1989 HEADLINE: Nolan Ryan Becomes 1st Pitcher To 5,000 Strikeouts!!!

1989 HEADLINE: Nolan Ryan Becomes 1st Pitcher To 5,000 Strikeouts!!!

On this day in 1989 Nolan Ryan recorded the 5,000th strikeout of his professional baseball career.

During a game in Arlington Stadium in front of 42,000+ fans, Nolan Ryan became the first player to ever eclipse the 5,000 strikeout mark.  And to do this in front of his home fans in the state he grew up in was especially monumental!!

In the top of the 5th inning with his team trailing 1-0, Ryan struck out All-star Rickey Henderson to capture #5,000!

Amazingly Ryan struck out 13 batters in this game.  And although his team lost 2-0, this was Ryan’s night.  Oh, and he was 42 years old at the time and still dominant as ever!!

Happy Anniversary Nolan Ryan!!!

1975 Topps Set Card 200/660 – #500 – Nolan Ryan, Angels

1975 Topps Set Card 200/660 – #500 – Nolan Ryan, Angels

Progress: 200/660

Player Name:  Nolan Ryan

Team:  California Angels

Position:   Pitcher

Image Style:  Posed Pitching

Years In The Major Leagues:  27 seasons, 1966, 1968-93

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Nolan Ryan appeared in 28 games for the California Angels.  He started all of the games, and amassed a record of 14-12 with 10 complete games and 5 shutouts.  In 198 innings of work, Ryan compiled an ERA of 3.45 as he allowed 152 hits and 90 runs in that span.  Ryan struck out 186 batters in 1975, averaging 8.5 per 9 innings pitched.  Ryan was selected to the AL All-Star team in 1975.

Notes From Career:  Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is one of the most accomplished pitchers in major league history.  He has a career record of 324-292 with 222 complete games and 61 shutouts to his credit.  In 5,386 innings of work, Ryan struck out 5,714 batters (MLB high) while walking 2,795 (MLB high).  He has a career strikeout per nine innings pitched ratio of 9.5:9 and also a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.4:1.  Ryan was selected as an All-Star 8 times, and finished in the Top 10 for the Cy Young Award 8 times.  He became a World Series champion in 1969 while with the Mets and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 capturing 98.8% of the votes cast.

1985 HEADLINE: Nolan Ryan First to 4,000 Strikeouts!!

1985 HEADLINE: Nolan Ryan First to 4,000 Strikeouts!!

On this day in 1985, Nolan Ryan collected his 4,000th career strikeout – a first in baseball history.

At home and in front of a crowd that was just a shade over 20,000, Ryan made baseball history again. In the top of the 6th inning, he struck out Danny Heep of the Mets giving him the 4,000th strikeout of his big league career.

His line for the day – 7 innings pitched, 7 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 11 strikeouts!!

Happy Anniversary Mr. Ryan!!!

Happy Birthday Nolan Ryan!!!

Happy Birthday Nolan Ryan!!!

Nolan Ryan turns 67 years old today.

One of the most dominant and competitive pitchers that the game has even seen, Nolan Ryan was a player admired by many.  His hard work and dedication to his craft made him a very well respected player with his teammates, peers, and fans.

For any collector and baseball fan in general that was active in the 1980’s, we all have a Nolan Ryan moment ingrained in our heads.  For me, it was the speech I did in 10th grade about Ryan’s incredible feat of 5,000 K’s.  I actually had the game taped and used the strikeout of Rickey Henderson as the ‘ice breaker’.  It was pretty cool and I believe I got an A for the speech.  I remember saying something along the lines of ‘Nolan Ryan has done this 5,000 times.  Nolan Ryan did this 1,500 times before any of us were born.’

Anyways, ‘Happy Birthday’ to one of the game’s ultimate competitors!!!  Nolan Ryan is and will always be remembered as the guy that was unbelievably dominant yet was never rewarded with an individual honor for his pitching performances.

2013 Topps Update ‘Postseason Heroes’ Subset – Nolan Ryan

2013 Topps Update ‘Postseason Heroes’ Subset – Nolan Ryan

The 2013 Topps Update baseball card set includes a subset tagged as ‘Postseason Heroes.  And with that theme, you would expect to find cards of modern players like Albert Pujols, Edgar Renteria, and Pablo Sandoval but none of these guys made the checklist.

