Segmented Pledge Version; Nolan Ryan Feel The Heat

Major funding for Nolan Ryan feel the heat is made possible by the Beef Industry Council and Beef Board, sharing baseball great Nolan Ryan's commitment to excellence. Additional funding for this program is provided by Weed Eater, yards ahead, season after season. Run in the saddle or go into battle Your ride on survival at your side Throwing 95 miles an hour You've still got the power

That big heat still blazing through the sky A true life Texas hero Stringing up the zeros Three up and three down by by Smoke them in, strike them out, strike them out, smoke them in, smoke them in, strike them out, Ryan Throw the heat toss the curve, you have plenty of reserves smoke them in, strike them out, Ryan No, no, no, no, no, no, no, they're just a proven Keep that curve on moving, Ryan Don't try to understand them, just rock them by and bend them Come on, batter, batter, don't you cry The stance that can be lying, the best is known and Ryan Hanging all those sluggers out to dry By any calculating, Cooper's town is waiting Waiting at the end of your ride Striking out, pop them up, pop them up

Striking out, flying out, round them up, Ryan Throw the heat Throw the change, keep the curve on, Ryan Set them up, strike them out, Ryan Don't let don't let, yeah Don't let don't let, yeah Ryan, yeah Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! No, then! Hi, everyone. I'm Mark Holtz. And throughout the history of Major League Baseball, fans have been mesmerized by pictures who could literally overpower the opposition with their fastballs. Men like Walter Johnson. Bob Feller. Sandy Colfax. Bob Gibson. And Sudden Sam McDowell.

In the decade of the 80s, Roger Clemmons and Dwight Gooden joined this elite group of strikeout artists, as did relief specialists, Goose Gossage and Lee Smith. But when you're talking serious heat, the King of Cays, one name stands alone. Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr., facing the Nolan Ryan fastballs like trying to drink coffee with a fork. Noley. Big Tex. The Ryan Express. No one in Major League history has thrown harder than Nolan Ryan. I've never seen, that's the thing, I've never seen it once or harder than you. You know, never have. I've played baseball for 23 years and I have never, ever seen it in one throw in a harder than you. No one has thrown harder longer. I said many, many times after watching them pitch, they should send his arm to the Smithsonian Institute when he's finished. How this man has been able to continue his year after year and throw the ball at the rate of speed that he has, has to be one of the wonders of the world.

At 22, Nolan Ryan was a fireballing right-hander for the Amazing New York Metz, 1969 World Champions. His fastball didn't more than just explode. It got about halfway and just kind of disappear. Batteries couldn't believe what was going on. At 42, Nolan Ryan was a fireballing right-hander for the Texas Rangers, leading the Major Leagues in strikeouts and limiting the opposition to a cumulative batting average of just 187. People, they talk about me as doing the things that I do. I really don't consider myself in the same class with Nolan. Because here this guy is, he's in his 40s, starting over. And he is out pitching better than anyone in baseball. In a Major League career that has spanned four teams and four decades, Nolan has won more than 300 games, hosted seven no hitters and over 5,000 strikeouts.

I could not project a Nolan Ryan scout cut doesn't get this good. He says to protect himself since he has a chance to play in the Major Leagues. Well, Nolan Ryan knocked the door down and he went clear through the building and kicked the back door in. He's done it all. There's no chance that in my time there'll ever be another Nolan Ryan. And it may not be one ever. Nolan Ryan's fastball has made him a household name, a magazine cover boy, the toast of both coasts. But away from the baseball diamond and the glare of the media spotlight, the man who makes his living in the fast lane, refers a life that's a little slow. This is the high, the little league feel that I played little league baseball on and then my two sons have played on. He lives in his hometown of Alvin, Texas, a quiet rural community, which sits 30 miles south of Houston toward the Texas Gulf Coast. He's still married to his high school sweetheart. She was the tennis champ and beauty queen. He was the sports star and most handsome.

We had our first date when I was 13 and he was 15 and then we dated through high school and then Nolan went into minor league baseball. And after I graduated from high school, we got married. That was in 1967. The Ryan's together with their three children, Reed, Reese and Wendy live in a ranch style house on the outskirts of town. The family schedule revolves around sports. The games the children play while a proud mom and pop look on from the bleachers. Nolan's other love is ranching. He operates a cattle breeding program that will serve as a second career for him when he finally turns off the heat and gets out of baseball. We run about a thousand head as a breeding age cattle and we're in a cow calf operation and have a cow calf operation. We have three ranchers located in South Texas and from the coast as far west as the Coutul area down La Salk County. We spread out and it's something I've always enjoyed and I didn't grow up on a ranch. I grew up in town but it's something I always was attracted to and I have been in since 1972.

