Today in Sports History: August 12

In 1974, California Angels pitcher, Nolan Ryan, struck out 19 players and only walked two players as the Angels beat the Red Sox 4-2.

In 1965, Ryan was drafted to the New York Mets in the 12th round as the 226th overall pick. He played with the Mets from 1966 until 1971 where he was then traded to the Los Angeles/California Angels in 1972 and played until 1980. He was then traded to the Houston Astros where he played until 1988 and then traded one last time to the Texas Rangers in 1989 and played with the Rangers until 1993. 

Throughout his 27-year long playing career, he pitched a total of 5,386.0 Innings, played in 807 games and threw 5,714 Strikeouts. His record was 324 wins and 292 losses. His Earned run average (ERA) was 3.19 and his Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched (WHIP) average was 1.25. He had a total of 852 At-Bats, 2 Home Runs, 36 Runners Batted In, and three Stolen Bases. His batting average was .110 and his On-base percentage and slugging percentage was .282. 

He was named the American League (AL) Player of the Week 10 times and the AL Player of the Month twice. He was a six-time AL All-Star and named the Rangers Pitcher of the Year in 1989. He was named the National League (NL) Player of the week three times and the NL Pitcher of the month twice. He was also named a two-time NL All-Star in 1981 and 1985 and the Astros Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1981. 

In 1969, he won a World Series Championship with the New York Mets and was only a World Series champion once. The Los Angeles/California Angels retired Ryan’s jersey number in 1992 and once Ryan retired after the 1993 season, in 1996 both the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros retired his jersey number as well. 

Years later, Ryan was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 for his incredible career and outstanding accomplishments and records. 

Ryan started his own business as the principal owner of Ryan Sanders Sports and Entertainment which owns the Triple A and Double A affiliate teams of the Houston Astros. In 2008, he became the president and CEO of the Texas Rangers but stepped down in 2013. He took on a position as an executive adviser for the Houston Astros under the owner, Jim Crane. 

Then in 2019, Ryan was demoted by the Astros and resigned from the Club. He currently resides in his other businesses such as cattle ranching, a meat company, turf business, and a community bank.