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Nolan Ryan was one of the greatest pitchers in Major League Baseball history and is the current president of the Texas Rangers. Ryan played in a major league record 27 seasons for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers, from 1966 to 1993. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Ryan, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were regularly recorded above 100 mph (160 km/h), even past the age of 40. While his lifetime winning percentage was a relatively pedestrian .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, and his 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson , by 977 strikeouts as of August 13, 2008. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962—walking over 50% more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history.
Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for t he most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters.
Ryan is the only major league player to have his number retired by three different teams (excluding Jackie Robinson, whose number 42 was retired by Major League Baseball for all teams). His number was the first retired by the Rangers.Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, in his first year of eligibility with 98.2% of the vote, six votes short of a unanimous election. He chose to wear a Rangers cap for his HOF plaque to reflect his Texas heritage, as well as the fact that his 300th win, 5000th strikeout, and last two no-hitters came as a Ranger. That year, he ranked 41st on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. He was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2003, and named the Rangers', and Astros' Hometown Hero in 2006--the only player to be so named by two franchises.
This crème colored Houston Astros road jersey was worn by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in the 1980's. This jersey is tagged on the tail with a Goodman & Sons size 44/wash tag, which is the correct size and preferred manufacturer of Ryan. "RYAN" is stitched in a zig-zag pattern to the back of the jersey on a nameplate with surged borders. The front logo and back numbers are outlined in white, and zig-zag stitched to the jersey in a tighter pattern. This jersey exhibits moderate evidence of game use, which is most evident in the form of wash wear to the tag on the tail with some loose stitching to the logo and numbers. A desirable rainbow sleeve style Astros jersey worn by one of the most celebrated pitchers of the modern era. View Lot Detail page