Like most Texas youngsters, Nolan Ryan grew up playing football but his gridiron career would prove short-lived. We call a young man named Nolan Bulash who played for Miami doffins and Norman played to the same year as Nolan did over at Lamar. He ended Nolan's career. Nolan's playing defensive half-back force and Norman Bulash ran over him in a game and hurt him and I don't think Nolan put on another suit after that. Once I realized that I didn't have any future in football and my goal really became was to go to college on a basketball scholarship. And that was my first love as a basketball and so that's what I really worked towards and I probably could have played college basketball but my baseball ability overshadowed my basketball building. Basketball's loss was baseball's game. Nolan was a tall skinny right-hander who lacked polish and finesse but even though he weighed just 150 pounds, he had a blistering fastball.

But he threw so hard that I didn't have anyone who could catch him. I had to spend my summers working on catchers for the following year. That's not an exaggeration, that's the truth. The attitude about pitching in amateur baseball was that that's the only way I knew how to pitch was just throw as hard as I could for as long as I could. It was very effective because we played all night games and were bad lights and I was quite wild and the kids were more concerned about getting hurt and they were about getting bass hits. Nolan's incredible arm caught the sharp eye of New York Met Scout Red Murf. Nolan came in and warmed up in the first few pitches. It was almost unbelievable. He was throwing the ball 95 to 100 miles an hour and I could tell he was a youngster and he did convince me that day that he had the best arm that had ever seen in my life. In 1965, based on Red Murf's recommendation, the Met's drafted Ryan in the eighth round. He was the 295th player taken.

He signed for a bonus package of around $20,000 and was shipped off to the minors where he wasted no time in showing his magical right arm. At Marion, Virginia in the Appalachian League, he found 115 batters in just 78 innings. At Greenville in the Carolina League, he whiffed 272. At Williamsport in double A ball, he struck out 21 batters in one game. The minor league hitters were simply overmatched and the legend was beginning to grow. When he got to the majors, Nolan was more a thrower than a pitcher. He was a diamond in the rough, but on occasion, oh, how that diamond could shine. It was not unusual for Nolan to throw a curveball that almost would bounce on the grass or throw a next curveball over the top of him. And yet, here was a guy who would be wild up and in or be wild on the way and all of a sudden the next pitch was going to corner.

On the black of the plate as we referred to it. And I mean, you had no contest. There was no contest at that point. You know, we had a great group of young pitchers early with the New York Mets who was Gary Gentry, of course, Nolan, Jerry Kuzman, myself. A lot of guys that could throw hard. But I think all of us recognized that Nolan probably had the most physical ability to throw the ball. I mean, it was really a very fine line with all of us. Kuzman threw extremely hard. And when I was young, I was able to throw the ball fairly hard. And I think more than anybody else know, we all felt that Nolan was a guy that could throw at the hardest. Ryan's finest hour with the Mets came in the third game of the 69 World Series against Baltimore. In game three, the Mets took a four-nothing lead into the seventh. But starter Gary Gentry faltered, loading the bases with two outs. Manager Gil Hodges then summoned Ryan from the bullpen. Now I was sitting here with the third game of the World Series. It's even at one in one. And, you know, here comes Nolan Ryan.

How the bullpen and people are going, oh my goodness, you know, it says Gil going completely off his rocker. And all Nolan did was just completely shut him down. Ryan earned a save and a game ball. But it didn't come easy. Tommy A.G's sensational catch stopped the Orioles in the seventh. And in the ninth, Ryan loaded the bases before fanning Paul Blair to end the game. He got Paul Blair to one with two strikes and threw a curveball at Paul Blair. And Paul Blair's knees buckled. I mean, he wanted, he just knew this was a fastball that was going to fix and kill him. And his knees just buckled and the ball broke across the middle of the plate. It was all over. Ryan would enjoy other moments of brilliance as a met, but on a staff dominated by Sever and Kusman, he couldn't get the innings he needed to develop. In 1972, along with Outfielder Lee Stanton and catcher Francisco Estrada and pitcher Don Rose, he was traded to the California Angels for shortstop Jim Fregosi. Manager Del Rice gave Nolan the ball every fourth day and stuck with him. The steady work plus help with mechanics from pitching coach Tom Morgan resulted in a breakthrough season.

