Where is the Ryan Express Headed?

by Kelly Huffman and Chris Hansen

Nolan Ryan loves baseball in Texas, plain and simple.

When Randy Johnson made his debut in the Astrodome on August 7, he joined 40,000 others on their feet to cheer the Big Unit as he pitched his second straight home shutout since coming to the Astros. After careers with the Mets and Angels, Ryan spent 13 years with the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers and raised his family as he was raised, in Texas.

Ryan Career Highlights • Final stats: 324-292, 3.19 ERA, 222 CG, 61 ShO, 5387 IP • Pitched 7 no-hitters • Retired in 1993 with 53 M.L. records to his credit • Holds record for K's in a single season with 383 (1973) • Saw action in the Majors in 4 different decades • One of nine pitchers in history to defeat all 26 major league teams (prior to 1993 expansion in Colorado and Florida) • Has the most strikeouts (5,714) and no-hitters (7) • Played the longest of anyone in history (27 years) • Allowed one or fewer hits in a CG 19 times • Averaged 9.55 strikeouts per nine innings (joined Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers in history to average a K an inning)

This recent appearance in the Astrodome was not the first time Ryan has returned to see the 'Stros. On August 22, 1997, the Astros' pitching staff got a special instructor for about 45 minutes before their game from Ryan prior to a game against the Colorado Rockies. Ryan chatted in the bullpen with the entire pitching staff and manager Larry Dierker, just talking baseball. Billy Wagner attributes this advice session to helping him with his delivery, most notably in his wrist, and in establishing himself as a dominant element of the Astros' pitching staff.

Ryan said of the visit, "Sometimes, it helps somebody if they just visit with somebody else that has been through some of the trials and tribulations of pitching. We just talked in general. I like to visit with people and let them tell me what going on with them. If the conversation leads to something that's fine, but I never have been of the attitude to go and tell somebody what they ought to be doing."

As much as he has meant to the game, it's not a surprise that Major League Baseball's strikeout king has remained active in baseball. Recently, Ryan's name has come up in baseball conversations and sports write-ups about Chicago Cubs' fire-baller Kerry Wood. As Wood's mentor and idol, writers refer to this rookie phenom as a younger version of Ryan, as a dominant strikeout pitcher from Texas. But now Wood talks of having a dead arm after not even a complete season in the majors. If his career is destined to be like Ryan's, he still has another quarter of a century until he catches up.

This really puts Ryan's years of service on the mound and his accomplishments into perspective. His dominance on the mound for 27 years has led many to consider Ryan to be one of the most admired and accomplished players in history. With this in mind, it should also not surprise Ryan's fans that he continues to be active in his sons' development as baseball players.

Texas Christian University, where his sons Reid (who also pitched in the Rangers' minor league chain) and Reece pitched, and where his daughter Wendy attends school, says of Ryan: "The mere mention of his name commands respect and attention. Ryan has been a strong recruiting tool, an excellent pitching coach, but more importantly, he has been a source of respect and credibility for TCU baseball."

Ryan was tossed from a game between Texas Christian and Rice in the 1997 season for questioning a strike call against a TCU batter. He said he could remember being thrown out of a game just once during his 27-year major league career. The umpire had called a strike that appeared to be low and outside. As the entire TCU bench protested, the ump whipped off his mask, and threw the future Hall of Famer out of the game. Texas Christian coach Lance Brown thinks the umpire might have just wanted to be able to say, "I tossed Nolan Ryan."

Aside from coaching, Ryan, his son Reid and a former part-owner of the Houston Astros, have bought controlling interest in the Astros' Texas League Jackson Generals. A recently-held contest resulted in the franchise being named the Round Rock Express, in honor of its most famous co-owner.

Did you know ... The Colorado Rockies' Larry Walker's favorite pre-game meal is pancakes while his favorite post-game meal is Chinese. His meal selections seem to give him some power - Walker won the N.L. MVP last year boasting a .720 slugging percentage, and has a .337 BA this year...In the Pittsburgh Pirates' Kid's Corner the Bucs have "Kid Stats" where youngsters can learn how to calculate baseball statistics. Along with this fun activity, they also have a memory game with the Pirate players hidden behind cards and a link to kids' mail where kids can write to their favorite coach or player...Tommie Agee still lives in the same Queens neighborhood that he lived in 25 years ago as a member of the Miracle Mets. The former outfielder now sells title insurance for Title Services, and he does charity work for the Boys and Girls Club and the Boy Scouts. Though no longer involved in baseball, he still has friends in the Met organization and still enjoys watching the occasional game.

Ryan's continued interest in the state of baseball stems from his concern about its decline, especially on the mound. He told the Associated Press, "Your athletes are bigger and stronger. But the one area you're not finding is many hard-throwing pitchers." If it were up to him, Ryan would put the mound back to where it was when he began pitching in the big leagues in 1968 and eliminate the designated hitter. He would also put umpires under one umbrella group to increase consistency. If the strike zone was defined as it is in the rule book then their would be much less wavering and interpretation in calling balls and strikes.

Ryan has stayed busy with a few non-baseball related activities as well since he retired five years ago. In addition to coaching at TCU, he has added his name to the Nolan Ryan Fitness Guide, owns a bank outside Houston, sits on the state's Parks and Wildlife Commission and has kept several celebrity endorsements. He's taken up golf, downhill skiing, owns a cattle ranch and says he's still got his pitching touch: "I can still go out and throw, but it's the other things," he said, estimating his pitches would be in the 90s. "You know, you have an Achilles problem or something else happens, you sprain your elbow. You spend so much time rehabbing, it just wasn't productive time anymore." There has also been much talk of Ryan entering Texas politics, although he has not appeared on a ballot.

With all the talk about records being broken this season there seems to be at least one Major League record that will not be broken, Ryan's career K total. His 5,714 strikeouts puts him 1,578 K's ahead of second place Steve Carlton, the largest percentage differential between first and second in any major statistical category. Roger Clemens currently represents the only active major league pitcher with even 3,000 under his belt.

Ryan continues to show his best stuff when it comes to life after baseball. From Advil commercials, credit cards and quilts to BBQ sauce and his Bass Inn, he seems to be having fun, spending time with his kids, and preparing his speech for Cooperstown.