WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:07.160 The views and opinions expressed by individuals on the following 2 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:10.519 program do not necessarily reflect those of the network, Guys 3 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:15.160 Guy Radio and its platforms. 4 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:23.719 It's Guys Guy Radio. Here's your host, Robert Manny. 5 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:29.160 Welcome to Guys Guys Radio. This is your host, Robert Manny, 6 00:00:29.320 --> 00:00:32.439 welcoming you to the show where men and women can 7 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:35.799 be at their best and everyone wins. Guys Guys Radio, 8 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:40.479 We're here to inform you, inspire you, empower you, and 9 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:43.920 get you to think, feel, and who knows, maybe even 10 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:48.200 act by virtue of the journeys, stories, experiences and insights 11 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:50.479 of the guests I bring you each and every week 12 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:53.280 to the show. And once again this week is no exception. 13 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:56.280 Today we're going to talk about that major league and 14 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:00.560 sports and American institution known as Nolan Ryan. Our special 15 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:03.960 guest is Tim Brown, who wrote in a fabulous toe 16 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:07.840 about Nolan Ryan simply called Nolan the singular life of 17 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:11.599 an American original. And you know, Nolan Ryan, Folks was 18 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:16.040 a hero to two of America's biggest institutions, Texas and 19 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:20.239 Major League Baseball. He played longer, threw harder, and amassed 20 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:24.400 more pitching records fifty three to be exact than anyone 21 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:28.120 before or since. And as he did, Nolan Ryan came 22 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:32.640 to represent what was exceptional exceptional about a game when 23 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.200 it was still America's pastime. You know, veteran baseball journalist 24 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:38.719 New York Times bestselling author Tim Brown who's here today. 25 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:42.879 He provides a definitive biography in his book Nolan, and 26 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.319 we're going to talk all about that and really what 27 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.079 made Ryan such a dominant and feared pitcher and what 28 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:52.239 lessons can we learn from his amazing career and life. 29 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:54.400 What you don't have today is you don't have the 30 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:56.719 pictures throwing the amount of innings and the amount of 31 00:01:56.760 --> 00:01:59.439 strikeouts that Ryan did back then. You've got some great 32 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:02.239 pictures right now now, But he was kind of stood 33 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:06.040 out on his own along with guys like Sandy Kofax 34 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.080 and Bob Gibson and. 35 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:10.560 Don Sutton. 36 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:12.639 Was a very crafty pitcher who pitched a lot of 37 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:14.400 innings in a long time. Also, we're going to get 38 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:16.879 into all of that and more on today's Guys Guys Radio. 39 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:18.479 We're going to talk about baseball. We're going to talk 40 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.479 Nolan about Nolan Ryan and all the lessons we can 41 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:25.479 learn from his wonderful career with sports writer Tim Brown. 42 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:27.680 It's Guys Guy Radio. 43 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:32.360 Okay, guys guys Radio. It is the interview portion of 44 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:35.840 our show. And let's start with a question. What made 45 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.319 Nolan Ryan's fastball so dominant? And could any pitcher in 46 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:42.919 today's game match his combination of power and endurance. Well, 47 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:45.080 we're going to talk about that today on Guys Guys 48 00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:48.960 Radio with our special guest, sports writer Tim Brown. Tim's 49 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.520 covered baseball out in LA for more than thirty years. 50 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.840 He's written to New York Times bestsellers, The Phenomena with 51 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:58.599 Rick and Keel and Imperfect with the One Armed Jim Abbott, 52 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:00.719 who threw a no hitter for my New York Yankees. 53 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:03.159 He also wrote the Tao of the Backup Catcher. I 54 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:05.240 love the name of that book. I gotta search it out. 55 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.479 And in twenty sixteen he was awarded first place in 56 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:12.840 Beat writing by the Associated Press Sports Editors. Welcome to 57 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:16.159 Guys Guys Radio, Tim Brown. We're going to talk about 58 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:18.719 Nolan Ryan today. Here's the new book. It just came out, 59 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:22.400 The Singular Life of an American Original, and he sure is. 60 00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:25.400 Welcome to the show. 61 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:28.000 Tim Robert, thanks for having me. How are you today. 62 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:30.800 I'm doing fantastic and I gotta tell you, I just 63 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:35.360 finished the book, and wow, he's Nolan Ryan's a mythical, 64 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:38.599 kind of legendary man's man. He's like the John Wayne 65 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:42.000 of baseball, and he must have been a very interesting 66 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:45.319 Everybody has a story about him, it seems like. And 67 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.719 there's nothing that one thing that sticks out except for 68 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:51.919 he's like the Rolling Stones. He's got longevity, and he 69 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:56.120 maintained his quality right through his was it twenty seven 70 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:58.000 years or so in Major League Baseball? 