Page i The Sporting News Presents Nolan Ryan : title: From Alvin to Cooperstown author: publisher: Sports Publishing, Inc. isbn10 | asin: 1571672583 print isbn13: 9781571672582 ebook isbn13: 9780585137582 language: English Ryan, Nolan,--1947- , Pitchers (Baseball)-- subject United States--Biography, Baseball players- -United States--Biography. publication date: 1999 lcc: GV865.R9S66 1999eb ddc: 796.357/092 Ryan, Nolan,--1947- , Pitchers (Baseball)-- United States--Biography, Baseball players- subject: -United States--Biography. presents Nolan Ryan From Alvin to Cooperstown www.SportsPublishingInc.com ©1999 The Sporting News All rights reserved Coordinating Editor: Rob Rains Developmental Editors: Joanna L. Wright, Terrence C. Miltner Director of Production: Susan M. McKinney Interior Design: Scot Muncaster Interior Layout: Michelle R. Dressen Dustjacket and Photo insert design: Terry Hayden ISBN: 1-57167-258-3 Printed in the United States www.SportsPublishingInc.com Page 1 Contents CHAPTER 1 WARMING UP 2 CHAPTER 2 IN THE BIG APPLE 8 CHAPTER 3 THE EXPRESS ARRIVES 26 CHAPTER 4 HEATING UP 44 CHAPTER 5 RYAN KEEPS ROLLING 61 CHAPTER 6 LEAVING CALIFORNIA 80 CHAPTER 7 RETURNING HOME 90 CHAPTER 8 THE LEGEND GROWS 109 CHAPTER 9 INTO THE SUNSET 146 CHAPTER 10 THE LEGEND LIVES ON 154 Page 2 1 Warming Up Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr., of Alvin, Texas, played his first full season of professional baseball in 1966 for the Greenville (South Carolina) Mets. He had spent the end of the 1965 season with the Mets' Appalachian League team, and reported to St. Petersburg over the winter for the Florida Instructional League. When he threw his first pitch, he acquired the fireballer reputation that would stay with him forever. In 1967, a former teammate of Ryan's made the following prediction about the young pitcher: "When he gets the curve over for a strike, he will be another Sandy Koufax." Page 3 Ryan Racing to Flash Start as Met Greenie at Greenville by JIM ANDERSON MAY 28, 1966 GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINATwo years ago, Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr., was pitching for the Alvin High School team in Texas, was dating Ruth Holdorff and dropping by the Dairyland or Oasis for a snack after a movie. That's the full excitement for teenagers in the town of about 10,000 people in the oil country20 minutes' drive from Houston. Now Nolan Ryan is in his first full season of organized ball, wears the uniform of the Greenville Mets and ranks as one of the parent New York club's top mound prospects. He started the Western Carolinas League season by tossing 25 scoreless innings and, in six games, compiled 62 strikeouts and a 4-0 record. Ryan began pitching eight years ago when an older brother, a catcher, needed someone to pitch to him at home. "I guess he made me a pitcher," Nolan said of his brother Robert, now an Air Force lieutenant in Okinawa. Nolan went through Little League ball to the Babe Ruth League and on to the high school team in Alvin, where his father is supervisor with the Pan American Petroleum Co. In high school, he pitched two no-hitters and his prep record was 20-4. "The only thing I had was a fastball," he said. Murff Spotted Talent Mets scout Red Murff first saw Ryan pitching in his junior year. "He seemed to see something in me no one else did," said Ryan. Ryan pitched Alvin to the runner-up spot in the Texas Triple A baseball playoffs. Needing to win the last two games from Waxahachie, Nolan pitched a two-hit, 2-0 shutout and tried to come back the next day and start again. He was lifted in the first inning because of wildness. After the playoffs, he was drafted by the Mets as a free agent. "I wasn't sure I was going to sign," he said. "Several colleges had offered me scholarships and I was planning on going to Sam Houston." But Murff talked Ryan into signing for a modest amount. "Now I'm glad I signed," said Nolan. "Now that I've been in baseball, I like it better than I thought I would." Ryan reported late to Marion, Virginia, in the rookie Appalachian League last year. He appeared in 13 games and had an unimpressive 3-6 record and 4.38 earned-run average. But he struck out 115 batters in his 70 innings. Nolan knew he had a control problem when he reported to the Florida Instructional League at St. Petersburg last winter. Working with him were coach Bunky Warren and Murff. "They had me throw more overhanded," he said. "It helped my curve a lot. I believe I picked up speed. I know I got a lot more confidence." A change-up pitch was added to his assortment and increased his effectiveness. Needed Fattening Up Ryan weighed only 155 pounds when he signed. Eddie Stanky, then director of player personnel for the Mets, had him drink rich things along with eating all he could. "It didn't help," he recalled. He now carries 168 pounds on his 6-2 frame and can't add another pound no matter what he eats. Greenville manager Pete Pavlick knew early at spring camp in Homestead, Florida, that he wanted Ryan for one of his pitchers. Pavlick had managed Ryan at Marion and was impressed by the youngster's winter showing at St. Pete. Nolan will have to go into the Army Reserve six-month program next winter. Whatever time he has in the off-season will be spent bird- hunting with his pointer, "Harry Thomas." Oh, yes, and dating Ruth Holdorff with stops at Dairyland or the Oasis in Alvin.