979 season rather than agree to Ryan's demand to become the first player to be paid $1 million per year, Bavasi remarked he only needed to replace Ryan with two 8-7 pitchers, adding, "I think my plumber could do that."

Houston Astros

Nolan Ryan pitching in Atlanta on June 28, 1983

Ryan signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the Houston Astros after the 1979 season, in which he became the first player to be paid $1 million a year. The normally light-hitting Ryan got his Houston years started with a bang in a nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 12, 1980, when he hit a 3-run home run off future fellow Hall of Famer Don Sutton. It was the first homer of Ryan's career (he only hit one other) and produced half of the 6 RBI he would get that year. On July 4 of that season, at Riverfront Stadium, Ryan recorded his 3,000th career strikeout, the victim being Cesar Geronimo of the Cincinnati Reds. (Geronimo had also been Bob Gibson's 3,000th strikeout victim, in 1974.) Ryan got his second taste of postseason play in 1980, but the Astros were stopped one game short of the World Series.

In the 1980 NLCS versus the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan pitched well in Game 2, leaving the game tied 2-2 in the seventh (having contributed to both Astros runs with a run scored following a walk, and a sacrifice bunt leading to a run) but again got a no decision in a game that went extra innings. In the fifth and final game of the series, Ryan and the Astros held a 5-2 lead entering the 8th inning. But Ryan allowed three consecutive singles before walking in the third run. The Houston bullpen allowed the Phillies to take a 7-5 lead, and only a game-tying Astro rally permitted Ryan to escape the loss.

On September 26, 1981, Ryan threw his fifth no-hitter, breaking Koufax's mark while becoming the third pitcher to throw a no-hitter in each league. That season, his 1.69 ERA won the National League ERA title.

Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1981 NLDS, Ryan threw a complete game 2-hitter in the opener, outlasting the Dodgers' rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela. It was Ryan's second and last career postseason win. In the fifth and final game of the series, Ryan left trailing 3-0 and took the loss.

By the end of the 1982 season, both Ryan and Steve Carlton were approaching Walter Johnson's all-time strikeout record, sometimes passing one another's career totals in successive starts. On April 27, 1983, Ryan won the race with his 3,509th whiff, against Brad Mills of the Montreal Expos (Steve Carlton would reach the same mark two weeks after Ryan).

In 1986, Ryan's Astros faced the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. Ryan had a shaky start in Game 2, taking the loss. He returned in Game 5, throwing 9 innings of 2-hit, 1-run, 12-strikeout ball. However, one of those hits was a Darryl Strawberry home run which tied the game at 1-1, as Dwight Gooden matched Ryan pitch for pitch. Ryan got a no-decision as his Astros lost in 12 innings.

In 1987, Ryan led the major leagues in both ERA (2.76) and strikeouts (270) at the age of 40--but finished 8-16. Despite his .333 winning percentage, Ryan tied for 5th place in the 1987 Cy Young voting.

Texas Rangers

Ryan left Houston in a contract dispute following the 1988 season and joined the Texas Rangers.

In 1989, he went 16-10 and led the league with 301 strikeouts. Against the Oakland Athletics on August 22, Ryan struck out Rickey Henderson to become the first and only pitcher to record 5,000 career strikeouts. (Following the game, Henderson was quoted as saying, "If he ain't struck you out, then you ain't nobody.") Two years later, at 44, Ryan finished fifth in the league in ERA (2.91) and third in strikeouts (203).

In 1990, Ryan threw his sixth no-hitter (on June 11), and earned his 300th win (on July 30 against the Milwaukee Brewers). On May 1, 1991, Rickey Henderson broke one of baseball's most famous records when he stole the 939th base of his career, one more than Lou Brock. However, Henderson's achievement was somewhat overshadowed because Nolan Ryan, at age 44, set a record that same night by throwing the seventh no-hitter of his career, striking out Roberto Alomar of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final out. Coincidentally, Ryan's second baseman in his first two no-hitters had been Alomar's father, Sandy Sr.

Before the 1993 season, Ryan announced his retirement, effective at the end of that season. On August 4, just before the end, Ryan had yet another high profile moment – this time an on-the-mound fight. After Ryan hit Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox, Ventura charged the mound in order to fight Ryan, who was 20 years his senior. Ryan secured the 26-year-old Ventura in a headlock with his left arm, while pummelling Ventura's head with his right fist six times before catcher Iván Rodríguez was able to pull Ventura away from Ryan. Ryan stated afterwards it was the same maneuver he used on steers he had to brand on his Texas ranch. Videos of the incident were played that evening throughout the country. While Ventura and White Sox manager Gene Lamont were ejected, Ryan–who had barely moved from his spot on the mound in the fracas–was allowed to remain in the game and pitched hitless ball the rest of the way. Ryan had determined to be more aggressive after coming out on the wrong side of an altercation with Dave Winfield's beating in 1980.

