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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9428

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As good a time as any to post the JoePos chapter on Ryan

as usual with Joe, right on the money

 

https://joeposnanski.substack.com/p/no-70-nolan-ryan?s=r
 

This is what Nolan Ryan was going for every single game. He didn’t pitch for the moment. He pitched for posterity, for history, for ultimate dominance. Randy Johnson and Tom Seaver combined for an amazing 67 three-hitters in their awesome careers. Ryan alone had 69 of them. 

Sandy Koufax and Pedro Martinez combined for an amazing 215 games with 10 strikeouts. Ryan alone had 215 such games.

Every … time … out, Ryan aimed for history. He refused to compromise, to moderate, to take his foot off the throttle even for a second. He could have tightened up his windup so that base-stealers didn’t run on him at will. He wouldn’t do it. He could have spared a couple of miles per hour off the fastball to refine his command. He wouldn’t do it. He could have given in a little and thrown a few more pitches over the plate so not to talk so many hitters. He wouldn’t do it.

No. Nolan Ryan was given great gifts, and he turned them into what is probably still the hardest fastball ever thrown and a curveball that ran away like an angry child, and every game he started he intended to throw a no-hitter. Every game he intended to strike out 27 batter. Every game, he intended to do something incredible, something worthy of his unique talent.

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WBT

WBT 20561

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I went last night with my dad (who saw Nolan pitch in high school) and thought it was really well done.  I idolized him as a kid, read both of his books, and knew most of the stories and career highlights but it was still was fun seeing the documentary play all the hits.  

  • They interviewed tons of people, some that I remember and enjoyed:
    • HOFs and HOF adjacent - Pete Rose, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Rod Carew, Pudge, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens
    • Astros teammates - Enos Cabell, Alan Ashby, Craig Reynolds, Phil Garner, Terry Puhl, Mike Scott, Kevin Bass, Jose Cruz, Biggio (cool interview along the railing of the rainbow section in the dome)
    • W was pretty good
    • Jerry Grote, from San Antonio and caught Nolan with the Mets
    • Dorky looking Tom House who dropped the only f bomb in the movie
  • Some of my favorite parts were old video they got from before my time.  Maybe some of this is on Youtube but I've never seen it
    • Highlights from 1969 NLCS when Nolan came on in relief in the 3rd and finished the game
    • Highlights from his first two no-hitters
    • The infamous Norm Cash coming to bat with a table leg during one of the no-hitters
    • The 383rd strikeout - I didn't know that it came in the 11th inning of his last start of the year
  • The move to Anaheim was interesting.  He talked about how he finally learned to repeat his delivery and improve his control there because he had a pitching coach for the first time in his life.
  • Another thing that stood out to me was winning 21 games, throwing 2 no-hitters, and striking out 383 in 1973 and still finished runner-up for the CY
  • They covered him not being able to close out 1980 NLCS game 5 in depth and also the 'Stros losing both games he started in the 1986 NLCS, so that was just great.
  • There was a lot of family stuff that was good too, him and Ruth (UIL doubles tennis champ, holla!) in Alvin and then a family gathering on the river close to Junction.  I assume they have some land out there but anyway they had interviews with all 3 kids and some cute stuff from the grandkids.  
  • The footage from his HOF speech was cool with someone waving a giant Texas flag in the middle of the huge crowd.
Edited by WBT
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TrashMaster G

TrashMaster G 17541

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21 minutes ago, WBT said:

I went last night with my dad (who saw Nolan pitch in high school) and thought it was really well done.  I idolized him as a kid, read both of his books, and knew most of the stories and career highlights but it was still was fun seeing the documentary play all the hits.  

