No, Ryan was referring to the 242 pitches he threw against Detroit in a 1973 game. NOLAN RYAN In nine seasons as a pitcher with the Astros (his longest tenure with any team), Ryan compiled a 10694 record in 282 starts, a 3.13 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, with 796 walks and 1,866 strikeouts in 1,854 innings. Sept. 22, 1993. Dakota Hudson walked 86 batters in 2019, most in the majors. I try to get them out. The record is 177, by Tim Wakefield. Wednesday: Prospects He also limited hitters to a .298 slugging percentage. If you're going to lose, it's sure great to strike out 380 guys. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Nolan Ryan Ryan had five of the 14 highest game scores of the season, a one-person highlight reel. [13] In the 1968 season, Ryan returned to the major leagues, where he stayed until his retirement in 1993. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999,[1] and is widely considered to be one of the greatest MLB pitchers of all time. To deal with frequent blisters on his throwing hand he often soaked his fingers in pickle brine,[14] although the technique's effectiveness was questioned by Ryan's teammates and coaches. Nolan Ryan He had the three highest game scores of the season: 101, 99 and 99 (Erik Hanson also had a 99). He was wild, sure, but it doesn't feel quite that simple. In addition to his baseball activities, Ryan was majority owner and chairman of Express Bank of Alvin but sold his interest in 2005. [66] His number was the first retired by the Rangers. I will not throw the ball down the middle." "I walked a lot of guys," he said. In 1989, at age 42, Nolan Ryan averaged 127 pitches a game with a high of 164, which came five days after he threw 150. Aerosmith drummer puts Austin-area luxury home up for sale", "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr.Ron Paul", "PRESS RELEASE: Nolan Ryan to Serve as Statewide Chairman for Staples", American League Pitcher of the Year Award, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nolan_Ryan&oldid=1141250556, Major League Baseball players with retired numbers, American chief executives of professional sports organizations, Florida Instructional League Mets players, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2021, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with incomplete citations from April 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, September 11,1966,for theNew York Mets, September 22,1993,for theTexas Rangers, Lowest career batting average allowed (minimum 1,500 innings pitched): .204, 26 career 15+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, 36 career 14+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, 56 career 13+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, 95 career 12+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, 151 career 11+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, 3 19+ strikeout games, single season (1974), 3 18+ strikeout games, single season (1974), 3 17+ strikeout games, single season (1974), 3 16+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, single season (1972, 1974), 6 15+ strikeout games, single season (1974 - tied with, 15 12+ strikeout games, single season (1973), 18 11+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, single season (1973), 23 10+ strikeout games, single season (1973 - tied with, 26 9+ strikeout games, single season (1973), 29 8+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, single season (1973), 32 7+ strikeout games by a right-handed pitcher, single season (1973), 36 6+ strikeout games, single season (1974 - tied with, 6.55 hits per nine innings pitched, career, minimum 1,000 innings (next-fewest is, 5.26 single-season hits per nine innings (1972), Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 03:23. He did not have a reputation as a headhunter, said retired MLB umpire Larry Young. Ryan had a shaky start in Game 2, taking the loss. Nolan Ryan had 5,714 career strikeouts (Top 1,000), more than any other pitcher in history (839 more than #2 all-time, Randy Johnson). Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax are the only two pitchers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. Nolan Ryan's Fastest Fastball was 106.07 Miles per hour. [18] As of 2021[update], this was the steepest second half increase in ERA for a starting pitcher in MLB history. Of his 122 pitches, 83 were strikes. Ryan was scheduled to pitch Game 5, but the Angels were eliminated in four. But Greinke struck Find all the best Dallas has to offer", "Nolan Ryan Strikeout Record Broken! The opposing high bidder was Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Born: [1] On July 4 of that season, at Riverfront Stadium, Ryan recorded his 3,000th career strikeout, the victim being Csar Gernimo of the Cincinnati Reds (Gernimo had also been Bob Gibson's 3,000th strikeout victim, in 1974). Though Ryan's strikeouts and no-hitters got him considerable media attention, he did not win over Angels general manager Buzzie Bavasi, who dismissed him as a flashy .500 pitcher (Ryan was 2627 in the last two years he was with the Angels). Legendary, dominating, historically wild? There will never be Let up a little, Ryan had always been told. He has maintained a decades-long friendship with the Bush family, partially due to George W. Bush being a part-owner of the Rangers while Ryan played there. It was his record-setting 10th grand slam given up of his career. Sept. 18, 1996 at Tigers. Ryan, pitching for the Rangers in his 27th and final major league season at age 46, was a living legend. Baseball Drops Both Ends of Saturday Doubleheader to UMass "Painful goodbye to a hero," read the headline in the Star-Telegram. WebDid Nolan Ryan throw 108 mph? How many A one-hitter with 16 strikeouts. Nolan Ryan's record 108 mph fastball. It was deGrom's 33rd career start, and third in 2021, in which he allowed one run or fewer and failed to pick up the win, most in the majors since he made his debut in 2014. [5] As a senior in 1965, Ryan had a 193 record and led the Alvin Yellow Jackets to the Texas high school state finals. He returned in Game 5, throwing 9 innings of 2-hit, 1-run, 12-strikeout ball, but one of those hits was a Darryl Strawberry home run which tied the game at 1, as Dwight Gooden matched Ryan pitch for pitch. Until Nolan Ryan ushered in the radar age in 1974, there were only two other pitchers in history that were clocked using various devices. ML Baseball StatsCareer Pitches Thrown? - Straight Reid also pitched briefly in the minor leagues. The .500 pitcher had become an Authentic American Hero. Ryan had curbed some of the wildness from his Angels days, but would still throw what today looks like an ungodly number of pitches: a season high of 164, seven games of 140-plus and 16 of 130-plus. "The mystique of Nolan Ryan was based on two things," Bill James wrote in "The New Historical Baseball Abstract." Nothing. WebDid Nolan Ryan throw over 200 pitches in a game? MLB.com He said his fastball doesn't really have that late movement like some other pitchers and that his curveball "isn't overpowering. He had been saving it for a World Series celebration. The Houston bullpen allowed the Phillies to take a 75 lead, and only a game-tying Astro rally permitted Ryan to escape the loss. Ryan struck out 5,714 batters in his career, 17.2% more than Randy Johnson, the No. Was he the fastest pitcher ever? Ryan faced six batters, walked four of them and allowed two hits, including a grand slam to the not-so-immortal Dann Howitt. On Aug. 20, 1974, in a game against the Detroit Tigers, then Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan pitched an 11-inning complete game 1-0 loss. Oh, Ryan also pitched the entire game with a sore on his middle finger that cracked open as he warmed up in the bullpen. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. How many "He'd do whatever it took to win. Monday: Home run us. The hitters were in awe of him because they couldn't hit him; the pitchers were in awe of him because they understood how difficult it was to do what he did. Who gets the L?". ANNAPOLIS, Md. WebNolan Ryan is NOT a top 10 pitcher of all-time. Cash declared he had no chance to get a hit off Ryan anyway. While Ventura was ejected, Ryanwho had barely moved from his spot on the mound in the fracaswas allowed to remain in the game. Nolan Ryan With his injured arm, his final pitch was measured at 98 miles per hour (158km/h). They said I wasn't pitching the way someone of my ability should. April 29, 1986, was perhaps the date when the Rocket truly launched. "In 1974, according to beat writers in attendance, Ryan threw 259 pitches in a 12-inning win over Kansas City." Manager Bobby Valentine popped open a bottle of Dom Perignon that Rangers owner Brad Corbett had given him in 1986. Draft: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 1965 MLB June Amateur Draft from Alvin HS (Alvin, TX). He pitched the no-hitter with blood on the baseball. Then the sixth no-hitter of his career on June 11, striking out 14. He is tied with Bob Feller for the most one-hitters, with 12. This exceeded an earlier pitch by Bob Feller which was measured at 98.6 miles per hour (158.7km/h) at home plate and previously thought to be the fastest pitch ever recorded.