Nolan Ryan's very durable arm finally gave out in Seattle on September 22, 1993, when he tore a ligament, ending his career two starts earlier than planned. Briefly attempting to pitch past the injury, Ryan threw one further pitch after tearing his ligament; with his injured arm, his final pitch was measured at 98 miles per hour. Ryan's last start was his worst; he allowed a single, four walks, and a grand slam in the top of the first without recording an out. (Ryan left trailing 5-0, and the fourth walk was completed by a reliever after Ryan's injury, but credited to Ryan.)

Ryan finished his career with an all-time major league record of 27 seasons played (The Sporting News Baseball Record Book, 2007, p.113). He was the final active player from the 1960s to retire from Major League Baseball, outlasting Carlton Fisk by three months.

Current Activity

Ryan's current business interests include ownership of two minor league teams: the Corpus Christi Hooks, which play in the Class AA Texas League, and the Round Rock Express, a Class AAA team in the Pacific Coast League. Both teams are affiliates of the Houston Astros, for whom Ryan also serves as a Special Assistant to the General Manager.

Ryan threw out the ceremonial "first pitch" before Game 3 of the 2005 World Series between the Astros and the White Sox, the first World Series game ever played in Texas. That game went 14 innings, equaling the longest in innings in World Series history (at 5:41, it was the longest in time). ESPN wryly suggested the Astros might have needed to pull the 58-year-old Ryan out of retirement if the game had gone much longer.

Ryan has co-written six books: autobiographies Miracle Man (with Jerry Jenkins, 1992), Throwing Heat (with Harvey Frommer, 1988) and The Road to Cooperstown (with Mickey Herskowitz and T.R. Sullivan, 1999); Kings of the Hill (with Mickey Herskowitz, 1992), about contemporary pitchers; and instructional books Pitching and Hitting (with Joe Torre and Joel Cohen, 1977), and Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible (with Tom House, 1991).

In addition to his baseball activities, Ryan is majority owner and chairman of Express Bank of Texas and owns a restaurant in Three Rivers, Texas. He served on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission from 1995 to 2001. He appeared as a TV spokesman for Advil for several years, promoting the pain medication he recommended for his own arm. He also has appeared in various television commercials shown in the Texas market.

During election years in the late 90s, Ryan's name would frequently come up in the news as a potential candidate for some statewide office (usually for the Republican Party). However, he has never run in any race, and these rumors have quieted.

In spite of his focus on physical fitness, Ryan suffered a heart attack on April 25, 2000, and had to receive a double coronary bypass.

He has also filmed a television advertisement for a joint pain reliever; the commercial also included the soccer player Mia Hamm.

Criticisms

Despite Ryan's longevity, his place among the game's greats has been questioned. A major complaint against Ryan is his low winning percentage, .526. Only two teams (the 1973 New York Mets and the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals) have reached the World Series with a winning percentage worse than Ryan's lifetime percentage.

Statistical comparisons with Walter Johnson, Ferguson Jenkins, Lefty Grove and other Hall of Fame pitchers have been run, showing that Ryan was only slightly better, in winning percentage, than the teams he played on. These studies have shown that despite the common belief that Ryan played mostly for bad teams, his teams (disregarding Ryan's own wins and losses) had a .503 winning percentage over his career (.506, if you disregard the 1966 New York Mets for whom he pitched three innings and who lost 95 games). Thus, Ryan's winning percentage was only .023 better than the teams for which he played. (By comparison, Walter Johnson, whose Washington Senators didn't win a pennant until his 18th season, was .107 better than the teams on which he played.) Other Hall of Fame pitchers studied in this respect fare worse than Johnson, but better than Ryan. Bill James's Historical Baseball Abstract shows that only a few Hall of Fame starting pitchers do worse than Ryan in this area. Another commonly-cited flaw was his wildness as a pitcher, particularly during his years with the Angels, when he twice walked more than 200 batters during a single season. He surrendered 2,795 walks and 277 wild pitches during his career, far more than any other pitcher in baseball history.

Ryan never won a Cy Young Award, finishing second once in 1973. For his career, Ryan was only 32 games over .500, and his "average" season saw him post a record of 13-12. Ryan's 292 losses rank him third overall, and first among pitchers who played entirely after 1900. He ranked in the top ten in the league in wins eight times, and in losses eight times. In 25 years (not counting his two "call-ups" with the Mets) he played in only eight All-Star Games. He had little success in leading teams to the postseason, making it there only five times, and only once to the World Series in 1969 with the Mets. In the postseason, Ryan's record was 1-2 in 7 starts (he gained another win, and a save, in relief appearances).