Against the Red Sox, he struck out eight consecutive batters. He won 19 games, tossed nine shutouts and led the American League in strikeouts with 329. His ERA was a glittering 228. Most impressive of all was the number he did on opposing hitters, holding them to a batting average of just 171. Ryan had arrived as one of the dominant pitchers in the game. And 1973 was to be his banner year. On May 15th at Kansas City, Ryan pitched his first major league no hitter, linking the royals free nothing. As always, he piled on the case and the angels gave him all the defense he needed. Centerfielder Bobby Valentine made a nice running grab. Shortstop Rudy Miole's over the shoulder catch was the only close call. To prove that effort was no flu, Ryan came back on July 15th and no hit the Detroit Tigers 6-0. On this day, Ryan was truly awesome. His first pitch was a sharp breaking curveball that hit umpire Ron Luciano in the shin. When Nolan has this kind of stuff, the batters are simply overmatched.

He struck him out looking. He struck him out swinging. He fanned him with a heat. He got him with a curve. It was no contest as Nolan Ryan rang up 17 strikeouts. He was so overpowering that day and it was the last man to come to the plate that always sticked out in my mind and that was the late man cast. Somewhere he went back into the underneath the stands and somewhere at Tiger Stadium and came to the plate with a piano leg. That was it instead of a baddie at a piano leg. I mean, that's how much in command and how much of the jokes that the Tigers were making. This guy is just young and he's unhiddled. Umpire Luciano made cash use a real bet, but piano leg, table leg or Louisville slugger, it made no difference as cash went down to end the game. As the year progressed, Nolan piled on the wins and piled on the strikeout. And some important records were within reach. I think my principal goal is to win 20 games, but if I win 20 games and also set a new strikeout record, I'm definitely going to try it.

Rubwa Dell's American League mark of 349 K's fell against Texas and catcher Jeff Torbord's glove was lost in Boston. We're in Boston and it was very close to the end of the season and Nolan was pitching. There was a runner at third base and all of a sudden he fires a high fastball just up around my shoulder height. I followed hit the glove and I hear the crowd roar and the runner starts at a plate. I look at my glove. He had thrown it right through the webbing. It broke right through and hit the backstop on a fly. My concern at that point was not that the runner had scored, but what had happened if it were right in front of me? You know, I would have, I'd be speaking through my chest. In September, Nolan beat Minnesota for his 20th win, but going into his final start, once again facing the twins, he was 15 strikeout shy of Sandy Kofax's major league season record of 382 K. In the beginning, it didn't look like Ryan would make it past the first inning as the twins got to him for three quick runs.

Nolan's steady and his awesome competitive fire began to burn. The 11th inning would be it. With two outs and rich reach at the plate, Nolan summoned all his strength. Last ball swung on a miss strike three. The record was Ryan. A spectacular accomplishment made all the more remarkable when you stop and consider 1973 was the first year of the designated hitter. When you talk about a guy that has set the all time season record for strikeouts, just the physical ability and the physical stamina that he showed in the season that he struck out 383 men is really incredible. Ryan finished the year at 2116 and in a remarkable display of power and consistency, he struck out 10 or more in a game, a record 23 times. Was Nolan the fastest gun in baseball? Well, in 1974, scientists from Rockwell International decided to find out.

At the time, it was generally accepted that Bob Filler held his speed record with a clocking of 98.6 miles per hour done by the U.S. Army, so breaking the record would be a tall order indeed. To clock Ryan's pitches, the Rockwell technicians set up a battery of sophisticated measuring equipment. Once again, Nolan came through in the clutch. In the ninth inning on a three-two fastball to BB Richard, he was clocked at 100.9 miles per hour. The fastest pitch ever thrown. It's in the Guinness Book of World Records. You can look it up. On September 28, 1974, Nolan joined the short list of pitchers with three career-no-hitters as he shut out the twins. Playing for a last-place team, he wound up the year with 22 wins and get this. Three times, he struck out 19 in a game, finishing the year with 367 caves. On June 1st, 1975, at Anaheim, Ryan no-hit Baltimore had joined Sandy Kofax as the only two pitchers with four no-hitters. The legend continued to grow.

