Nolan Ryan Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed The Ryan Express, is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and a previous chief executive officer (CEO) of the Texas Rangers. He is currently an executive adviser to the owner of the Houston Astros. Over a record 27-year baseball career that spanned four decades: 1966, 19681993, Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Ryan, a hard-throwing, right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were regularly clocked above 100 miles per hour (161
Luis Tiant was a response to a drop in his velocity due to a shoulder blade injury. Twisting and turning his body into unthinkable positions, Tiant would spend more time looking at second base than he did the plate as he prepared to throw. In that season, he led the league in ERA (1.60), shutouts (nine, including four consecutive), hits per nine innings (a still-standing franchise record 5.30, which broke Herb Score's 5.85 in and would be a Major-League record low until Nolan Ryan gave up 5.26 hits/9 innings in ), strikeouts per nine innings (9.22), while finishing with a 21–9 mark.