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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2021 Page 9 The Ryan Express By Th e Old Sachem, Bill Stewart M any of you have never seen him pitch, but I can assure you that he is one of the Greatest Of All Time (a GOAT). Nolan Ryan was one of the old-time pitchers who fi red the ball over 100 miles per hour. He was born ON January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas, became a major league pitcher, then a sports executive. At nine years old, Ryan became a Little Leaguer in Alvin, Texas, and was an All-Star as an 11- and 12-year-old. In junior high school he could throw a softball over 100 yards. He played baseball and football as a ninth-grader, but gave up football, deciding to concentrate on baseball. At Alvin High School he once struck out 21 batters in a seven-inning game. He was evaluated by Red Murff , a scout for the New York Mets, when Ryan was a sophomore, and Red said that Ryan had “the best arm I have seen in my life.” Reportedly, Nolan sometimes broke bones in catchers’ hands with his fastball. His senior year at Alvin, he acquired a record of 19 wins and three losses and led the Alvin Yellow Jackets to the Texas High School fi nals. He pitched in 27 games with 20 starts, 12 complete games, 211 strikeouts and 61 walks. Ryan was drafted by the Mets in the 12th round of the 1965 major league draft as the 295th pick overall. He was assigned to the Marion Mets of the Appalachian League for the Mets team in the Florida Instructional League, and he was 6 and 9 in 1965 with 150 strikeouts in 120 innings and a 4.33 ERA. Next year he advanced to the Class-A Western Carolinas League with the Greenville Mets, where he won 17 and lost 2 and had an ERA of 2.51 with 272 strikeouts in 183 innings. He was promoted to the Class AA Williamsport Mets of the Eastern League with 35 strikeouts in 19 innings. He was called up to the Mets in late 1966 and played in two games. In 1967 he was assigned to the Class AAA Jacksonville, where he pitched three games, started one game for the Class A Winter Haven Mets and pitched eight games in the Florida Instructional League. He pitched 34 innings over this span with 54 strikeouts. He was out much of the 1967 season due to illness, an arm injury and serving in the Army Reserve. The 1968 season saw him return to the major leagues with the Mets, and he remained in the league until 1993, a span of 27 years. He was used as a reliever because the team had Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman in the rotation. The Mets reached the World Series in 1969 with Ryan as a starter. In the National League Championship against the Atlanta Braves, Ryan completed 7 innings of relief in game 3. In the World Series that season, he saved game 3 against the Baltimore Orioles, pitching 2 ½ shutout innings, and the Mets won 2-1. The Mets won the series in fi ve games. In 1974 he tied Seaver’s record of 19 strikeouts in a game. He viewed his time with Seaver as learning to switch from a flamethrower to a pitcher. He was traded to the California Angels in the off -season of 1971. In his fi ve seasons as a Met, he pitched in 105 games, had 74 starts, a 29-38 record and a 3.58 ERA, and in over 511 innings he walked 344 and struck out 493 batters. As an Angel, with a team record of under .500 during his time, he had signifi cant seasons: 19-16 in 1972, 21-16 in 1973, 22-16 in 1974. On July 9, 1972, he became the seventh American League pitcher to strike out 3 batters with only 9 pitches against the Red Sox. Ryan’s fi rst major league record: He struck out 383 batters in the 1973 season. He tossed two no-hitters in the 1973 season. He faced the Red Sox on June 14, 1974, tossTHIS WEEK ON SAUGUS TV Sunday, June 6 from 9 to 11 p.m. on Channel 8 – “Sunday Night Stooges” (The Three Stooges). Monday, June 7 all day on Channel 8 – “Movie Monday” (classic movies). Tuesday, June 8 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9 – Finance Committee Meeting from June 2. Wednesday, June 9 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 9 – Planning Board Meeting from June 3. Thursday, June 10 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 22 – Wrestling vs. Pentucket Regional from May 27. Friday, June 11 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 22 – Boys Lacrosse vs. Marblehead from May 27. Saturday, June 12 at 8:30 p.m. on Channel 22 – Softball vs. Winthrop from May 28. Saugus TV can be seen on Comcast Channels 8, 9 & 22 (Public, Governmental and Educational). For complete schedules, please visit www.saugustv.org. ***programming may be