71 00:03:58.240 --> 00:03:59.719 Just absolutely amazing. 72 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:02.960 Tell us about your just first take on Nolan Ryan 73 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:04.240 after writing the book. 74 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:09.719 Well, I'll start at the beginning. I was seven years 75 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.879 old living in White Plains, New York when the Mets 76 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:16.439 won the nineteen sixty nine World Series. That's a very 77 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:21.639 vulnerable age as a sports fan, and therefore I was 78 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.600 saddled with being a Mets fan for the rest of 79 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:27.040 my life. Now, before you feel too sorry for me, 80 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:30.519 remember who won the Super Bowl that year, and that 81 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:32.639 was the New York Jets. So I've been lugging that 82 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:35.800 around as well. But that was my and I felt 83 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:39.519 like as I was thinking about Nolan as a subject, 84 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:42.519 it occurred to me that for half of my life 85 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.360 he was a pitcher, and I was aware of him 86 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.000 as a pitcher. I grew up with Nolan Ryan, and 87 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:53.160 you're right, this mystique, this guy who was there every year, 88 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:57.800 this guy who was a power pitcher into well into 89 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:00.519 what we would we would have considered been lege at 90 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:04.480 the time. And I just thought, you know, he was 91 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:09.360 unique when he pitched, and the further we get from that, 92 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:15.079 it becomes almost unfathomable what he did. And I think 93 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:20.160 my duty was to remind people that there was a 94 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:23.720 way the game was played and there was a type 95 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:26.399 of person who played it for a very long time. 96 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:31.560 And while things have changed, those numbers that you might 97 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:35.959 look up on Baseball Reference and look down on all 98 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:40.079 these columns and how they end in fifty some records 99 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.759 by the time he retired, were real. These things actually existed, 100 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.360 that a game was played at a certain time in 101 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:50.720 a certain era that looked like this. It wasn't by 102 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:54.240 the way. I mean, he may have been unusual for 103 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:56.439 the longevity part of it, but there were a lot 104 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.399 of pitchers then who were throwing two hundred and eighty 105 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:05.759 three hundred who you know, were through hard who made 106 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:08.399 forty some starts in the year, who pitched on four 107 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:13.199 days rest, And as my as I got a bit 108 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.720 older over the past say ten years or so, I 109 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:21.360 would watch starting pitchers come off the mound with an 110 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:23.360 out in the sixth inning and tip their cap to 111 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:27.519 an adoring crowd. Or I would watch no hitters die 112 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:30.680 not in the batter's box, but on the manager on 113 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.360 the top step of the dugout, or in the GM's office, 114 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:37.959 or god forbid, in the analytics room, and I would 115 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:41.680 mutter to myself, where have you gone, Nolan Ryan? You know? 116 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:45.439 And I think one day I just got in my 117 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.879 car and drove to Texas to find Nolan Ryan. 118 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:52.360 And tell us about that journey, because he's not an 119 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:54.839 easy guy to find. As we were kind of briefly 120 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:57.519 chatting before the show, I noticed that, wow, I didn't 121 00:06:57.560 --> 00:06:59.879 since there was a lot of and it's got everything. 122 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:02.000 The book is great, and it's really well written. It's 123 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:05.480 got everything about Nolan Ryan and so many anecdotes and 124 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:08.439 great stories, and you really now who he is. However, 125 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:11.279 part of who he is is he's not that accessible. 