[29]. [1] Ryan was unable to crack the Mets' pitching rotation, led by Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. Doctors had recommended surgery on Ryan's elbow way back in 1986, but he decided to keep pitching. 10 Nolan Ryan Records That Will Never Be Broken - Sports King Reid Ryan was demoted by the Astros after the 2019 World Series, and shortly thereafter Nolan Ryan sent a text message to a reporter indicating that he would not return to the Astros front office for the 2020 season.[59]. In 1963 Marichal reportedly threw 227 pitches and Spahn threw 201 The Oakland A's are in Las Vegas this week for a preseason series, and talk of a potential move to Nevada has gained momentum, with Don Logan, president of the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators, telling ESPN, "Las Vegas offers a dynamic that no other team has.". He lead his league in strikeouts a whopping 11 times, and six times he struck out more than 300 batters in a season. But thats a fairly recent measuring stick in Major League Baseball. [50] Although Texas oil magnates Ray Davis and Bob Simpson served as co-chairmen and held larger stakes, Ryan became the undisputed head of the franchise, with Davis and Simpson serving mostly as senior consultants. Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton were clearly better, and Phil Niekro (who also never won a Cy Young Award) and Gaylord Perry were probably better. It was Ryan's only World Series appearance in his career. Ryan was also known to throw a devastating 126 curveball at exceptional velocity for a breaking ball.[2]. In the first 50 Major League games of his career, Harris has slashed .289/.323/.494 with eight homers and 28 RBI. In 34 total innings, Ryan had 54 strikeouts in 1967. It was the first of two homers in Ryan's career and produced half of the six RBIs he got that year. [17], In five seasons with the Mets, 105 games and 74 starts, Ryan had a 2938 record, with a 3.58 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, with 344 walks and 493 strikeouts in 511 innings. Todd Van Poppel and Gregg Jefferies? Exceeded rookie limits during 1968 season, View Player Bio Near the end of Ryan's career, the evaluation shifted. In some way, perhaps, it was also acknowledging that gift of maybe the fastest fastball ever. We do get examples of his work ethic. Cash's teammate Mickey Stanley commented on facing Ryan that day by saying, "Those were the best pitches I ever heard. Ruth was a high school state tennis champion. I remember buying an upper-deck seat that day and moving down to a box seat, just a few rows behind the first-base dugout. Nolan Ryan of the California Angels threw 235 pitches but was not involved in the decision in the Angels 4-3, 15-inning victory over the Boston Red Sox. [46] He also owned a restaurant in Three Rivers, Texas. In 1996 Ryan campaigned on behalf of Ron Paul in the election for Texas's 14th congressional district; his hometown of Alvin was located in the district.[84]. [4] Ryan's family lived in nearby Woodsboro, Texas in Refugio County, until they moved to Alvin, Texas in Brazoria County, when Nolan was six weeks old. Apparently Walter Johnson or Lefty Grove or Satchel Paige weren't good enough. Nolan Ryan became baseball's first pitcher to 'light up the radar at a major league park. Ryan explained to Kornheiser, "I want to make the perfect pitch. ", Alan Ashby: "The funniest line I ever heard about Nolan was said by Oscar Gamble. [78], Nolan Ryan resides in the Cimarron Hills community in Georgetown, Texas. Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan established records with his 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters during his 27-year Major League Baseball career. WebNolan Ryan pitched 5386 innings in his career. 