  • They interviewed tons of people, some that I remember and enjoyed:
    • HOFs and HOF adjacent - Pete Rose, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Rod Carew, Pudge, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens
    • Astros teammates - Enos Cabell, Alan Ashby, Craig Reynolds, Phil Garner, Terry Puhl, Mike Scott, Kevin Bass, Jose Cruz, Biggio (cool interview along the railing of the rainbow section in the dome)
    • W was pretty good
    • Jerry Grote, from San Antonio and caught Nolan with the Mets
    • Dorky looking Tom House who dropped the only f bomb in the movie
  • Some of my favorite parts were old video they got from before my time.  Maybe some of this is on Youtube but I've never seen it
    • Highlights from 1969 NLCS when Nolan came on in relief in the 3rd and finished the game
    • Highlights from his first two no-hitters
    • The infamous Norm Cash coming to bat with a table leg during one of the no-hitters
    • The 383rd strikeout - I didn't know that it came in the 11th inning of his last start of the year
  • The move to Anaheim was interesting.  He talked about how he finally learned to repeat his delivery and improve his control there because he had a pitching coach for the first time in his life.
  • Another thing that stood out to me was winning 21 games, throwing 2 no-hitters, and striking out 383 in 1973 and still finished runner-up for the CY
  • They covered him not being able to close out 1980 NLCS game 5 in depth and also the 'Stros losing both games he started in the 1986 NLCS, so that was just great.
  • There was a lot of family stuff that was good too, him and Ruth (UIL doubles tennis champ, holla!) in Alvin and then a family gathering on the river close to Junction.  I assume they have some land out there but anyway they had interviews with all 3 kids and some cute stuff from the grandkids.  
  • The footage from his HOF speech was cool with someone waving a giant Texas flag in the middle of the huge crowd.

Where did you see it?

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Dilligas

Dilligas 666

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Saw him pitch a game at old Arlington Stadium and then set in the parking lot drinking beer while waiting for traffic to clear. After an hour or so we noticed people streaming toward a lone car in the lot. It was Nolan signing autographs in the drivers seat with Ruth in the passenger seat. Very cool.

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Guest

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On 4/21/2022 at 1:56 PM, Scraps said:

It was calculated differently back then to now.  How true all this is who knows, but nerds have said that back in the 70s where the calculations were ended up being almost 10% slower than the ball coming out of the pitchers hand.  So when Nolan would throw 100 in 1974....well you do the math. Now when Chapman for the Yankees throws 105 it was calculated at a different point in the throw and is more accurate of the speed coming out of his hand.  

 

Nolan didn’t throw 108 for fuck’s sake. I hope the snow monkeys make an appearance. 

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BillyGoatHill

BillyGoatHill 4312

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Buddy of mine and I were at his last start/game at the Kingdome in '93.

Day game on a Wednesday (happened to be the wife's Bday) and our seats were just down the line by the Rangers/visitor's bullpen ( it was on the field  between the foul line and the first row of seats).

Like all the guys say in the movie trailer,.... "ssssssssssss POP!"  That's what you heard from 25' ft away and just a few rows up. Had to be scary in the box against him. 

After facing just a few batters in the first, and feeling a pop against Dave Magadan (leading NCAA hitter in '83 on Bama's runner up team to the HORNS), that was the last batter he ever faced. 

Kingdome crowd (40k +) did Nolan right and gave him a standing O as he left the field.

tipping derek jeter GIF

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InkaUtexas

InkaUtexas 25857

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Never saw him pitch, but got to meet him in Honduras when he and Gary Carter can to represent the US. They had breakfast at the house. I was allowed to miss school that day. 

WASHINGTON -- Pitcher Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros and catcher Gary Carter of the New York Mets have been named to the official U.S. delegation headed by Vice President George Bush to the inauguration of Honduran President Jose Azcona.

They will accompany the vice president for the Jan. 27 ceremonies and stay in the country to set up a baseball clinic, Bush's office said.

 

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/01/25/Athletes-on-diplomatic-missionsNEWLNUPI-SportsFeatureNEWLNUS-Is-Using-Athetes-On-Diplomatic-Trips/3213507013200/

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gsoda3

gsoda3 3245

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On 7/26/2022 at 12:05 AM, BillyGoatHill said:

Day game on a Wednesday ...

great story.  i love what the mariners' fans did.  are you sure it was a day game though?  i remember listening to the game in bed (9:30 bedtime for my sixth grade self) and thinking that could be the last time he ever pitched. 

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Beau Vine

Beau Vine 54205

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41 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

great story.  i love what the mariners' fans did.  are you sure it was a day game though?  i remember listening to the game in bed (9:30 bedtime for my sixth grade self) and thinking that could be the last time he ever pitched. 

I was there.  It was a night game, and Nolan faced more than "a few" batters, because he could not throw strikes -- and you could tell something was wrong.

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BillyGoatHill

BillyGoatHill 4312

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16 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

great story.  i love what the mariners' fans did.  are you sure it was a day game though?  i remember listening to the game in bed (9:30 bedtime for my sixth grade self) and thinking that could be the last time he ever pitched. 