I was writing to the bus in one of my first years in the major leagues, and Oscar Gamble was with us with the Cleveland Indians. We were writing in the bus, and the marquee outside of Anaheim Stadium said, pitching today for the angels, Nolan Ryan. And Oscar saw the sign along with everybody on the bench, and he said, uh-oh, good day to day is over four, and don't get hit in the head. And, you know, that was kind of the sentiment, just take your offer and get out of there. Pitchers with this kind of stuff, you know, can do most anything they want to do, you know. If he got great stuff, you know, he's going to go out and beat your ball game. He's going to go out there and probably pitch a no-hitter. After eight record-setting seasons with the angels, Nolan Ryan returned to the National League in 1980. He signed a free agent contract with the Houston Astros, and in the process became baseball's first million-dollar man. Nolan Ryan had come home.

To be able to live at home year-round, I felt like from my family's sake that it was probably for the best interest of them. A year later, as the Astros battled the Los Angeles Dodgers for the Western Division title, baseball's top gun notched another record in his belt. On September 26th, in the dome with a National Television audience hanging on every pitch, Ryan pitched his record fifth no-hitter, shutting out the Dodgers, five to nothing. The stage was set for him with a Saturday afternoon game, lighten the season against the Dodgers, the team we were contending for in the West for the 1981 split season strike short and season title. And NBC was covering the game, and he just took over. In the seventh inning, Dodgers catcher Mike Socia sent a ball deep to the right center field alley. But Astros' outfielder Terry Poole made a fine running catch. Otherwise, Ryan dominated. In the ninth inning with a crowd roaring on every pitch, he fanned Reggie Smith. Then he got Ken Landrow to ground up.

The final batter was the dangerous Dusty Baker. The count was 2-2. Ryan tossed Baker a curveball, and Baker shot a grounded a third. I had had a ground ball yet, and I'm thinking, man, I better not boot this thing if it comes to me. And Dusty Baker was hitting. And sure enough, here comes a ground ball to me. And I treated like a hot potato. I got rid of it as quickly as I could. I didn't want to hold on to it too long. It was the first opportunity that my mother got the chance to see one of the no-hitters as she was in stands at day. And so there were some special things about it that didn't happen in the other ones. Ryan won his 200th game on July 22nd, 1982, and now looming on the horizon was another of baseball's most famous standards. Walter Johnson's majorly career record, 3,508 strikeouts. The Ryan Express was chasing the big train, and it would be like a bullet train racing a steam locomotive. No contest.

On April 17th, 1983, Andre Dawson of the Montreal Exposed became victim 3,500. Ten days later, at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, Ryan would get the record. In the eighth inning, he struck out Tim Blackwell to tie Johnson. The next batter was pinch hitter Brad Mills. Strike one. Strike two. Ball one. A backdoor curveball. Strike three. I got a lot of personal satisfaction out of that because when I broke into baseball, that was one of the records they thought would never fall, as they thought Babe Bruce wouldn't. For Ryan, the record signified both durability and command of his pitches. He could still bring the heat, but he was much more than a one trick pony. A lot of people talk about Nolan Ryan being able to throw hard. What they forget about is the fact that he had one of the most vicious curveballs ever shown in the game of baseball.

So, could you imagine hitting off a guy who could throw the ball as hard as he does, and then have to worry about him having an outstanding curveball to go along with it. Ryan continued to write his name in the strikeout ledger, posting his 4,000th K in July of 1985. That was against the match here in the home and it was against Danny Heat. And I think the ironic part of that was I was out doing my running proud of warming up in the game that night. Danny was in line up and he was out doing his sprints and getting loose. He came by and he says, you know, I get to meet a night for 4,000 and lo and behold, who comes to play? It was Danny and then chased the curveball down. Strike three. And I think I got more satisfaction out of that than I did the Johnson record because then I broke Johnson record 4,000 with his further son. I really didn't think that. Well, I just didn't anticipate playing along enough to do that.

And as if things weren't tough enough for National League hitters, Ryan perfected a change up to go with his fastball and curve. And his change up is like, it's like an 87 mile an hour screwball. He threw a pitch one time. The hitter was Jason Thompson, Pittsburgh, three and two. He threw him about five or six straight fastballs all in the upper 90s. And he threw him a change up on three and two. Thompson was so far out in front of the pitch that he threw his bat and it landed out in the Pirates dugout. And after the game, I asked the guy with the radar gun how fast the pitch was and he said it was 87 miles an hour. Well, you can imagine most guys don't throw their fastball that fast. On the mound, Ryan was a study in concentration, a stoic fierce competitor. But occasionally, he'd show a lighter side. Astro's battery mate Alan Ashby remembers Ryan's impromptu imitation of Cincinnati's pitcher Brad Leslie, a man known as the animal. And he would every time he'd strike somebody out, he'd go out there and just yell after the strikeout.

