29 Years Ago: Ryan vs. Ventura

 


Ventura learned the hard way not to charge the GOAT


There are some things in life that someone just doesn’t do. Don’t tug on Superman’s cape is one of them.

Nolan Ryan, besides being the greatest human to ever throw a baseball, is a lifetime cattle rancher in the state of Texas. If there is one thing that Ryan does better than punching out batters, it’s punching cattle.

He can rope ’em, poke ’em, tie ’em and brand ’em with the best of ’em. Ryan is one of those actual cowboys that Kevin Costner plays on television, except Ryan is not playing. Nolan is a real-life John Wayne, even though John Wayne wasn’t real life.

On his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Ryan pitched for 27 seasons, won 292 games, and struck out 5,714 hitters. Nobody will ever strike out that many hitters ever again. Ryan threw fastballs over 100 mph and a curveball that was like it was falling off a table. Later in his career, he developed an off-speed pitch that just wasn’t fair. If hitters could’ve sued him, they would’ve.

Nolan Ryan threw 7 no-hitters.

Ryan always intimidated hitters. Many were afraid of him. Even the best considered taking the day off when Ryan was scheduled to pitch against them. When hitters faced him, they knew what was coming and still couldn’t do much about it.

Later in his career, the young bulls thought the old man was ready for the taking. He could still bring the heat and if they dug in against him, he’d pitch inside old school to guard against them getting too comfortable. It’s all about keeping the batters off balance. It’s how Ryan made his living.

Robin Ventura had been having some success against the veteran Ryan. When he stepped to the plate during a game, Ryan decided the junior player needed to remember who he was facing. Mayhem ensued.



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