Nolan Ryan New York Mets Publications

Sports Illustrated April 15 1991 Nolan Ryan/Texas Rangers on Cover, Larry Bird & Magic Johnson, Baseball Preview, Roy Blount Jr, Vince Coleman/New York Mets, Astros For Sale

Nolan Ryan, Jr. is a retired pitcher in Major League Baseball and current president of the Texas Rangers. Ryan played in a major league record 27 seasons for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers, from 1966 to 1993. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Ryan, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were regularly recorded above 100 mph (160 km/h), even past the age of 40. The media tagged him, or more specifically his pitching, as "The Ryan Express" (a reference to the 1965 film Von Ryan's Express). While his lifetime winning percentage was a relatively pedestrian .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, and his 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 925 strikeouts as of October 3, 2008. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962 - walking over 50% more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history. Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. In 1965, after graduating from high school, Ryan signed a professional baseball contract with the New York Mets. Ryan pitched well in the 1969 postseason for the Mets. In the 1969 World Series, Ryan saved Game 3, pitching 2-1/3 shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles. The Game 3 victory gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the Series, which they went on to win in five games. It would be Ryan's only World Series appearance in his career. On December 10, 1971, Ryan was traded to the California Angels.