126 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:14.079 So when you went on your journey to Texas to 127 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:16.720 find Nolan Ryan. I'll bet it wasn't easy. 128 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:23.959 Right, You're absolutely right. So honestly, the journey was to 129 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:27.879 find the idea of Nolan Ryan, the notion of Nolan Ryan. 130 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:32.600 So I went to this little town forty miles south 131 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:36.360 of Houston called Alvin, and I spent three weeks there 132 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:41.800 learning about the how and the why. And that was 133 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:46.120 what was important to me was what sort of place 134 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:51.480 produces a man, a pitcher, an athlete, a ballplayer like 135 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:55.199 Nolan Ryan. What were the values there? What did it 136 00:07:55.240 --> 00:08:01.560 feel like here? Why did he commit himself to this 137 00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:05.240 craft like no one else in the history of the game. 138 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:09.399 Who was this person? And I feel like it had 139 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:14.360 to start in this little town where you learn who 140 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:17.120 are your role models, what are your values? What's important 141 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:19.680 to you? How hard are you going to work for this? 142 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:25.519 And I did find that and I began to understand 143 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:30.600 as much as an outsider could, particularly with Nolan's dad. 144 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:34.799 You know, Nolan was the youngest of six kids. Four 145 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:39.120 of his older siblings were girls. And what was important 146 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:44.679 to Nolan's father, Lynn Nolan Ryan Senior, was putting those 147 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:47.559 four girls through college. And the way he did that 148 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:51.320 was to hold two jobs. He worked in the oil 149 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:54.159 field during the day, he would come home, eat dinner, 150 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:57.799 go to bed, sleep for several hours, get up at 151 00:08:58.120 --> 00:09:03.039 twelve thirty am and deliver newspapers into the morning, come home, 152 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.720 have breakfast, and start all over again. And I don't 153 00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:13.639 think as a boy, you watch this person, this person 154 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:16.679 who's so important in your life, commit to something like 155 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:21.279 this over many, many years, and not grow up with 156 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:24.320 those same sort of that same sort of work ethic, 157 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:27.320 those same sort of values, those sense of decency about 158 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:31.519 being responsible for other people. Where where the important things 159 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:36.919 in your life are taking care of your family, representing well, 160 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:39.759 going to church on Sundays. It was all of these things. 161 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.360 And that's what I found there, which was in the moment, 162 00:09:43.559 --> 00:09:46.799 of course, you know, to go back to your original question. 163 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:50.879 I knew that Nolan was out there. The family was 164 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:53.279 somewhat reluctant to speak to me out of the gate, 165 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.360 because they don't just jump in on every project that 166 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:01.279 crosses their desk. But I think, over a couple of years, 167 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:05.080 doing all the research, talking to all the people that 168 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:07.720 I and I hesitate to use this word because I 169 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:09.320 don't want to put words into their mounds, but I 170 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:13.679 think I earned my time with them toward the end 171 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.639 of the research process where they invited me down to 172 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:19.200 where they live now, which is outside Round Rock, Texas. 173 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:24.159 And you know, I think you know, Nolan asked me, 174 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:26.240 he goes, why are you doing this? I said, because 175 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:30.879 I'm curious. And that's really the beginning and the end 176 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:35.360 of it was this great curiosity about this ballplayer and 177 00:10:36.759 --> 00:10:40.799 growing old and you know, looking back over his shoulder 178 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:46.240 on a lifetime spent in pursuit of all these things 179 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:47.200 we just talked about. 180 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:50.360 Wow, Okay, my special guest on Today's Guys Guys radio 181 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:54.879 sports writer Tim Brown the book Nolan, The Singular Life 182 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:58.519 of an American Original, and he sure is. So I've 183 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:00.519 got a lot of questions about kind of where he 184 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:02.720 is now. But let's start at the beginning. How did 185 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:06.919 he discover like baseball and how did they discover him that, like, Wow, 186 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:08.480 this guy's got a special arm. 187 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:14.360 Right Well, I think the the great backstory is that 188 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:20.080 Nolan's older siblings, five of them he had one brother 189 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:23.960 as well as the four sisters, were all brilliant in school. 190 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:29.759 Honor Roll straight A's school was easy for them, and 191 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:33.879 Nolan had dyslexia and he struggled at school. So you're 192 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:37.200 walking into the same school, down the same hallways, into 193 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:40.240 the same classrooms, in front of the same teachers, and 194 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:44.039 suddenly you're not like the rest of the rions. There's 195 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:47.799 an expectation of more of the same, but there wasn't. 196 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.440 And I think that drove him onto the ball fields. 