That does leave room for some nice surprises…

This is the card of Nolan Ryan from the set:

 

With a major league career that spanned 27 seasons and four decades, Nolan Ryan appeared in the postseason just five times.  He and his New York Mets teammates made it to and won the 1969 World Series.

Ryan’s postseason career numbers are: 7 starts, 2-2 record, 1 save, 58 innings pitched, 3.07 ERA, 63 strikeouts and 14 walks.

2013 Collecting Goal Accomplished!!! My Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set Is Done!!!

2013 Collecting Goal Accomplished!!!  My Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set Is Done!!!

Friends, I have done it!!

I have finished one of my many 2013 collecting goals.  The 1999 Topps Nolan Ryan Commemorative set that I have been building for the better part of the year is finally complete.

The set features 27 cards in total – with the subject being one of each of Ryan’s base cards from his rookie card of 1968 to his final card from 1994.

It took me a bit longer to complete this set, but I think that I did so in a pretty economical manner.  Sure, there may have been a few gaps in time when I could not find a ‘deal’ worth making to add a card to my set, but I did not budge.  And eventually, I scored.

And now, the set is complete.  And it looks great.

Check it out:

Nice, huh??

I am loving it!!!

And once I completed this set and really looked at the cards as a complete set, I immediately thought of how nicely this set captures Nolan Ryan’s career, and how Topps should produce one of these sets every season for a recently retired star.  I could just imagine this same style featuring cards of Chipper Jones and Mariano Rivera – now that would be awesome!!!

Thanks for reading.

1980 Headline: “Nolan Ryan Becomes Baseball’s First Million Dollar Player”

1980 Headline: “Nolan Ryan Becomes Baseball’s First Million Dollar Player”

On this day in 1980, Nolan Ryan signed a 4-year, 4.5 million dollar contract with the Houston Astros.

Amazingly, this level of a contract did not go to a player that was going to suit up for 150+ games in a season.  It went to a pitcher that was going to appear in no more than 35 games a year.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Ryan!!!

Who would have thought that the contracts would multiply in value as quickly as they did following this signing…

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #2 – 1969 Topps Design

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #2 – 1969 Topps Design

One of my 2013 collecting goals was to complete the 1999 Topps Nolan Ryan Commemorative baseball card set. The set features a re-print of each of Ryan’s base cards issued by Topps from his rookie season to his final season.

This is the 2nd card in the set, a re-print of Ryan’s 1969 Topps baseball card:

At the age of just 22, Nolan Ryan competed in his 3rd major league season in 1969.  Ryan appeared in 25 games in ’69 and started 10 times.  He compiled a record of 6-3 with 2 complete games and 1 save.

In 89 innings of work, Ryan compiled an ERA of 3.53 while striking out 92 batters and walking 53.

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #27 – 1994 Topps Design

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #27 – 1994 Topps Design

One of my 2013 collecting goals was to complete the 1999 Topps Nolan Ryan Commemorative baseball card set. The set features a re-print of each of Ryan’s base cards issued by Topps from his rookie season to his final season.

This is the 27th and final card in the set, a re-print of Ryan’s 1994 Topps baseball card:

Officially, 1993 was Nolan Ryan’s final season in the big leagues.  But, he had a card in the 1994 Topps base set, and they included it in this tribute set as well.

I really like the ’27 Major League Seasons’ badge that Topps added to the card – A very nice and classy touch!!

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #10 – 1977 Topps Design

Nolan Ryan 1999 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #10 – 1977 Topps Design

One of my 2013 collecting goals was to complete the 1999 Topps Nolan Ryan Commemorative baseball card set. The set features a re-print of each of Ryan’s base cards issued by Topps from his rookie season to his final season.

This is the 10th card in the set, a re-print of Ryan’s 1977 Topps baseball card:

Nolan Ryan worked his tail off in 1977.  He threw 299 innings in 37 starts for the Angels.  He compiled a record of 19-16 on the year with 22 complete games and four shutouts.  He had an ERA of 2.77 and finished the season with a league-leading 341 strikeouts and a K:9 Innings ratio of 10.3:1.