Film Review: ‘Facing Nolan’: Baseball’s GOAT Pitcher

TV-14 | 1h 42m | Sports, Documentary | March 12, 2022

The fastest baseball pitch in history was clocked at a mind-boggling 105.1 miles per hour, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It was hurled in 2010, by Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman in a game against the San Diego Padres.

However, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) pitcher to ever play the game of baseball, Nolan Ryan, threw a consistent, blistering, 100.8 mph heater for an astounding 27 years, back in the 1970s—before the advent of today’s advanced training methodologies, nutrition, sophisticated strength training, sports medicine, and steroids. Ryan single-handedly put the category of power pitcher on the map.

The man is a legend, a folk hero, and “Facing Ryan” tells his story via the players who faced him in his nearly three decades’ worth of pitcher-batter Wild West shootouts. Out on the mound, Nolan Ryan was the most intimidating sheriff in town.

Nolan Ryan being interviewed for "Facing Nolan." (The Ranch Productions)

‘Facing Nolan’

Bradley Jackson’s documentary “Facing Nolan” tells the story of this tall-drink-of-water Texan from a small town, who married his high school sweetheart, Ruth, in 1967, and followed his dream of playing Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as his other dream of being a rancher. Nolan pitched for four MLB teams over a 27-year career, operated his cattle ranch during the off-season, and set absolutely ridiculous records for no-hitters and strikeouts that remain untouched to the present day.

And then, after he’d laid down the warrior sword and taken up the elder staff, he held executive positions with two of his former teams more than a decade after his retirement from the game.

American Folk Hero

Like all mythological characters, especially ones like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, tales of their mighty deeds start snowballing and end up outrageous and cartoon-ish centuries later, and so “Facing Nolan” nips certain elements of the “Ryan Express” mythos in the bud.

One such instance of this is the fondly told tale about how Ryan developed his 100 mph fastball as a paperboy, wanging copies of The Houston Post from his bike onto subscribers’ doorsteps in and around his childhood home in Alvin, Texas. Right-hander Ryan explains that it wasn’t from a bike; it was from his dad’s car, and he had to toss the papers with his left hand. So *poof*—there goes that myth.

Ryan was no overnight sensation. One interviewee claims that during Nolan’s minor league days, his lack of control was very similar to that of “Nuke” LaLoosh in “Bull Durham” accidentally beaning the team mascot in the head, and such. Ryan admits that he was so disgusted by this (during his time with the New York Mets) that he considered quitting the game in 1971.

Nolan Ryan and his wife, Ruth, with their son Reese and daughter Wendy at their home in Alvin, Texas, in 1979, in "Facing Nolan." (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)

Ryan’s savvy, immensely stoic, level-headed, and driven wife Ruth knew better. The Ryan grandchildren claim their “Nanna-moo” is the most competitive person in the entire family and counterbalances Ryan’s laid-back, off-field personality. Critical to Ryan’s success, Ruth encouraged him through the ups and downs of his career, all while raising their three children. In her mid 70s, she’s as strikingly beautiful as she was the day he married her and is one of the best examples of the phrase “Behind every great man there is a great woman.”

From Mets to Angels

Ryan began his professional baseball life with the New York Mets in 1966, and even though he was a part of the team that won the 1969 World Series, he was inconsistent and had very little personal success.

It was when he was traded to the California Angels in 1972 and finally got a world-class pitching coach that he started to morph into the Hall-of-Fame, legendary pitcher he is known as today. In California, he threw four of his no-hitters and set the modern-era single season strikeout record at 383.

Angels to Astros to Rangers

In a Texas Rangers versus Kansas City Royals game (2nd inning), designated hitter Bo Jackson whacked a powerful one-hopper that hit Nolan Ryan in the face, opening a two-inch gash in his lower lip that he could stick his tongue through. Ryan threw Jackson out and stayed in the game anyway, leaving in the eighth inning with a 1–0 lead. This is just one example of Ryan's toughness, in “Facing Nolan.” (The Ranch Productions)

Ryan signed with the Houston Astros in 1980. Finally back in his home state, he became the face of the franchise and the first professional athlete to earn a one-million-dollar salary. His astounding records continued to pile up.

