Nolan Ryan: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:59, 9 May 2006

Revision as of 00:00, 10 May 2006

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Ryan signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the [[Houston Astros]] after the [[1979 in sports|1979]] season, in which he became the first player to make $1 million a year. The normally light-hitting Ryan got his 'Stros years started with a bang in a nationally televised game against the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] on [[April 12]], [[1980]], in which he hit a 3-run home run off future fellow [[Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Famer]] [[Don Sutton]]. It was the first home run of his career (he only hit one more), and garnered 3 of the 6 RBI's he would get that year. He got his second taste of postseason play in 1980, but the Astros were stopped one game short of the World Series.

On [[September 26]], [[1981]], Ryan threw his fifth no-hitter to finally break Koufax's mark, becoming the third pitcher to throw a no-hitter in each league. That season, he won the [[National League]] [[earned run average|ERA]] title with a miserly 1.69.

After that, Ryan then settled into having a long string of good, but not great seasons, highlighted by his breaking [[Walter Johnson]]'s all-time strikeout record on [[April 27]], [[1983]], with his 3,509th whiff.