Nolan had walked about enough of it and he decided he was going to do it and the last person on earth you would ever expect to do that was Nolan Ryan. And he went and struck somebody out and just came off the mound and yelled. And both teams, both benches, totally fell out laughing. And it's the sort of thing that if anybody else had done, I think the other team would have taken offense to. But they fell out laughing and applauded him and the game went on. Those who know Nolan well all speak of his sense of humor, but this is a man who would rather entertain the fans with his pitching than with jokes. During Ryan's days with the Astros, everyone knew he could pitch, but he wasn't much of a hitter.

In fact, he once went 42 trips without a hit. But he did hit a couple of home runs, you could look it up. As the 80s drew to a close, Ryan neared the allegedly untouchable total of 5,000 strikeouts. Most people, Ryan included, probably thought that historical moment would occur in an Astros uniform, but they were wrong. At age 42, starting his 23rd season in the majors, Nolan Ryan found himself headed back to the American League with a new address, Arlington Stadium, home of the Texas Ranger. Unable to reach a new agreement with the Astros, Ryan became a free agent after the 88 season and signed with Texas. I'm excited about the Rangers. It gives me an opportunity to stay in Texas, play with a ball club that is going to be very competitive and have my family in a situation that I think is the most workable situation for us.

And with Nolan Ryan leading the way, the Rangers got out of the gate quickly, playing aggressive, exciting baseball. The heat was on. Inside your head, on every beat, you beat your eyes, deep inside, precious time, just to stay alive. There's a good job.

There's a good job. We will return with the second half of Nolan Ryan. Thank you. Thank you.

Major funding for Nolan Ryan feel the heat is made possible by the Beef Industry Council and Beef Board, sharing baseball great Nolan Ryan's commitment to excellence. Ryan is almost unhittable. He throws a rising fastball that seems to hop over hitter's bats. His curveball seems to fall off the end of a table. Is it real or is it illusion? How does Ryan make major league hitters look so bad? Well, elementary, my dear Watson, it's scientific. Robert Ader, the sterling professor of physics at Yale, explains. As the ball goes through the air, the resistive force on the ball increases as the velocity increases, indeed about as a square. So as the ball goes twice as fast, the resistive force is four times as large, approximately.

Now let's say the ball is spinning and we'll have a Mr. Nolan Ryan fastball, so the ball is spinning as it goes towards you like this. You can see as it goes through the air, the bottom of the ball is going faster through the air than the top. So the forces on the bottom of the ball are larger than the forces on the top of the ball. The ball is pushed upwards by those forces. Let us say that you're all set for the regular very fast 90 mile an hour fastball of the ordinary pitcher. Now Mr. Ryan's ball comes at the trajectory. Starts out just the direction you're used to from this 90 mile an hour fastball. When the ball is half foot from the halfway to the plate, Mr. Ryan's fastball will be about an inch and a quarter higher. Well, that's not very much. When it's 15 feet from the plate, it'll be about two inches higher. By the time it crosses the plate, it'll be four inches higher and goes hop right over your back. So the his fastball rises in comparison with the trajectory of an ordinary fastball.

The Nolan Ryan curve ball is much more of a drop than a sideways. And tactically, that's what major league pitchers want to throw. The ball so that it drops. And the only will have maybe 1,400, maybe even a little more, revolutions per minute, just the opposite direction. So instead of curving five inches up, it will curve even more downwards. It'll curve more downwards because it'll be going slower. And the batter who's waiting for the ball and Ryan fastball. And then that curve becomes up. He's got big trouble. Professor Adair knows physics, but Nolan knows pitching. I'm going to rip all my pitches differently. A lot of people try to grip their pitches the same so they can take the sign with the ball behind their back and not have to worry about hiding it. I throw my fastball. I throw, I'm different from a lot of people is that I don't have real long fingers. And I throw the ball back in my hand. There's not a lot of gap there. I don't get it out on my fingertips like that.

And I throw my fastball with all four seams. So when the ball comes off like that. It has a good tight rotation. You want the ball to appear that it has a ride to it or as you hear people say a rising fastball. Or it is it just doesn't drop as fast as other ones. So that's basically how I throw my fastball sometimes. If I want to try to run it in on a header, I'll throw it with a two seam fastball. And because of the way it comes out, you'll get more moving on the ball either in or in on a right hand or away from a left hander. Now I don't throw a slider, but I throw a curve ball. And I choke it a lot like that in my hand. And this finger here just lays on the ball. There's no pressure on it. Your pressure points are on this finger here and on your thumb. And the only difference in a fastball release in a breaking ball release is your wrist position. People think you twist your wrist and snap the ball, but you don't. On a fastball, the ball comes through like this.