After leaving the Astros at the age of 42, Ryan signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers in 1989—the same time George W. Bush, one of the film’s interviewees, was part owner and CEO.

At the end of his career (1989 to 1993), Ryan went on to pitch his heretofore unimaginable sixth and seventh no-hitters, a feat that will never again be repeated. He retired after his strikeout number reached a ridiculous 5,714. To put that in proper perspective, another legendary pitcher, Randy Johnson, says: “I’m second to him in strikeouts, and he’s got a thousand more strikeouts than me.”

Texas Rangers teammates carry Nolan Ryan off the field in 1991 after his seventh no-hitter, in "Facing Nolan." (Bill Janscha/AP)

Ryan holds an astonishing 51 MLB records and is curiously the best pitcher never to win a Cy Young Award, which is given annually to the top pitchers in the American and National Leagues. That’s clearly some kind of twisted politics situation, but it’s never discussed.

Talking Heads

The film unfolds in highlight-reel fashion, and Ryan’s four decades of thrilling athleticism are underscored by plentiful anecdotes from a wealth of all-star interviewees, as well as the extensive Ryan family themselves.

Players describe the electrifying, sizzling-bacon sound, and one-of-a-kind “SMACK!!” of Ryan’s fastball ripping through the strike zone and tenderizing catchers’ hands straight through their heavy mitts.

Pete Rose, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Rod Carew, Cal Ripken Jr., and other world-class players who batted against him describe Ryan, in assorted ways, as “the most intimidating pitcher in the history of the game.” One player recalls Ryan himself casually admitting, “Once I cross that white line, I don’t even like myself.”

One particularly fun reminiscence features Ryan, sitting next to legendary switch-hitter Pete Rose at some honorary baseball gathering, recounting how Rose dared him to throw a particular kind of pitch, claiming that if Ryan did so, he'd “bounce it off your blanking forehead.” Ryan threw that pitch, nearly got smacked in the throat, and Rose ran to first base pointing at Ryan the whole time: “See? See?”

Nolan Ryan, having been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, observes his plaque, in "Facing Nolan." (The Ranch Productions)

Not Exclusively for Baseball Fans

Even viewers without a love for, or in-depth knowledge of, baseball will be engrossed and entertained by Jackson’s celebratory film. Does it sometimes border on hagiography? Not really. The man was simply so good that nothing but superlatives can be used to describe his life, not to mention that witnessing him with his family, a classic alpha-turned-benign patriarchal grandfather, is very heartwarming.

Like soft-spoken Texan Ryan himself, “Facing Nolan” is just direct and to the point. The highlights and statistics speak for themselves. America’s tastes in sports may have shifted over the decades from the more easygoing ballpark to the dramatic, violent gridiron, and what used to be “America’s favorite pastime” is currently more football than baseball, but “Facing Nolan” hearkens back to a wonderful chapter of American sports history.

“Facing Nolan” first premiered for one night only on March 12, 2022, through Fathom Events, ending the day as the No. 1 movie in Texas and the No. 7 movie in North America.

“Facing Nolan” can currently be streamed on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Netflix, and Vudu.

Promotional poster for "Facing Nolan." (The Ranch Productions)

‘Facing Nolan' Documentary Director: Bradley Jackson Appearing: Craig Biggio, George Brett, George W. Bush, Rod Carew, Roger Clemens, Randy Galloway, Rob Goldman, Randy Johnson, John McClain, Iván Rodriguez, Cal Ripken Jr., Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan, Ruth Ryan, Reid Ryan, Dave Winfield MPAA Rating: TV-14 Running Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes Release Date: March 12, 2022 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars