Welcome to the Baseball History Podcast: Featuring This Week in Baseball History, baseball dictionary and a tour of baseball cities. I’m your game announcer Bob Wright.
This is game 25 of the 2006 baseball season
In the first inning let’s take a look at This Week in Baseball History for the 1 week of June.
June 3
1989 Nolan Ryan pitches his 11th career one-hitter beating the Mariners, 6-1. The Alvin, Texas native breaks Bob Feller’s record of 15 low-hit game having now having pitched a combination of 16 no-hit and one-hit games.
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. was born January 31, 1947. He was most noted for his blazing fastball and his longevity, routinely throwing pitches exceeding 100 mph, even into his forties. The media tagged him with the nickname “The Ryan Express”, referencing a 1965 action-adventure film called Von Ryan’s Express.
Ryan was born in Refugio, Texas, but his family moved to the Houston suburb of Alvin when he was six weeks old. Ryan was a high schooler with an awesome fastball but almost no control. The New York Mets selected him in the tenth round of the 1965 free-agent draft. In 1966, he blazed his way to 272 strikeouts, 127 walks, and 17 wins at Greenville of the Carolina League. He missed most of the 1967 season while he served in the military but in 1968 the raw right-hander was called up to the Mets.
Despite a chronic blister problem and a month on the disabled list, Ryan went 6-9 in 1968 with a 3.09 ERA and struck out 133 batters in 134 innings. Ryan also walked 75 batters, displaying a lack of control that plagued him early in his career. Ryan led his league in strikeouts six times in his first twelve major league seasons; each season, he was also the league leader in walks.
In 1969 the pitching-rich Mets used the young flamethrower both as a starter and in relief. Ryan won the deciding game of the League Championship Series with seven innings of relief, and saved Game Three of the World Series as the Miracle Mets beat the Orioles in five games. After opening the 1970 season with a one-hitter, Ryan struggled, and he grew unhappy with the big-city atmosphere of New York. In 1971 he requested a trade and the Mets obliged, sending him to the California Angels with three other players to obtain Jim Fregosi.
In California in 1972 Ryan worked with pitching coach Tom Morgan and veteran catcher Jeff Torborg to develop a more compact motion. That year he became the first righthander since Bob Feller to fan 300 batters in a season and won 19 games with a 2.28 Earned Run Average. In 1973 Ryan was even more overpowering, and became the fifth pitcher to toss two no-hitters in one season. He no-hit the Royals on May 15, and on July 15 he repeated against the Tigers, fanning 17 Detroit batters in the process.
In his next start, he was six outs from back-to-back no-hitters when Mark Belanger spoiled the bid. Ryan entered the final week of the season in striking distance of Sandy Koufax’s all-time single-season strikeout record of 382, and in his last start he fanned 16 Twins in 11 innings to eclipse the record by one. In 39 starts that year, Ryan struck out 10 or more batters 23 times, yet he finished second to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young Award.
Already Ryan was the first pitcher with back-to-back 300-strikeout seasons, and he made it three in a row in 1974. He also threw his third no-hitter in his last start of the season, September 28, against the Twins. On August 20 that year, a sophisticated timing device clocked a Ryan fastball at 100.9 mph, putting him in the Guinness Book of World Records. An off-year in 1975 was highlighted by a fourth no-hitter and on August 23, 1975, Ryan underwent elbow surgery. He came back throwing as hard as ever, with 327 strikeouts in 1976, and was The Sporting News American League Pitcher of the Year in 1977, finishing 19-16, 2.77 earned run average, with 341 strikeouts. Injuries hindered him again in 1978, but he was selected for his first All-Star Game start in 1979, before becoming a free agent at the end of the season.
Though popular with fans, Ryan did not win over Angels General Manager Buzzie Bavasi, who dismissed Ryan as a flashy .500 pitcher. When he let Ryan leave after a 16-14 record in the 1979 season, Bavasi remarked he only needed to replace Ryan with two 8-7 pitchers.
Grabbing the chance to return to his native Texas, Ryan signed a three-year contract with the Houston Astros, and became baseball’s first $1-million-per-year player. Ryan’s performance fell off in his first season back in the National League, although he did record his 3,000th career strikeout on July 4, 1980. He returned to form in the strike-shortened 1981 season. He led the National League with a 1.69 Earned Run Average and pitched his fifth no-hitter September 26 against the Dodgers. Although he was no longer an annual cinch to lead his league in strikeouts, Ryan still fanned nearly a batter an inning. On April 27, 1983, he broke Walter Johnson’s all-time strikeout record and on July 11, 1985, recorded his 4,000th strikeout.