On a curve ball, the only difference is you turn your wrist. And it comes out on a curve ball. It comes out like this. We're on a fastball. It comes out with your hand behind it like this. So it's just your wrist position, curve ball to a fastball. Now I'm going to change up. I'm going to change up. I learned to grip on it. I always had a problem when I'm going to change up throwing it too hard and being inconsistent. Change up ball needs to be 10 to 15 miles an hour slower than the velocity on your fastball. Really needs to be 15 blow. But if you throw it down at 10 miles an hour, it's very effective. So I use it as a real thumb. It has to be below 10 miles an hour. And it has to be down by the knees. And I throw mine what they call circle change. And I hold it like that where this finger isn't even on the ball. And I hold it tight. And the ball comes out of my hand. You throw it with your position the same your wrist position as fastball.

And when it comes out, it comes off like this. And my middle finger here is the last release point on the ball. Well I put it on this seam to try to get it to come out that way. So it has what it has is this type of rotation. And what it'll do is it'll also sink and act kind of like a screw ball to a left ender. And it's been a very effective pitch for me and it's gotten better and better. Now fortunately most of us will never have to face a Nolan Ryan fastball or try to get a bat on one of his wicked curves. But we thought you might want to actually feel the heat. So we rigged up a special Ryan cam to let you experience the sensation. What do you think those major league hitters earn their money when they bat against Nolan? Nolan.

Talking about Nolan Ryan's pitches is easy. As American league hitters discovered the hard part is hitting them. Nolan fan Bo Jackson six great times before Bo finally connected and sent a Ryan fastball flying back to the center field. On June 14 facing California for the first time Ryan became the sixth major league pitcher in history to beat all 26 major league team. In his next appearance the 89 all star game Ryan got another win. He pitched two scoreless innings struck out three and became the oldest winning pitcher in all star game history. On August 10 facing Detroit at Arlington Stadium Ryan again flirted with his sixth no hitter. This time Dave Bergman played the spoilers role in the ninth inning. But Nolan Ryan's near no hitters exciting in their own right seems secondary to the main storyline for 1989 strikeouts.

By mid-August Ryan was rapidly closing in on 5,000 career case. Research books flew open. Statisticians and saber matricians took to the microfilm and the microfish. Baseball folks put the pencil to every strikeout Nolan Ryan had ever recorded. What did they find? Alphabetically Ryan had with players from A Hank Aaron to Z Paul Zovella. He had struck out 19 Hall of Famers and 44 league MVP's. The father and son Tandem's Ryan had faced and fan included the Alomars Sandy and Roberto the bonds Bobby and Barry the Frank Connors Tito and Terry the Griffys Kennen Ken Jr. The Skullfields Dick and Dick Jr. and the Wills Maureen Bump. Ryan's strikeouts included a porter a Cooper a baker a Miller and a doc. He set down a bird a bass a boa a deer a moose and a penguin his victims included law and order.

He fanned a king a Duke an Earl and account Ryan got the best of one blue three greens and four whites. He left everyone seeing red. And finally research showed the answer to the trivia question who was Nolan Ryan's first strikeout victim September 11th, 1966 and Atlanta Braves pitcher Pat Jarvis. Ryan's date with destiny came down to August 22nd 1989 at Arlington Stadium against the Oakland A's. The Dallas Fort Worth area honed with excitement. Baseball Commissioner A Bartlett-Jomati flew in for the historic occasion and watched the game with Rangers managing general partner George W. Bush. The eyes of the baseball world were on Texas. I think I probably felt more anxiety going into that game than probably any other game that I can really recall because everybody came there. The build up the fact the stadium was sold out and I knew a lot of people had come long ways to see that event.

And I need six strikeouts and the last thing I wanted to do was have a disappointing performance and not accomplish that. Not that I was anticipating that but I think looking at things realistically that I'd have been devastated if I hadn't accomplished it that night. Needing six strikeouts to reach 5,000 Ryan swiftly went to work. In the first inning he cade Jose Ken Seiko with a curve. In the second inning he buzzed a 95 mile per hour fastball past Dave Henderson and got Tony Phillips to chase an O2 curve. In the third inning Ricky Henderson swung through a 93 mile in our fastball. Then on a one to count to Ron Hassee Ryan smoked a 96 mile per hour heater. All Hassee could do was watch. Hassee had been number 4,999. The only question remaining was which of his teammates would be next.