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. "[63][full citation needed], Other writers have delved more into the specifics of James' general concerns. Do you have a blog? [60] Ryan also played during the administrations of seven U.S. PresidentsLyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clintonequaling a 20th-century record that had been set by Jim Kaat. pitch The numismatic community subsequently referred to the coin as the "Nolan Ryan dollar. He was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2003, and named the Rangers', and Astros' Hometown Hero in 2006the only player to be so named by two franchises. In 1966, Ryan pitched for the Class A Greenville Mets of the Western Carolinas League, Overall, Ryan had 307 strikeouts in 202 minor league innings in 1966, earning a late-season call-up to the New York Mets. Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. Within five seasons, the season was only Ryan's fourth-highest strikeout total. Nolan Ryan Nolan Ryan became baseball's first pitcher to 'light up the radar at a major league park. Here's the one prospect we were sure would be your team's next superstar. [17], Ryan's performance declined sharply in the second half of his final season with the Mets. After finding a legitimate piece of lumber to use, Cash popped out and Ryan had the no-hitter. Those Angels teams in the early and mid-1970s were woeful offensive clubs, finishing last or next-to-last in the American League in runs scored each season from 1972 to 1976. Thursday: Defensive plays He walked 202 batters in 1974 and 204 in 1977. Nolan Ryan How many Ryan pitched well for the Mets in the 1969 postseason. Nolan Ryan - Baseball-Reference.com I'm not saying he isn't a winner. Ryan is quoted as saying, "Todd Staples is the top prospect for the Texas Republican Party in 2014. Bush) management of domestic issues and said he wasn't "locked in" to voting for Bush that fall. Ryan is one of only three players in history to have his number retired by at least three teams, along with Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by Major League Baseball) and Frank Robinson. In February 2008, the Rangers hired Ryan as team president. Tuesday: Games BL-2664-73 (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library) Whether Ryan saw this as an achievement or not, his fourth career hitless game, delivered in front of a crowd of 18,492 at Anaheim Stadium on June 1, 1975 - tying him with Sandy Koufax as the only hurler to throw four no-hit games. WebNolan Ryan of the California Angels pitching. He would need to do that for another 32 seasons to break Ryan's record. 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. Data Provided By ", Royals shortstop Freddie Patek didn't agree with Ryan's self-assessment. Ryan would have to settle for 235 pitches in this game. Ryan threw a record seven no-hitters during his major league career, three more than any other pitcher. View Nolan Ryan's Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos). Ryan was so dominant in this game, it led to one of baseball's best-remembered pranks. A primitive radar gun clocked a ninth-inning fastball at 100.8 miles per hour (162.2km/h) when it was 10 feet (3.0m) in front of home plate. Morning Briefing: Justin Verlander Dabbling With Changeup Why is he still pitching? The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. The opposing Royals, however, understood this was no ordinary no-hitter from an ordinary pitcher. Greenberg became managing general partner and CEO, while Ryan remained as team president. Consider 46 years ago today June 14, 1974. WebDid Nolan Ryan throw 108 mph? In the same game, he would set his career highs for walks (matched one other time) and strikeouts (matched three other times). I'm not sure how he would function in the modern world of analytics. [20], Ryan left Houston after a contract dispute following the 1988 season and signed with the Texas Rangers at age 42. He was most noted for his blazing fastball and his longevity, routinely throwing (19071970). "Well, I don't believe it'll be his last.". "I never honestly felt I was the type of pitcher to pitch a no-hitter," Ryan suggested after the game. There has never been a pitcher like Nolan Ryan. Ryan's lengthy career spanned generations as he struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons (for example, Bobby Bonds and Barry Bonds), another major league record. Nolan Ryan 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). The final cash bid to purchase the franchise was $385 million. [1] In the early 1970s, many teams used a four-man rotation and expected the starter to complete the game; thus most games Ryan started ended in a decision. He struck out more batters than anybody, walked more batters than anybody, was the hardest to hit, threw the most wild pitches, made the most errors, allowed the