When you play 27 MLB seasons like Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan did, there are many stories to share. So, many of the who and the why’s of the strikeout master’s career are offered in Tim Brown’s “Nolan—The Singular Life of an American Original.”
After dishing on the seemingly endless herculean pitching efforts turned in across four decades—from the first big league batter Ryan faced when he was 19 years old with the New York Mets in 1966, to the final out he recorded in September 1993 at age 46—author Brown leaves no ball unturned on the facts of a right arm that refused to quit. The stunning summary of pitching accomplishments includes 5,714 strikeouts (tops of all who have thrown from an MLB mound), 5,386 innings, 324 wins, seven no-hitters, 12 one-hitters, election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1999 by garnering 98.79 percent of the vote from baseball writers, and the 1969 World Series championship with the New York Mets.
Whether it was his first five MLB seasons with the Mets, the next eight as a California Angel, or the following nine campaigns with the Houston Astros where in 1980 Ryan signed a four-year, $4.5 million free agent contract making him the first MLB million-dollar-a-year player, to his final five years with the Texas Rangers, Brown doesn’t skip a beat in how each franchise stop helped shape Ryan into a living myth among ball players.
At first, Brown, who spent three weeks in Ryan’s hometown of Alvin, Texas, talking to those who knew the hurler in his grade school years and beyond, wasn’t getting cooperation from Ryan with his project. But after submitting a couple of chapters to Nolan’s oldest son, Reid Ryan, to review, reluctance turned to curiosity.
“As I was closer to my deadline, I sent Reid a couple chapters so he could understand the tone of the book,” Brown told The Epoch Times. “Then, he said to come on down to suburban Austin (Texas) to meet his dad. I had spent so much time in Alvin that I felt I earned it.”
Brown’s one-hour meet-and-greet with Ryan spilled over by 20 minutes, and subsequent phone calls shared after their initial introduction did their best in shaping the 16 chapters about a pitcher who faced 22,575 batters.
Beyond his ballpark adventures, Ryan, now 79, comes from humble beginnings—“People of the soil,” as Brown anoints Ryan’s family and those who made up Alvin during the future all-star’s formative years.
“His [Ryan’s] dad worked two jobs putting Nolan’s sisters through college. Farmers, cattlemen, and oil people, after my time in Alvin I appreciated the people who have come out of that town,” says Brown.
Brown isn’t alone when declaring that what Ryan did from the pitching mound was both unique and almost unfathomable. However, for all the statistics that Ryan registered, a lasting image of the fireballer for many is that of his final season with the Rangers, with a headlock on Chicago White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura. The Aug. 4, 1993, night game at Arlington Stadium saw Ryan hit Ventura with a pitch. On his way to first base, Ventura charged at Ryan. As the two tangled, images of Ryan repeatedly punching Ventura became legendary.
After dishing on the seemingly endless herculean pitching efforts turned in across four decades—from the first big league batter Ryan faced when he was 19 years old with the New York Mets in 1966, to the final out he recorded in September 1993 at age 46—author Brown leaves no ball unturned on the facts of a right arm that refused to quit. The stunning summary of pitching accomplishments includes 5,714 strikeouts (tops of all who have thrown from an MLB mound), 5,386 innings, 324 wins, seven no-hitters, 12 one-hitters, election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1999 by garnering 98.79 percent of the vote from baseball writers, and the 1969 World Series championship with the New York Mets.
Whether it was his first five MLB seasons with the Mets, the next eight as a California Angel, or the following nine campaigns with the Houston Astros where in 1980 Ryan signed a four-year, $4.5 million free agent contract making him the first MLB million-dollar-a-year player, to his final five years with the Texas Rangers, Brown doesn’t skip a beat in how each franchise stop helped shape Ryan into a living myth among ball players.
At first, Brown, who spent three weeks in Ryan’s hometown of Alvin, Texas, talking to those who knew the hurler in his grade school years and beyond, wasn’t getting cooperation from Ryan with his project. But after submitting a couple of chapters to Nolan’s oldest son, Reid Ryan, to review, reluctance turned to curiosity.
“As I was closer to my deadline, I sent Reid a couple chapters so he could understand the tone of the book,” Brown told The Epoch Times. “Then, he said to come on down to suburban Austin (Texas) to meet his dad. I had spent so much time in Alvin that I felt I earned it.”
