1947
Born January 31, 1947
Refugio, TX, USA
Nolan Ryan Marquee Hall of Fame 1999
b. January 31, 1947 · New York Mets 1966, 1968–1971, California Angels 1972–1979, Houston Astros 1980–1988, Texas Rangers 1989–1993
The fastball showed up in 1966 and never really left. Ryan struck out 383 batters in 1973, more than any pitcher has in a season since 1900, and he was still leading the American League with 301 in 1989, at the age of 42. He led his league in strikeouts eleven times.
No other pitcher in the archive has more than three no-hitters. Ryan's came twice in 1973, then in 1974, 1975, 1981, 1990, and 1991, the last of them on May 1. He also walked 2,795 batters, more than any other pitcher — the wildness and the unhittability were never separable.
He never won a Cy Young Award and reached 20 wins only twice, in 1973 and 1974, finishing 324-292 for clubs that were frequently bad and frequently worth watching anyway. His 27 seasons are more than any other player in the archive, and on August 22, 1989, he became the only pitcher to reach 5,000 strikeouts. Cooperstown elected him in 1999.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 8 | 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1989 |
| Player of the Week | 8 | 1974, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1991 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 2 | 1982, 1984 |
| Player of the Month | 2 | 1974, 1976 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1977 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1977 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | NYM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1968 | NYM | 21 | 44 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 0 | .114 |
| 1969 | NYM | 25 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | .103 |
| 1970 | NYM | 27 | 45 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | .178 |
| 1971 | NYM | 30 | 47 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 0 | .128 |
| 1972 | CAL | 39 | 96 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 48 | 1 | .135 |
| 1973 | CAL | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | CAL | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | CAL | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | CAL | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | CAL | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | CAL | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | CAL | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | HOU | 35 | 70 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 0 | .086 |
| 1981 | HOU | 21 | 51 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 0 | .216 |
| 1982 | HOU | 35 | 83 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 37 | 0 | .120 |
| 1983 | HOU | 29 | 69 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 0 | .072 |
| 1984 | HOU | 30 | 61 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 1 | .098 |
| 1985 | HOU | 35 | 63 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 0 | .111 |
| 1986 | HOU | 30 | 59 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 0 | .102 |
| 1987 | HOU | 34 | 65 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 0 | .062 |
| 1988 | HOU | 33 | 70 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 0 | .057 |
| 1989 | TEX | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | TEX | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | TEX | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | TEX | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | TEX | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 807 | 852 | 40 | 94 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 38 | 371 | 3 | .110 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | NYM | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 15.00 |
| 1968 | NYM | 6 | 9 | 21 | 18 | 0 | 134.0 | 93 | 46 | 75 | 133 | 3.09 |
| 1969 | NYM | 6 | 3 | 25 | 10 | 1 | 89.1 | 60 | 35 | 53 | 92 | 3.53 |
| 1970 | NYM | 7 | 11 | 27 | 19 | 1 | 131.2 | 86 | 50 | 97 | 125 | 3.42 |
| 1971 | NYM | 10 | 14 | 30 | 26 | 0 | 152.0 | 125 | 67 | 116 | 137 | 3.97 |
| 1972 | CAL | 19 | 16 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 284.0 | 166 | 72 | 157 | 329 | 2.28 |
| 1973 | CAL | 21 | 16 | 41 | 39 | 1 | 326.0 | 238 | 104 | 162 | 383 | 2.87 |
| 1974 | CAL | 22 | 16 | 42 | 41 | 0 | 332.2 | 221 | 107 | 202 | 367 | 2.89 |
| 1975 | CAL | 14 | 12 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 198.0 | 152 | 76 | 132 | 186 | 3.45 |
| 1976 | CAL | 17 | 18 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 284.1 | 193 | 106 | 183 | 327 | 3.36 |
| 1977 | CAL | 19 | 16 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 299.0 | 198 | 92 | 204 | 341 | 2.77 |
| 1978 | CAL | 10 | 13 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 234.2 | 183 | 97 | 148 | 260 | 3.72 |
| 1979 | CAL | 16 | 14 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 222.2 | 169 | 89 | 114 | 223 | 3.60 |
| 1980 | HOU | 11 | 10 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 233.2 | 205 | 87 | 98 | 200 | 3.35 |
| 1981 | HOU | 11 | 5 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 149.0 | 99 | 28 | 68 | 140 | 1.69 |
| 1982 | HOU | 16 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 250.1 | 196 | 88 | 109 | 245 | 3.16 |
| 1983 | HOU | 14 | 9 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 196.1 | 134 | 65 | 101 | 183 | 2.98 |
| 1984 | HOU | 12 | 11 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 183.2 | 143 | 62 | 69 | 197 | 3.04 |
| 1985 | HOU | 10 | 12 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 232.0 | 205 | 98 | 95 | 209 | 3.80 |
| 1986 | HOU | 12 | 8 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 178.0 | 119 | 66 | 82 | 194 | 3.34 |
| 1987 | HOU | 8 | 16 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 211.2 | 154 | 65 | 87 | 270 | 2.76 |
| 1988 | HOU | 12 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 220.0 | 186 | 86 | 87 | 228 | 3.52 |
| 1989 | TEX | 16 | 10 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 239.1 | 162 | 85 | 98 | 301 | 3.20 |
| 1990 | TEX | 13 | 9 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 204.0 | 137 | 78 | 74 | 232 | 3.44 |
| 1991 | TEX | 12 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 173.0 | 102 | 56 | 72 | 203 | 2.91 |
| 1992 | TEX | 5 | 9 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 157.1 | 138 | 65 | 69 | 157 | 3.72 |
| 1993 | TEX | 5 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 66.1 | 54 | 36 | 40 | 46 | 4.88 |
| Career | — | 324 | 292 | 807 | 773 | 3 | 5386.0 | 3923 | 1911 | 2795 | 5714 | 3.19 |
On this day & linked events
1966
Major-league debut: Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan made a major-league debut on September 11, 1966.
1973
Nolan Ryan's No-Hitter
Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter for the California Angels against the Kansas City Royals on May 15, 1973, winning 3–0.
1973
Nolan Ryan's No-Hitter
Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter for the California Angels against the Detroit Tigers on July 15, 1973, winning 6–0.
1974
Nolan Ryan's No-Hitter
Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter for the California Angels against the Minnesota Twins on September 28, 1974, winning 4–0.
1975
Nolan Ryan's No-Hitter
Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter for the California Angels against the Baltimore Orioles on June 1, 1975, winning 1–0.
1981
Nolan Ryan's No-Hitter
Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter for the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 26, 1981, winning 5–0.
1989
Nolan Ryan's 5,000th Strikeout
Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan strikes out Oakland Athletics leadoff man Rickey Henderson to become the first pitcher in Major League history to record 5,000 career strikeouts.
1990
Nolan Ryan's No-Hitter
Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter for the Texas Rangers against the Oakland Athletics on June 11, 1990, winning 5–0.
1991
Nolan Ryan's No-Hitter
Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter for the Texas Rangers against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 1, 1991, winning 3–0.
1993
Final major-league game: Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan played a final major-league game on September 22, 1993.
Image: Public domain