197 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:55.559 I mean, he loved sports. There's a great anecdote of 198 00:11:55.960 --> 00:11:59.519 he feels like the first new thing he ever got 199 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.360 was a baseball glove. His dad drove him to the 200 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:06.440 hardware store where they kept all the gloves, and he 201 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:09.759 picked out his new glove, the first hand me down, 202 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:13.000 non hand me down thing in his life. And what 203 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.879 I love about that as an aside, is that the 204 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:21.159 museum is across the street from where that old hardware 205 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.360 store used to be, and that glove is in that museum. 206 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:28.759 So it traveled over, you know, seventy years now, it 207 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:33.639 basically traveled half a block to go from the hardware 208 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:39.159 store to the museum case and he just found that 209 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:43.279 the baseball field. You know, he had trouble in English 210 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:45.720 reading the book, but he could read a scoreboard and 211 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:47.919 that's where he got his confidence that, you know, the 212 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:50.759 school day would end. And now it's his time. Now, 213 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:53.600 it's his time to shine. All that disappointment he felt 214 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:57.480 in the classroom from teachers or fellow students was all 215 00:12:57.639 --> 00:12:59.720 washed away and it was time for Nolan Ryan to 216 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:03.240 shout uh and and he loved it and he excelled 217 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:06.720 and he was He learned very early on that he 218 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:10.080 had this big arm and he was going to ride it. 219 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.159 Why do you think he had such a big arm? 220 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:18.639 Is it the mechanics? Just route strength, determination, a combination 221 00:13:18.759 --> 00:13:23.320 of three coordination, eyehend coordination or you know, strong lower body. 222 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.039 What were all of these things? 223 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:25.440 What was he? 224 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:26.159 Well? 225 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:28.799 I think he was a terrific natural athlete. He was 226 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:31.200 a very good baseball player, or I'm a very good 227 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.799 basketball player as well as baseball. But you know, we 228 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:36.000 all grew up with kids who were about the same 229 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.240 size as them, but just there was something different about him. 230 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:40.159 You know, you play catch with them and that last 231 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:42.679 foot got on you quick. You're like, well that's a 232 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:46.720 little different. So early on, you know, I don't know 233 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.799 if there was anything other than he was just a 234 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:52.960 pretty good natural athlete. And then I found I think 235 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:57.559 he found that winning was important to him, and he 236 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:02.799 committed to these teams and he enjoyed it. And there's 237 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:06.240 you know, the great story where he wasn't you know 238 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:09.759 it might have been a teenager at the time where 239 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:12.919 you know, he had the big fastball, but he still 240 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:16.480 couldn't control it. Yeah, and he like hit the first kid, 241 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:19.559 hit the second kid, broke the helmet of the third kid, 242 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:21.919 and the fourth kid wouldn't come to the plate. He 243 00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:25.080 told the coach, I'm not going up there, and Olden said, yeah, 244 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:28.840 I knew I had him then refusing to come to 245 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:32.159 the plate. That that's a pretty good sign. So I 246 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:35.840 think that, you know, to push that a little. You 247 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:39.240 asked about the discovery and the wild thing to me, 248 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.440 especially in the context of today, where we know, you know, 249 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:45.240 you could you could get information on every fourteen year 250 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:47.600 old baseball player in the country if you wanted it, 251 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.200 and you know, you'd know their swing, you know, what 252 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:53.000 they look like on a mound. Back then, it didn't 253 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.799 work that way at all. And it's wild for me 254 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:59.720 to think that he was this kid who was throwing 255 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:03.360 who knows, ninety ninety five, you know, in high school 256 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.720 and one scout found him one yeah, I know. And 257 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:11.159 Alvin High School had a good baseball program, they played 258 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:15.799 good teams, they were in the state tournament, and for 259 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:20.200 whatever reason, the fact that he couldn't control this fastball, 260 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.320 the fact that he didn't have a great second pitch, 261 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:26.279 he still had this very sort of sloppy curveball. One scout, 262 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:29.120 a guy named Red Murph, who tramped all over the 263 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.840 state and all the states nearby, stumbled onto him one 264 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:36.039 afternoon and thought, this is the greatest arm I've ever seen. 265 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:39.440 And a little sunken chested, skinny, one hundred and forty 266 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.720 pound kid from Alvin High School who that day came 267 00:15:42.759 --> 00:15:45.759 in in relief. And Red Murph hadn't even planned on 268 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.799 being there that day. It was just a fluke. And 269 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:51.919 my sense is if Red hadn't steered his car toward 270 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:54.519 that ballpark that day, we'd be talking about Nolan Ryan, 271 00:15:54.559 --> 00:15:56.440 the veterinarian amazing. 