Brown’s one-hour meet-and-greet with Ryan spilled over by 20 minutes, and subsequent phone calls shared after their initial introduction did their best in shaping the 16 chapters about a pitcher who faced 22,575 batters.
Beyond his ballpark adventures, Ryan, now 79, comes from humble beginnings—“People of the soil,” as Brown anoints Ryan’s family and those who made up Alvin during the future all-star’s formative years.
“His [Ryan’s] dad worked two jobs putting Nolan’s sisters through college. Farmers, cattlemen, and oil people, after my time in Alvin I appreciated the people who have come out of that town,” says Brown.
Brown isn’t alone when declaring that what Ryan did from the pitching mound was both unique and almost unfathomable. However, for all the statistics that Ryan registered, a lasting image of the fireballer for many is that of his final season with the Rangers, with a headlock on Chicago White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura. The Aug. 4, 1993, night game at Arlington Stadium saw Ryan hit Ventura with a pitch. On his way to first base, Ventura charged at Ryan. As the two tangled, images of Ryan repeatedly punching Ventura became legendary.
Photo of book cover. Courtesy of Grand Central Publishing
Chapter 16 of “Nolan—The Singular Life of an American Original” offers 12 pages of the most in-depth account of what transpired 33 years ago.
Ryan’s post-pitching days are also well chronicled by Brown.
“(Ryan) saved the Rangers when he was part of a group that bought the team. If he didn’t, they probably would have moved. Then, the team started winning, and went to the World Series twice. That wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t stayed,” Brown says.
Ryan’s post-pitching days are also well chronicled by Brown.
“(Ryan) saved the Rangers when he was part of a group that bought the team. If he didn’t, they probably would have moved. Then, the team started winning, and went to the World Series twice. That wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t stayed,” Brown says.
From Ryan’s personal life, Brown offers more than a glimpse of his wife, Ruth Ryan. High school sweethearts, Nolan and Ruth were married in June 1967. Brown’s writing brings out the true, shoulder-to-shoulder partnership of the two.
“Ruth is the hidden hero of the book. Her strength and fortitude of being the wife of a baseball star wasn’t easy. They are very proud of their relationship,” Brown says.
The financial gains, having his uniform number retired by three clubs and subsequently being inducted into their Halls of Fame (Angels, Astros, and Rangers), being an owner of an MLB club, all of baseball’s fame bestowed upon Ryan by all accounts hasn’t changed his simple makeup nurtured in Alvin.
With Brown’s credentials from being an MLB national columnist, to penning two New York Times bestsellers, to taking first place honors in 2016 for his beat writing work by Associated Press Sports Editors, Brown digs into Ryan’s three lives: before stardom in Alvin, during 27 MLB years, and in retirement with the strongest of investigative shovels to date.
Perhaps the only guesswork left after page 324 in “Nolan—The Singular Life of an American Original” is what pitchers did the 1965 295th MLB draft pick from Alvin, Texas, hit his two career home runs off of? Brown supplies the bat, the ball, the brawl, and everything else surrounding the magical career of one of the most unassuming superstars in baseball history.
“Ruth is the hidden hero of the book. Her strength and fortitude of being the wife of a baseball star wasn’t easy. They are very proud of their relationship,” Brown says.
The financial gains, having his uniform number retired by three clubs and subsequently being inducted into their Halls of Fame (Angels, Astros, and Rangers), being an owner of an MLB club, all of baseball’s fame bestowed upon Ryan by all accounts hasn’t changed his simple makeup nurtured in Alvin.
With Brown’s credentials from being an MLB national columnist, to penning two New York Times bestsellers, to taking first place honors in 2016 for his beat writing work by Associated Press Sports Editors, Brown digs into Ryan’s three lives: before stardom in Alvin, during 27 MLB years, and in retirement with the strongest of investigative shovels to date.
Perhaps the only guesswork left after page 324 in “Nolan—The Singular Life of an American Original” is what pitchers did the 1965 295th MLB draft pick from Alvin, Texas, hit his two career home runs off of? Brown supplies the bat, the ball, the brawl, and everything else surrounding the magical career of one of the most unassuming superstars in baseball history.
Photo of the author Tim Brown. Courtesy of Tim Brown