most stolen bases, threw the most pitches, pitched the most no-hitters and never, ever gave in to a batter. Meanwhile, Fregosi failed to produce as a Met, making no significant contribution to the Mets' 1973 pennant-winning campaign; he was sold to the Texas Rangers mid-season. "At the end of 12 innings I told him that's it, but he said, 'You got to let me pitch at least one more inning because I haven't set my record yet.'". "He's like a child prodigy. Didn't run. I suspect half of those guys he struck out swung rather than get hit. Here's how WBC offenses stack up with MLB's best, Las Vegas prepared to give A's 'better opportunity', Female minor league manager shadows Lovullo, Paxton (hamstring) unlikely for start of season, Jays' Guerrero to miss WBC with inflamed knee, Rangers, LHP Smith agree to 1-year, $1.5M deal, 7 Cubs combine for 1st spring no-no since 2017, Scherzer tries to test pitch clock limits, gets balk. "Ryan tried to throw unhittable pitches, one after another, even to weak hitters, even when he was behind in the count," James wrote. September 22, 1993 (Ryan ranks 12th in pitching WAR since 1920 and would rank lower on a list that measured a pitcher's seven best seasons or something like that.) In the 1980 NLCS versus the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan pitched well in Game 2, leaving the game tied 22 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. Absolutely. WebDid Nolan Ryan throw 108 mph? While ranking him as the 24th best pitcher of all time, he notes, "Ryan has been retired almost ten years [in 2001], in another ten perhaps we will begin to get a little bit of perspective on him. [67], Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 in his first year of eligibility with 98.79% of the vote (491 out of 497 possible), six votes short of a unanimous election and the fifth-highest percentage in history, behind Mariano Rivera (100%, 425 out of 425 possible), Derek Jeter (99.75%, 396 out of 397 possible), Ken Griffey Jr. (99.32%, 437 out of 440 possible), and Tom Seaver (98.84%, 425 out of 430 possible). Speaking of 27, Nolan Ryan was in the 27th and final year of his Hall of Fame career, pitching for the Texas Rangers. In the fifth and final game of the series, Ryan and the Astros held a 52 lead entering the 8th inning. Angels manager Bobby Winkles wanted to take Ryan out. White Sox manager Gene Lamont vehemently argued this, leading to his own ejection. Good morning, Mets fans! Before the 1993 season began, Ryan announced that he would retire as a player at the end of that season. Did Nolan Ryan throw According to reports at the time, Ryan's fastball clocked 96 mph in the fourth inning and his final pitch to Roberto Alomar clocked 93 mph. Reid and Reese were both pitchers for the TCU Horned Frogs. 2 pitcher in the league that year averaged 7.74. On Aug. 20, 1974, in a game against the Detroit Tigers, then Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan pitched an 11-inning complete game 1-0 loss. On June 3, he pitched another one-hitter. In a sense, that was understandable. Incredibly, pitchers Leon Cadore and Joe Oeschger each went the distance. [3] The senior Ryan operated a newspaper delivery service for the Houston Post that required him to rise in the early morning hours to prepare 1,500 newspapers for delivery over a 55-mile route. Nolan Ryan's record 108 mph fastball. WebNolan Ryan pitched 222 complete games in his career. Would never work. A month later it was a three-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and in his final start of the season, he fanned 13 in another three-hit shutout. After 5,386 innings, 5,714 strikeouts and an estimated 34,500 pitches, Ryan's elbow ligament had finally snapped. WebGet the latest news, stats, videos, highlights and more about starting pitcher Nolan Ryan on ESPN. Ryan holds 51 total MLB records, including: Nolan Ryan's post-retirement business interests include principal owner of Ryan Sanders Sports and Entertainment, which is the ownership group for the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers, among other businesses. June 3, 1989, one of those one-hitters mentioned earlier (Ryan is tied with Bob Feller for the most career one-hitters with 12). Nolan Ryan. He was 63. That's what Ryan did throughout his career: do things that now seem fictional. Nolan Ryan played for 4 teams; the New [7], In 1965, after graduating from Alvin, Ryan was drafted by the New York Mets in the 12th round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft, with the 295th overall pick. He never threw either pitch that much, but it was a little something extra to throw at batters. Four of his five highest strikeout rates -- percentage of batters faced whom he struck out -- came in 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. So maybe you could call him stubborn. To the best of my recollection, I saw Ryan pitch four times in person: The 1979 All-Star Game, which he started for the American League. In those seven games, Ryan accumulated a total of 94 strikeouts and 26 walks; a ratio of 3.6 strikeouts per walk (his career K:BB was 2.0). No pitcher has ever thrown 200 pitches in a game. One of a kind? In fact, from the no-hitter through July 19, just over two months of action, he started 16 games, completed 12 of them and threw 135 innings. Did Nolan Ryan In 1987, Ryan led the major leagues in both ERA (2.76) and strikeouts (270) at the age of 40, but finished 816 as the result of extremely poor run support; the Astros scored a total of 27 runs in his 16 lossesan average of 1.69 runs per game. [77], Ryan married his high school sweetheart, the former Ruth Holdorff, on June 25, 1967. Nolan Ryan was born on January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas, a small town located just south of Victoria in the southern part of the state. That game went 14 innings, equaling the longest in innings in World Series history (at 5:41, it was the longest in time). Pitcher Nolan Ryan played 27 seasons for 4 teams. Ryan had 324 wins, 292 losses, an earned run average of 3.19, and 5,714 strikeouts. He was selected to play in 8 All-Star Games. Ryan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Overall, he was 69 in 1965 with a 4.33 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 120 innings. In his first season with the Angels, Ryan was given a chance to pitch regularly as a starter for the first time in his career, mainly because by then he had fulfilled his military obligation and no longer had to commute to Houston every other week. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? After the home run, Ryan threw three more pitches to Dave Magadan, but with a 2-1 count he summoned trainer Danny Wheat, handed Wheat the ball and walked off the mound. Good morning, Mets fans! He appeared as a TV spokesman for Advil for several years, promoting the pain medication he recommended for his own arm. Despite this, he never pitched a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award; both were largely attributed to his high walk rate. Only two pitchers have struck out more in a no-hitter: Max Scherzer and Nolan Ryan (he fanned 17 in the Norm Cash game). (Voted by BBWAA on 491/497 ballots) vs. ATL 2.0 IP, 1 H, 3 SO, 1 BB, 1 ER, Last Game: In fact, we learn a lot about Ryan when he describes Mike Scott, his teammate with the Astros who won the 1986 Cy Young Award. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 12:52AM. May 22, 2013. [8][9] Ryan held the school's single game strikeout record for 44 years, striking out 21 hitters in a 7-inning game. For Ryan, as soon as the game was over, he forgot about it, brushed it from memory. On August 4, just before the end, Ryan had yet another high-profile momentthis time an on-the-mound fight. Nolan Ryan became baseball's first pitcher to 'light up the radar at a major league park. In addition to his seven no-hitters, which are three more than any other pitcher, Ryan is the all-time strikeout leader at 5,714. Nolan Ryan Stats, News, Bio | ESPN Ryan stated afterwards it was the same maneuver he used on steers he had to brand on his Texas ranch. September 11, 1966 He's the only guy I go against that makes me go to bed before midnight. Nolan Ryan's No-Hitters and No-Walk Games - The New York He was the final active player from the 1960s to retire from Major League Baseball, outlasting Carlton Fisk (the final active position player) by three months. Somewhere, in another league where the cheering never stops and the beer is icy cold, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb and yes, Shoeless Joe, too, are waiting for their starting pitcher to arrive so the game can start.". ", "In baseball-filled life, Ruth Ryan proud of kids", "As Texas Watches, Ryan Hurls Against Ryan", "Nolan Ryan's wife used to catch for him when he was in the majors", "Want to live like a rock star? In the first 50 Major League games of his career, Harris has slashed .289/.323/.494 with eight homers and 28 RBI.