272 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.480 So let's fast forward to he's on the Mets, he 273 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:01.600 gets straight by the Mets, he goes all the way 274 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.879 through to the to the World Series against the Orioles, 275 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:08.440 which they won in the five games, and then he 276 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:11.840 got traded to the Angels, I believe if I recall correctly, 277 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.279 and then he really blossomed. So what was this issue 278 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.000 beyond the control thing. Why didn't the Mets management even 279 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.639 though they drafted him. He seemed they seemed there seemed 280 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:22.639 to be based on the book Tim a lot of 281 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.799 naysayers within the organization who weren't really buying into the 282 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:29.440 what Nolan Ryan's true potential. 283 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:36.000 Was, right, They couldn't figure out how to get Nolan 284 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:40.159 sort of tracked toward the strike zone, which was what 285 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:43.519 it basically came down to. And so you'd get this 286 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:46.919 guy who's putting up all these numbers UH in the 287 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:50.720 minor league, striking out two batters an inning, and throwing 288 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.960 deep into games. Already, they knew they had this force, 289 00:16:55.480 --> 00:17:01.320 they knew about this fastball, and the organization was very 290 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:05.720 impatient for the next Tom sever, right, they needed the 291 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:10.279 next Tom sever and it just wasn't coming for whatever reason. 292 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:13.079 And I think there's there were a variety of reasons 293 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:15.559 to take this little this kid from a small town 294 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:17.359 in Texas, and you put them in New York City, 295 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:20.559 and you add all these expectations, and you add the 296 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:25.000 press that's all leaning in also wondering when the next 297 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:27.839 Tom sever is going to show up wearing Nolan Ryan's 298 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:32.599 number UH, and all of that combined, Plus he's newly married. 299 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:35.880 He's you know, his wife is Ruth is two years 300 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:38.119 younger than he is. They're trying to sort out the world. 301 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:39.640 Who are they going to be, what are they going 302 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:43.920 to be together? What does what does baseball look like? 303 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:45.960 What does it feel like? And you know, there was 304 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.039 there were certainly plenty of conversations back then about maybe 305 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:52.480 baseball is just not for me, because the experience was 306 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:56.839 was just rough and the team Gil Hodges was the manager, 307 00:17:57.480 --> 00:18:00.519 Rube Walker was the pitching coach, and they just couldn't 308 00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:02.599 figure it out. He was. They just didn't know what 309 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:04.440 they were going to get when they put him in 310 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:08.839 a game. And it got to a point where, uh, 311 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:12.880 you know, it was time to they needed offense. So 312 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:16.400 they went and got this all star shortstop from from 313 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.799 the Angels who was you know, thirty years old and 314 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:21.400 and could hit, and they were going to put him 315 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:24.279 at third base and off they were going to go 316 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:27.200 behind this this pitching staff with the Severs and Kuzman's 317 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:30.359 and Gentries and mc andrews and John Mattlack was coming 318 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:33.920 and uh, it just all made sense then. Well he 319 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:37.079 was he'd barely gotten in the door in Anaheim when 320 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:40.400 Tom Morgan, the pitching coach with the Angels, said we 321 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:44.599 got to rework your mechanics. And they did, and suddenly, look, 322 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:48.759 he was never going to be, you know, a guy, 323 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:52.279 a command, a control pitcher. But they got it squared 324 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:56.519 away enough where it was it was legit where you know, 325 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:58.839 instead of walking six guys a game, he was walking 326 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:01.079 four and that made all the difference. 327 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:02.440 I don't know if you got into this, it's a 328 00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:05.240 pretty granular question, but what was what was he doing 329 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:06.759 wrong in his mechanics? 