Baseball Legends: Nolan Ryan (Mets 1966, 1968-1971, Angels 1972-1979, Astros 1980-1988, Rangers 1989-1993)

“One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something.” ~ Nolan Ryan

Prove something is what Nolan Ryan did with his entire career. It’s difficult to decide what is most impressive: his seven career no-hitters (three more than any other pitcher), or his 5714 strikeouts (over 1000 more than the runner-up). Or perhaps the power with which he pitched, even after reaching the age of 40. The longevity of Ryan’s career–a major-league record 27 years–is also astounding. In fact, there isn’t much about the pitcher that one could say was not impressive.

Ryan began his big league trek in 1966 with the New York Mets, but was demoted after just two games because of his inability to find the strike zone. In 1968 he came back and finished behind Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman for the most K’s on the starting staff.

Ryan’s stay in New York was not very successful, and at the end of the 1971 season he was shipped to the California Angels with three other Mets in exchange for Jim Fregosi. Ryan made an immediate impact on the American League, winning 19, 21, and 22 games in his first three seasons. In 1973, he broke Sandy Koufax’s modern-day record for strikeouts in a season with 383. While he dominated much of the decade with the Angels, GM Buzzie Bavasi was not convinced Ryan was worth $1 million, letting him go to the Houston Astros for a then-record million-dollar salary.

During his nine years in Houston, Ryan and the Astros appeared in the postseason three times (1980, 1981, and 1986), but never advanced past the first series. On an individual level, he passed Walter Johnson on the all-time strikeouts list, pitched his fifth career no-hitter, and twice led the National League in ERA. In 1987, with a league-leading ERA of 2.76, ERA+ of 142, and 270 strikeouts, Ryan finished fifth in Cy Young voting, despite his 8-16 won-loss record.

After the 1988 season, Ryan was again involved in a contract dispute and left the Astros for the Texas Rangers. While in Arlington, he recorded his 5,000th strikeout and pitched his sixth and seventh career no-hitters.

He retired at the end of the 1993 season with a 324-292 record (currently 14th on the all-time list for wins), 5,714 strikeouts (1st all-time), and 9.55 strikeouts/9 innings (4th all-time). In 1999, Ryan was inducted into the Hall of Fame, just six votes shy of a unanimous selection.

See Ryan’s career statistics at baseball-reference.com.

Written by JT at The Writer’s Journey.