The 1984 and 1985 seasons were filled with injuries and frustrations for Ryan, but 1986 marked a remarkable return to dominance for him, with 194 strikeouts in 178 innings, his best ratio since 1978. In the 1986 League Championship Series, his two-hit, 12-strikeout effort in Game Five against the Mets earned no decision. In 1987 the forty-year-old Ryan continued to defy the calendar with 270 strikeouts in 212 innings and his second Earned Run Average title while becoming the only pitcher with 2,000 strikeouts in each league. Unfortunately, the Astros’ dismal offense left him with an 8-16 record that cost him the Cy Young Award.
Ryan added yet another strikeout title with 228 in 1988, and in the off-season he signed with the Texas Rangers. In 1989 the forty-two-year-old struck out an American League-leading 301 batters, by far the most ever for a man his age, and had several near-no-hitters. Rickey Henderson’s whiff on August 22nd became the 5,000th of Ryan’s career. His sixth no-hitter came the following year, when he mowed down the defending world champion Oakland A’s. Ryan threw yet another no-hitter on May 1, 1991 at the age of 44.
Before the 1993 season, Ryan announced his retirement, effective at the end of that season. His seemingly bionic arm finally gave out in Seattle on September 22, 1993, when he tore a tendon, ending his career two starts earlier than planned.
Ryan ranks first all-time in strikeouts, fewest hits allowed per nine innings, fifth in innings pitched , second in games started, seventh in shutouts and tied for 13th in wins. He also ranks high on the list for four “negative” records; because he was wild as a young pitcher, he piled up the walks and ranks first all-time in walks allowed, in wild pitches with, and he also ranks third all-time in losses, with. Also he is ninth all-time in hit batsmen. Ryan played more seasons than any other player in baseball history.
Nolan Ryan is also the only player in Major League history to strike out a side in nine pitches in BOTH leagues. He did it for the Mets on April 19, 1968, and for the Angels on July 9, 1972.
His playing days over, Ryan turned his attention to running his ranches and becoming the main shareholder in a Double-A franchise, the Jackson Generals of the Texas League. Relocating the club to Round Rock, Ryan and his son Reid, who would become club president, saw a month-long vote among the townspeople result in the selection of the name “Express” for the team’s moniker, a testament to the pitcher’s popularity.
In January 1999, Ryan was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
In this inning we’ll open up the Baseball Dictionary
Under the letter: A
Action Pitch
The pitch thrown when the count is full, three balls and two strikes, with two outs and men on base. The situation calls for the baserunners to start running just before the ball is delivered.
And now for the ninth inning…
Continuing our trip around baseball cities…
The Ottawa Lynx
This team is a Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play their home games at JetForm Park in Ottawa, ON, Canada
Since the team’s inception in 1993, the Ottawa Lynx Baseball Club has already set two league attendance records and won the International League Championship. In its inaugural year, 1993, the club broke the 47 year old league attendance record, with 693,000 fans. The facility has quickly become a focal point for the Ottawa-Carleton sports community. They have quickly become one of the top choices in sports entertainment in Eastern Ontario, drawing on a population of over 1.5 million in the immediate region.
The facility, which houses the franchise, is a state of the art building which creates an old time ballpark experience coupled with all the modern facilities and services. The stadium boasts an award-winning natural grass and clay field, comfortable seats, and excellent sightlines. The open air stands comfortably seat 10,332, while 185 fans can enjoy the game from the comfort of the stadium restaurant located on the upper level of the stadium. The 32 corporate boxes offer an additional 400 sheltered seats.
Lynx Stadium was built in nine months with a price tag of $17 million (CDN). This centrally located multi-purpose facility is within minutes of the downtown core and is directly beside the city’s largest highway.
The first game played in this 10,332 seat stadium took place on April 17, 1993 when the visiting Charlotte Knights defeated the hometown Lynx, 3-2. This natural grass surface has been home to the Ottawa Lynx for the past 12 years. The field has been selected as an award-winning playing surface, having been named the 1999 winner of the “Beam Clay Baseball Diamond of the Year” award, after placing second two years running. The field also took top International League honors in 1994 and 1995.
There are 32 private suites located in the stadium’s upper level. The private suites contain either 8 or 12 seats and hold up to 12 or 16 people accordingly.
One of the more popular areas before or during the game is the Terrace Area located down the third base line. Many fans are seen retrieving foul balls throughout the game. Pre-game BBQ’s are extremely popular for groups.
Another busy area on game days is the stadium restaurant located on the upper level. This restaurant can seat up to 185 people.
For those of you that want to stick around, here’s an
Extra Inning
You can email me at baseballhistory@gmail.com. Transcripts of the game can be found at baseballhistorypodcast.blogspot.com. Well, that’s it for today’s game of Baseball History Podcast. I’ll see you later at the ballpark.
TWIBH- Nolan
Ryan,
Baseball
Dictionary- Action Pitch,
Tour- Ottawa
Lynx
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