subject to change without notice*** ing 235 pitches, striking out 19, walking 10 and getting a no-decision. He had another no-hitter in 1974, and a fourth in 1975, tying Sandy Kofax’s record. In eight seasons with the Angels, he had a record of 138 wins and 121 losses, an ERA of 3.07, 1,302 walks and 2,416 strikeouts, over 288 starts and 156 complete games. The Angels released him in 1979. Ryan was with the Houston Astros for the seasons 1980–1988. On November 19, 1979, Nolan Ryan became the fi rst million-dollar player, signing a four-year contract for $4.5 million, quadrupling his salary with the Angels. The Angels made it to the post-season in 1980, but lost in the National League fi nals. During the season, Nolan recorded his 3,000th strikeout. In the 1981 season he threw his fi fth no-hitter and won the NL ERA title with a mark of 1.69. In the 1982 season he passed Walter Johnson’s all-time strikeout record and fi nished the 1985 season with his 4,000th. During his nine seasons with the Astros, he had a record of 106 wins, 94 losses, 282 starts, a 3.13 ERA, 796 walks and 1,866 strikeouts in 1,854 innings. After a contract dispute after the 1988 season, Ryan signed with the Texas Rangers; he was now 42 years old. On August 22, 1989, Ryan struck out Ricky Henderson to become the only pitcher to record 5,000 career strikeouts. In 1990 he pitched his sixth no-hitter against the Athletics and earned his 300th win against the Milwaukee Brewers. In 1993 he announced that he would retire after the season. He tore a ligament in his arm against Seattle. In his fi ve seasons with the Rangers, he had a 51-39 record, an ERA of 3.43, 353 walks and 939 strikeouts in 840 innings over 129 starts. His career statistics were 324 wins, 292 losses, an ERA of 3.19, 807 games, 5,386 innings pitched, walked 2,178 and struck out 5,714. Over his career he was the only pitcher to record seven no-hitters, his last on May 1, 1991, against the Toronto Blue Jays in Arlington Stadium in Texas. He holds 51 Major League records, including 5,714 career strikeouts, 215 career double-digit strikeout games, 7 career no-hitters, 12 career 1 hitters (tied with Bob Feller), 18 career 2 hitters, 31 career 3 hitters, 15 200-strikeout seasons, 6 300-strikeout seasons, 6.555 fewest career hits per nine innings, 5.26 fewest single season hits per nine innings (1972), lowest career batting average allowed (minimum 1,500 innings), .204, 26 seasons with at least nine wins, 2,795 career walks, 10 grand slams allowed (tied) and 757 career stolen basses allowed. Among his business interests, Ryan founded the Ryan Sanders Sports & Entertainment company, the ownership group for Round Rock Express, which owns the Triple-A Affi liate of the Texas Rangers and other sports businesses. He has written six books about baseball. After retirement he worked with the federal government to promote physical fitness; his “Nolan Ryan Fitness Guide” was published by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1994. He suffered a heart attack in 2000 and received a double coronary bypass. He remained in baseball after retirement as the President and CEO of the Texas Rangers from 2008 to 2013. He became a special assistant for the Houston Astros from 2014 to 2019. Ryan and Frank Robinson are the only two major league players to have their numbers retired by three teams they played for. Nolan Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 with 98.79% of the vote in his fi rst year of eligibility. In that year The Sporting News listed him among the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and he was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The Alvin Independent School District opened the Nolan Ryan Junior High School in Pearland, Texas, and the Texas State Legislature named the State Highway 288 as the Nolan Ryan Expressway. He tossed rockets past batters during his career. One of his remarkable days was when Detroit Tigers fi rst baseman and cleanup hitter Norm Cash, came to the plate in the last of the ninth with two outs after he had struck out two times earlier in the game. Cash came to the plate with a clubhouse table leg instead of a bat. Plate umpire Ron Luciano ordered Cash to return with a regular bat, and Cash replied, “Why? I won’t hit him anyway!” Today many pitchers can reach 100 miles an hour, but Ryan could do it consistently. I saw him in Fenway Park a few times, and he ranks among the best in my imagination. AUTOTECH 1989 SINCE Is your vehicle ready for the Summer Season?!! Recharge your vehicle's AC for the warm weather! 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