Legacy

Nolan Ryan is often compared to the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax: they are linked by the fact that Ryan broke two of Koufax's records, for most no-hitters and the single-season strikeout mark. There are further similarities: both Ryan and Koufax started in the majors at a very young age and struggled early in their careers, and both were very reserved and private. They also were both very conscious of their value and had tenacious contract disputes with their owners. An astute businessman, Ryan readily admitted the money was a large part of the reason he played as long as he did.

But there are key differences, too: Koufax pitched left-handed and Ryan right-handed; despite his early troubles, Koufax played his entire career with one team, whereas Ryan played for four. Koufax played on four championship Dodgers teams, whereas Ryan found himself on mostly mediocre teams. Ryan had an unremarkable win-loss percentage; Koufax had a stellar one, especially in his final four years. Ryan had a won-loss record only slightly better than the teams for which he played; Koufax had a significantly better percentage than his Dodger teams (even though, or perhaps because of him, they were pennant contenders throughout his career). Most importantly, thanks to a strong arm that could handle a lot of work, Ryan had one of the longest careers of any player, whereas Koufax's sterling career was cut short in its prime by arthritis and arm trouble. Nonetheless, both stand out as the best-known "power pitchers" of their times.

Comparisons to Bob Feller are probably more to the point: like Ryan, Feller was a burly, durable power pitcher, who was likely to strike out or walk any given batter, and pitched large numbers of low-hit games. Feller, however, was able to correct his wildness over time (the two are the only post-1900 pitchers to walk over 200 batters in a season) whereas Ryan had limited late success in that area. Feller, however, had a considerably better won/loss percentage than the Indian teams for whom he pitched, and states Ryan's former Mets teammate, Tom Seaver, was a much better pitcher than Ryan, whom he says was just a thrower who had a hard time getting the ball over the plate.

Ryan played in more seasons (27) than any other player in major league history. Ryan ranks first all-time in strikeouts (5,714), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.56), and no-hitters (7). He is also fifth in innings pitched (5,386), second in games started (773), seventh in shutouts (61) and is tied for 13th in wins (324). Opposing hitters hit only .204 against Ryan during his career. Ryan had 15 or more strikeouts in a game 27 times, second only to Randy Johnson, who has 29. Despite his impressive records, Ryan states the most impressive pitchers he ever saw or faced were Sandy Koufax and former teammate, Tom Seaver, whom Ryan holds responsible for helping him make the transition from "thrower" to "pitcher." In his early days with the Mets Ryan would often soak the fingers of his (right) pitching hand in pickle brine, as he was apt to develop blisters on that hand. Mets catcher Jerry Grote, who caught both Seaver and Ryan, stated Ryan's fastball had "about a foot" more velocity on it than did Seaver's.

Ryan's longevity can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that he took good care of himself throughout his career. He developed an exercise routine that included weightlifting and riding on a stationary bike and shied away from the night life. This is in stark contrast to Mickey Mantle, who admitted later in life that had he taken care of himself, he would have put up much better numbers during his career.

Ryan also ranks high on the list for four "negative" records; he ranks first all-time in walks allowed (2,795), first in wild pitches (277), third in losses (292-- most in the "modern" era), and ninth in hit batters (158). Ryan is also one of two pitchers in MLB history to give up ten grand slam home runs, including one to Dann Howitt, the next-to-last batter Ryan faced in his career.

Ryan is the only major league player to have his number retired by three different teams (excluding Jackie Robinson, whose number 42 was retired by Major League Baseball for all teams). The California Angels retired the number 30 on June 16, 1992; the Texas Rangers retired his number 34 on Sept. 15, 1996; and the Houston Astros retired number 34 on Sept. 29, 1996. His number was the first retired by the Rangers.

Nolan Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, in his first year of eligibility with 98.79% of the vote, just six votes short of a unanimous election.. He chose to wear a Rangers cap for his HOF plaque to reflect his Texas heritage, as well as the fact that his 300th win, 5000th strikeout, and last two no-hitters came as a Ranger. That year, he ranked 41st on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2003, and named the Rangers', and Astros' Hometown Hero in 2006--the only player to be so named by two franchises.

In 1995, the Texas State Legislature declared State Highway 288, which passes near Alvin, as the Nolan Ryan Expressway.

The Alvin Independent School District has announced that a future school will be named Nolan Ryan Junior High School. It is scheduled to open in 2008-2009.

Personal life

Ryan was married to his high school sweetheart, the former Ruth Holdorff, on June 26, 1967. They are parents of three children. Ryan now resides in Alvin, Texas.

In 1996, he campaigned for Ron Paul for Congress.

See also

• 300 win club
• 5,000 strikeout club
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning MLB game
• MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
• Pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches
• Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References

General Reference

• Pietrusza, David, Matthew Silverman & Michael Gershman, ed. (2000). Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. Total/Sports Illustrated.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Baseball Hall of Fame profile
• The Nolan Ryan Foundation

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