330 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.839 Well, you know, to get the weeds a little bit, 331 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:12.920 he was flying open, was his shoulders, front shoulder was 332 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:17.000 whipping toward the first base dugout and the ball was 333 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.559 flying all over the plate. And what Tom Morgan would 334 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:23.920 do was Tom Morgan would stand right next to Nolan 335 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:26.240 and said, if you don't go straight to the plate, 336 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:29.039 you're gonna hit me in the face or knock me off. 337 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:33.160 And so they did that for weeks and weeks and 338 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:36.759 weeks with Tom Morgan standing right on top of Nolan, 339 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:39.200 and he had nowhere to go. He had to go 340 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:41.519 straight to the plate. So you get it all streamlined. 341 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:45.200 He get everything behind the ball, the fastball even ticked 342 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:48.240 up a little at the time. Curveball came better as 343 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.599 a result, and you know, suddenly he was a competitive pitcher. Amazing. 344 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:55.279 So what tell us about his kind of trajectory with 345 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:58.559 the Angels then, because before he went to the Astros 346 00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:01.480 and the Rangers, finally he's had a good run. He 347 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:05.839 really became the Ryan Express on the Angels. 348 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:09.119 Right, he became a superstar. He became suddenly a guy 349 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:12.640 who you couldn't trust over four or five innings to 350 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:16.079 a guy you could trust over three hundred innings. And 351 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:20.359 I think probably you know, there was suddenly he had 352 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.480 all this confidence. There was never a doubt that he 353 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.519 was going to get the ball. Four days later, the 354 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:30.599 manager would leave me in games deep into games, you know, 355 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:34.599 into the eighth ninth inning. I would put Robert. I 356 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:38.119 would put up his seventy two through seventy four seasons, 357 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:41.880 those three seasons. You could cherry pick three seasons out 358 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:44.359 of your favorite pitcher, no matter where they are. They 359 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:46.319 don't have to be consecutive. And I would put those 360 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:52.119 three seasons up against any you know, just ridiculous numbers 361 00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:55.599 in terms of nine hundred and fifty innings pitched and 362 00:20:56.279 --> 00:21:01.599 you know, one thousand and some strikeouts. He just what, 363 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.079 like I want to say, seventy five seventy six complete 364 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:09.480 games in that period. He just became suddenly, you know, 365 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:12.839 he just grew all of a sudden. He was not 366 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:15.720 just a guy who, Wow, this feels better. He was 367 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.880 a guy who was I'm going to beat you today 368 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:22.440 and every single day. And the wild thing you pushed 369 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:25.480 that out just a little bit further is he lost 370 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:30.480 sixteen games every season, exactly sixteen games every season because 371 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:33.640 the Angels, which would be a running theme in his career, 372 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:35.200 the Angels weren't very good. 373 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.759 You know what. Some of the amazing stats I think 374 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:42.079 were like per game pitches nowadays, Like I'm out here 375 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:44.400 in the San Diego area and I like to watch 376 00:21:44.440 --> 00:21:47.000 the Padres and they're like five innings from the starter. 377 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:50.039 And then we got the greatest bullpen inning inning inning 378 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:54.640 right in Nolan's day, he pitched, if I got this correct, 379 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:58.279 over two hundred pitches and a number of starts. 380 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:02.440 Yeah. Yeah. The most famous one, of course, was the 381 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:06.559 two hundred and thirty five pitch game against the Red Sox, 382 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:13.039 And uh, what the part I love it is Louis 383 00:22:13.079 --> 00:22:15.559 Tiant was pitching for the Red Sox. The game went 384 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:17.839 into extra innings, I think it was I think Nolan 385 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:22.640 pitched thirteen innings and afterward he was mad that Bobby Winkles, 386 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:24.440 the manager, pulled him out of the game because t 387 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:29.400 pitched fourteen. That game absolutely amazing. 388 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:31.400 Now, what do you think about that in terms of 389 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:32.960 your you know, you've been on the beach for all 390 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:36.279 these years that the game has changed. What do you 391 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:38.960 how would you compare those days to nowadays? 392 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:39.279 Where? 393 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:39.960 And why? 394 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:42.519 Why can't these Why are these pitchers always getting Tommy 395 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:45.680 John surgery? Why why are they getting injured all the time? 396 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:49.960 And why could those pitchers, the Bob Gibson's, the Don Drysdales, 397 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:52.799 the Nolan Ryans of the world just pitch and pitch 398 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:54.680 and pitch that they can't do that today. 399 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:59.680 Yeah, here's my theory is I would say fifteen years 400 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:06.279 ago started hearing about little leaguers, high schoolers, college pitchers 401 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:13.440