Could of been a night game.

My buddy and I went to a lot of midweek games, and Wednesday's games were during the day quite a bit so maybe I mixed it up with another. Plus I'm old and we used to drink quite a bit pregame and during.

The Kingdome was horrid for watching baseball or any other sporting event due to the gloominess of the drab concrete which it was made of, and of course the lack of daylight or stars.

So glad when they imploded it.

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dcar00

dcar00 14151

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watched it a couple of days ago.  great stuff.   dude was just a force of nature.  from the time he joined the Angels the guy never really fell off.

how in the fuck do you go 8-16 with the best ERA in the league?

most of the stuff I already knew but the Winfield fracas was new to me.  The "just get me one tonight" after the first inning of the 6th no hitter, after him telling Valentine that his back was hurting and get a guy ready, was classic Nolan.

If they guy had played for the Reds or Dodgers back then he probably would have won 400 games.

The Big Unit comes close to Ryan, but I think the reason Ryan had so many no hitters/1 hitters is that batters just feared him from both sides of the plate.

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ohchaucer

ohchaucer 1443

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Loved it. I was at the Ventura game in Arlington. He was my hero before but after that night, he was a god.

Only negative thing about this doc for me was that some of the last scenes were a little blurry…. my iPad probably just stirring up a little dust in the room, I reckon.

Loved it. I was at the Ventura game in Arlington. He was my hero before but after that night, he was a god.

Only negative thing about this doc for me was that some of the last scenes were a little blurry…. my iPad probably just stirring up a little dust in the room, I reckon.

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ohchaucer

ohchaucer 1443

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Reposting because Tapa is fucking me up:


Loved it. I was at the Ventura game in Arlington. He was my hero before but after that night, he was a god.

Only negative thing about this doc for me was that some of the last scenes were a little blurry…. my iPad probably just stirring up a little dust in the room, I reckon.

Edited to humble brag that I was also at David Cone’s perfect game in Yankee stadium (disclaimer I’m a lifelong Yankees fan) a few years later and i doubt I’ll ever be a part of a more transcendent sporting experience, but the Nolan ass whooping is still the one I feel most lucky to have seen.

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freyguy

freyguy 4261

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I remember watching his 6th no-hitter as a kid on TV.  It was hard to get KABB or whatever channel it was in San Antonio to consistently carry the Rangers.  They mostly showed Astros games, who were dog shit at the time.  What struck me the most was as the game went on, the Oakland crowd cheered louder and louder for Nolan.  Oakland was no slouch either, as most of their hitters were hall of fame worthy.  He just made them look impotent.

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Bateshorn

Bateshorn 9927

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On 5/24/2022 at 10:41 PM, cabowabo said:

Went and saw this tonight. Very well done. It’s hard to believe he ended up with 292 losses.  He lost 16 games in 1972 (won 19) with a 2.28 ERA.  He was a 20 game winner and lost 16 games each of the next two years with a sub 3.00 ERA. Dude played on some shitty teams. 

Nolan was the man, but he also played on a lot of bad teams, especially early in his career when he still struggled to control the strike zone well.  It meant there was often somebody standing on base when he made a mistake and not a lot of run support to help out. 

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BillyGoatHill

BillyGoatHill 4312

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47 minutes ago, You don't know me said:

I can't remember who said it in the documentary, but the guy said something like this:

If you're digging into the box and Nolan is waiting on you, you're gonna get one in your ear hole.

👆Kevin Bass, one of his Astro teammates.

Watched it last night.

What a great film and loved who they got in it to talk about him, especially another dude that was wild and had control issues when he first came up, Randy Johnson.

 

edit: Too bad we play at OSU this year, would have been nice to heckle Robin a bit about not consenting to an interview. 🤣

Edited by BillyGoatHill
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You don't know me

You don't know me 1161

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6 minutes ago, BillyGoatHill said:

👆Kevin Bass, one of his Astro teammates.

Watched it last night.

What a great film and loved who they got in it to talk about him, especially another dude that was wild and had control issues when he first came up, Randy Johnson.

 

edit: Too bad we play at OSU this year, would have been nice to heckle Robin a bit about not consenting to an interview. 🤣

 

I saw Nolan pitch in person in Houston and Arlington.  The thing that sticks out in my mind is how you could hear him grunt when he pitched.  He just put everything he had into it.  Now that I'm in my 50s I have an even greater appreciation for his longevity.

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