Leading off the fifth for Oakland was Ricky Henderson a perennial all star one of the most exciting explosive players in the game. Ryan started them off with 95 mile an hour smoke outside corner at the knees strike one. Then came a 94 mile an hour fastball on the outer half strike two. For a franchise that had moved to Texas nearly two decades earlier and in the interim had little to brag about. The moment had come. Ryan going for the jugular fired a belt high fastball on the outer edge. He missed one and two. Then he snapped off a curve that sailed just wide to two. As late flashes showered the Texas sky Henderson fouled the next pitch a fastball back. Then he laid off a Ryan curve ball that didn't bite and it came in a bit tight a full count. Reaching back a bit extra Ryan came in with his money pitch the big heat. Here's the payoff pitch. He struck him on swing strikeout number 5,000 is history for Nolan Ryan.

It came down with Ricky being the quality hitter that he is that it's I had to make the pitch I wanted. It was a fastball blown away and from a pitcher standpoint it was a perfect pitch. And how did the fastest fastball pitcher of all time react in true Ryan fashion he simply doffed his cap. He accepted congratulations from his catcher and his infielders but his actions made it clear he wanted to play ball. There was still a game to be won though in fact Texas lost that night to nothing. But the final score wasn't the important number of the evening 5,000 was. It's a record that hopefully will be broken in baseball but it's hard to imagine somebody doing it. And what a thrill. I was a six year old kid at the same time I was a 43 year old owner of the Rangers. Ryan's last appearance came on September 30th at the Big A in Anaheim. They got a three hit shout out 57th of his career and his 16th win of the season his most since 1982.

And he got 300 strikeouts bringing up Dick Skullfield for the big one. It was a great moment but there would be many more still to come. Nolan Ryan opened the 1990 season in his fourth decade in the major leagues with five innings of no hit ball and a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The express was in high gear as Ryan won his first four starts including a one hit shout out of Chicago. Ryan simply overpowered the White Sox as he fans 16. A one game ranger record. And think about this. It was the 200th time he had struck out ten or more in a game. Amazing. Simply amazing. But then disaster struck. Nolan developed a painful stress fractured his lower back that hampered his pitching and put him on the disabled list. Some thought this might be the beginning of the end for the oldest player in the game. But once again Nolan Ryan would dazzle the baseball world.

On June 11th he took the mound against the defending world champs the open days. Ignoring the pain in his back Ryan mowed down the a's with a lethal two-pitch combo fastball and change up. In the first Willie Randolph and Doug Jennings went down swinging. Ron Hassey struck out in the second and Ricky Henderson fanned in the third. Through seven Ryan had fanned 11 but more importantly he had not given up any hits. I think I was more concerned with going out and just not favoring my back and trying to just pitch my ball game and pitch it long as I could. And I think back in my mind hopeful that my back didn't present a problem. And I think the cause of those circumstances that probably the no hitter itself I didn't give much thought to last couple any. Five times as a ranger Nolan had taken a no hitter into the eighth inning only to see it slip away. But this night would be different in the eighth it was three up and three down.

For Nolan the pitching was easy but the waiting was tough. In the night the fans round their feet and you could feel the electricity in the air. Ryan fan pinch hitter Ken Phelps which brought the ever dangerous Ricky Henderson to the plate. I got into that point I was going to do everything with my power to go ahead and throw a no hitter in a two of good curveballing and top pick. The almost top pick just enough to make a base hit out of it but definitely some team in and they really probably I think the one that plays in the end. Now only Willie Randolph stood between Ryan and his sixth no hitter. And he was laid on fastball and he fouled it off down the right field line. And when he first hit it I thought it was understands but Rubin was able to come over and play and I was quite relieved the game was over. And a date with destiny tonight for Nolan Ryan and he has found no hitter number six against the open end. And the way the teammates reacted and the way they formed me that it's I think that's what really made that special was how involved and emotionally involved they got in the game. And so it was really an emotional moment for me and I don't have any of those in baseball.

Ryan's sixth no hitter was one of the great individual feats in the history of baseball. He had now pitched no hitters in three different decades for three different teams at 43. He was the oldest man to toss a no hitter. The six no hitters served to focus the eyes of the nation on Ryan's an exerbal quest for yet another baseball milestone. 300 wins only 19 pitchers had attained it and Ryan was determined to be the 20th. Oakland was win number 294 and with wins in five of his next six decisions. Ryan stood on the brink of 300 as he took the mound in front of a sellout proud at Arlington Stadium to face the New York Yankee. Expectations were running high but on this night it was not to be after throwing 141 pitches in fanning nine. Nolan was pulled in the eighth inning with the Yankees leading seven three.

