Nolan
Nolan: The Singular Life of an American Original, Tim Brown. Grand Central Publishing (ISBN: 9781538726549) 2026.
Summary: A biography of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan focusing on his career and the values that formed his approach to pitching and life.
“There was an athlete once, a pitcher, a ballplayer, who took the baseball every four or five days and set out to throw a no-hitter. Every time. To give up nothing. To give away nothing. To strike out everybody. To win every pitch, every inning, every game, until there were twenty-seven outs, and they turned out the lights and everybody went home. He threw harder than anybody else, and did that not for a year or five or ten, but for nearly three decades” (p. xvii).
That pitcher was Nolan Ryan. And Tim Brown’s description of Ryan in his Prologue captures the essence of what he will elaborate in this new biography of the Hall of Fame pitcher. He won 324 games, and probably would have won far more had he not played for low scoring teams. He pitched seven no hitters, his last at age 42, still capable of throwing 96 miles per hour fastballs. Not only that, he struck out sixteen players. No other pitcher has more than four. Over his career, he struck out 5714. The two active pitchers closest to him are more than 2,000 shy of that number.
Brown begins with his childhood in Alvin, Texas. It’s the place that formed his work ethic, his teamwork and family values.It is where he met Ruth in eighth grade. In many ways Nolan Ryan is the quintessential Texan. Even today, he and Ruth own a huge livestock ranch near Alvin. Then, it is also where a Mets scout “Red” Murff discovered Ryan, a “skinny high school junior with the best arm I have ever seen in my life.” Two and a half-years later, he would be pitching alongside Tom Seaver. Seaver’s discipline impressed the young man with so much raw talent. Ryan would help the Mets win the World Series. It would be the only one in which he would compete.
Brown traces his career with the Angels, Astros, and Texas Rangers. While with the Angels, Tom Morgan, a pitching coach, worked with him on his delivery. Radar measurements were inexact, and measured differently than today. So by today’s standards, he may have thrown as fast as 108 miles per hour in his youth. No wonder they called it “The Express.” Then he moved back to Texas, first with the Astros, not far from his home, Finally, he gave a lift to the struggling Rangers in the concluding years of his career.
One chapter of the book is devoted to Ryan’s no-hitters, the first in 1973, the last in 1991. Each game is summarized. Another chapter is devoted to the “bow-tie,” the times Ryan hit batters. It exposes what a fierce competitor, determined to absolutely dominate hitters. There are recollections of a different, more generous Ryan, in the clubhouse, including the son of a long-time batting coach, Sid Holland.
Brown takes us through the struggles of his last year, when age finally caught up with Ryan, and the game with Seattle when an elbow ligament finally gave out. Characteristic of the man, he simply walked off the mound, said “I’m done,” and didn’t pitch again. Brown wonders whether we will see the likes of him in our “pitch counts” approach to pitching where it is rare for a starter to pitch a complete game.
The last chapters turn to his life after baseball. He did serve as president of the Rangers, setting them on a competitive path, until rivals pushed him out.. But much of his life was on his ranch, with Ruth, and his family. Meanwhile, Alvin would forever show the marks of the town where Nolan Ryan grew up.
I enjoyed the way Brown mixes accounts of his career with insights into Ryan as a person. Nolan Ryan was far more than a gifted pitcher. Brown explores the inner dynamics that contributed to such incredible staying power at such a high level. I wonder with Brown if we will see the likes of him again