Master · 1966-1993 · right-handed
Nolan Ryan
Twenty-seven seasons, seven no-hitters, and a fastball he would not throw down the middle for anyone.
Signature pitchFour-seam fastball
Ryan paired the most overpowering fastball of his generation with a hard overhand curve and a refusal to give in. He would rather walk a hitter than throw a pitch he did not trust, and he kept doing it into his forties, throwing his seventh no-hitter at age 44.
A four-seam fastball that, on September 7, 1974, became the first officially radar-clocked above 100 mph, paired with a power overhand curve. The conviction to never throw it down the middle is the rest of the pitch.
Sources differ on the exact date of the 100.8 mph reading (some place it August 20, 1974); the measurement was taken ten feet in front of the plate.
The four-seam fastball seam, our own schematic
Ryan accepted record walk totals as the price of never giving in. Told he was not pitching the way a man of his ability should, his answer was that if he was going to lose, he would lose his own way. He framed the gap between good and great as mental: stay exact about the pitch you need, or the velocity is wasted.
“If I’m going to lose, I’m going to lose my way. Who gets the L?”
To Tony Kornheiser, on his conviction-first approach.
The MLB record, 839 ahead of the runner-up.
Also the MLB record: the trade-off of never throwing to contact.
The first fastball officially clocked over 100 mph, measured ten feet in front of the plate.
Filed the way every record here is: each figure season-stamped where it applies, confidence-labeled, and one click from its source. Where the reputation and the data disagree, the gap is shown, not smoothed over.