Rangers rallied to win nine to seven in 11 innings but the storyline was still the quest for 300. Nolan's next start would come on July 31st in Milwaukee. Going in the Milwaukee game probably had more anxiety over that game than anyone entire year. Milwaukee's county stadium was jammed with over 55,000 fans and over 200 reporters run hand to document the event. And as he has so many times in his career Nolan Ryan rose to the occasion showing good command of his pitches. He struck out two in the first two in the fifth and two in the seventh. Going into the eighth inning Ryan had fan eight and held the Brewers to three hits as the Rangers led five one. But the Ranger defense collapsed. Julio Franco committed a pair of errors leading to 200 runs. The gap was narrowed to five to three. The defensive lapses cost Nolan a shot at a complete game. After 146 pitches 25 in the eighth inning alone Bobby Valentine pulled him with two out and two men on base.

The Milwaukee crowd responded to Ryan's courageous effort with a spine tingling standing ovation as he left the field. Reliever Brad Arnsberg pitching the biggest game of his life came on to finish out the inning and pick up the save. It wasn't a concern of mine whether I finished that ball game or not. My concern was winning the ball game and then as it turned out it worked out just right. Indeed it did. Franco the go to the eighth was the hero of the ninth. Julio rocketed the first pitch he saw into the left field bleachers for a grand slam, closing the door on Nolan Ryan's 300th victory. The final score Rangers 11 Brewers 3. With his 300th win in the record book it seemed that Nolan had finally done it all. But on May 1st 1991 he would once again push the envelope of athletic achievement. Pitching against Toronto Ryan did the impossible.

A seventh no-hitter as he shut out the Blue Jays, three to nothing. From the beginning he had terrific command of his pitches. We had gone over the hitters and we were going to establish the curve on the changeup early. I think that by doing that it made my fastball better as a game went on. He found one in the first and he struck out the side in the second. He would finish the night with 16 caves, nine on fastballs, six on curves and one on a changeup. I had a good fastball the entire game and really kept my stuff the entire game. There wasn't one pitch that I was having trouble with or sometimes you'll have a good curveball early, but not later, but maintain my stuff throughout the game. Ryan's only anxious moment came in the sixth inning. As Manny Lee lofted a soft flyball to short center. But Ranger Outfielder Gary Pettis got a great jump and made the catch look easy. In the ninth inning the tension in the stadium was unbelievable.

This was baseball history in the making and the fans knew it and Nolan Ryan had pitched too well to be denied. When I went into that last inning I knew I had three left handers to face and that they were going to be tough outs and they were all fast runners and that I think that improves their chances of getting the hit. So I knew the ninth inning was going to be a tough inning. After the first two hitters grounded out, the moment was at hand. 24-year-old Roberto Alamar came to the plate to face the 44-year-old Ryan. And on a 2-2 count, Ryan fanned Alamar with 93 mile-in-hour heat. A 2-2 pitch, he's back on the screen. I felt like it was a good pitch and it was up in the zone where I wanted to throw it. I had people ask me, well, when did you know you had no hitter?

Well, I didn't know I had no hitter until Roberto Alamar struck out and was the last out of the game. How then do you measure a Nolan Ryan? Unquestionably, the Ryan Express is bound for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He's got the arm, he's got the numbers, he's got the respect. Every time I stepped in the batter's box against Nolan Ryan, I always felt it was power against power and appreciated and relished the privilege of facing a guy who I knew through harder than anyone that ever breathed. He has taken a God-given talent and through hard work harnished it and developed its full potential. Well, ability-wise, Nolan's as good a pitcher as ever put on a uniform. He not only throws his fastball faster than his curveball breaks better than, and now he has a change-up that is the envy of all the baseballs. He is a man true to his roots. A country boy who loves the land cherishes his small town values and gives back to his community. Nolan Ryan is a Texas hero.

He is a guy who embodies all of what Texans believe in, which is hard work and family and faith. He is a family man, a devoted husband and father, a man of integrity. He's talking about straight errors. Nolan Ryan is these straight errors at our time. One day, Nolan will walk off the mound for the final time, and he will be missed. For Nolan Ryan is one of a kind. This is PBS.

This is PBS.