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Fun Trivia: N : Nolan Ryan

Special Sub-Topic: Life of the Ryan Express


Nolan Ryan was born on January 31, 1947, in what state?

    Texas. He was born in Refugio, Texas, to Lynn Nolan Ryan Sr., and Martha Lee Hancock Ryan.

Throughout Nolan Ryan's career, he moved around the country playing for different teams. Which team did he not play for?
    Cleveland Indians. Nolan Ryan played for four teams, with the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, California Angels, New York Mets.

Nolan Ryan was known for his longevity. His major league career spanned how many seasons?
    27. His career spanned 27 seasons and 4 decades.(1966,1968-1993)

Arguably his most notable feat, Nolan Ryan racked up 5,714 of these in his career:
    Strikeouts. When Nolan retired, Steve Carlton was second to Ryan in career strikeouts. His 4,136 strikeouts trailed Ryan's total by 1,578 strikeouts! He amassed this amount by averaging 9.55 strikeouts per nine innings.

Another feat that Nolan Ryan was known for, was his ability to throw no-hitters. How many no-hitters did he throw in his career?
    7. His first no-hitter coming in 1973, and his last being in 1991 at the age of 41. Amazingly, he also had 5 other no-hitters that were broken up in the ninth inning.

In 1973, Nolan Ryan threw how many strikeouts, to top Sandy Koufax's single season record for strikeouts in one season?
    383. Nolan Ryan threw 383 strikeouts in the 1973 season for the California Angels.

What is Nolan Ryan's full legal name?
    Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr.. He was named after his father, Lynn Nolan Ryan, Sr.

Nolan Ryan also racked up 2,795 of these in his career to lead this dubious category.
    Walks. Among his dubious stats, he racked up 277 wild pitches, 292 losses, and 1,911 earned runs over his career.

Nolan Ryan was named to the All-Star team how many times?
    8. Although he was named to 8 All-Star teams, he only played in 5 of them, including a win at the 1989 All-Star game, pitching 2 innings of relief.

In his Major League debut, Nolan Ryan faced this team, which featured players such as Hank Aaron, Felipe Alou, and Joe Torre.
    Atlanta Braves. He pitched 2 innings of relief, allowing 1 earned run on 1 hit, and stiking out 3 in his debut game on September 11, 1966.

One of Nolan Ryan's most famous stories involved him getting into a scuffle with a Chicago White Sox player after Ryan threw a wild pitch in an August 4, 1993 game. Who was the player that Nolan Ryan got into a brawl with?
    Robin Ventura. Robin Ventura charged the mound in the third inning after Ryan threw a wild pitch that hit Ventura's arm. However, unexpectedly, the 46 year-old Ryan fought back with punches of his own after getting Ventura into a headlock. Ventura was ejected after the brawl cleared up.

Nolan Ryan's number was retired by an amazing 3 different teams. Which one of the following was not one of them?
    New York Mets. Ryan's #30 was retired in 1992 by the California Angels, and then subsequently his #34 was retired in 1996 by both the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.

On August 22, 1989, Nolan Ryan reached a milestone by recording his 5000th strike out, in a game against the Oakland Athletics. Who was the batter that became Ryan's 5000th strike out victim?
    Rickey Henderson. Over his career he struck out Rickey Henderson 5 times. He also struck out Jose Canseco 8 times and Mark McGwire 6 times.

How many homeruns has Nolan Ryan hit as a batter in the Major Leagues?
    2. Nolan Ryan hit his first Major League homer off Don Sutton of all people on April 12, 1980. His second and last Major League homer came off Charlie Puleo on May 1, 1987.

Nolan Ryan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the same class as George Brett and Robin Yount amongst others. What year was this?
    1999. Nolan Ryan was selected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame on 491 of 497 ballots cast, a whopping 98.79% of the vote!


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