Nolan Ryan Stats | Baseball Prospectus

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Nolan Ryan PAstros

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Career Summary

Years	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	WARP
27	807	5386	324	292	3	3.19	157.9

Birth Date	1-31-1947
Height	6' 2"
Weight	195 lbs

Age	77 years, 2 months, 19 days
Bats	R
Throws	R

WARP Summary

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MLB Statistics

Historical (past-seasons) WARP is now based on DRA..
cFIP and DRA are not available on a by-team basis and display as zeroes(0). See TOT line for season totals of these stats.
Multiple stints are are currently shown —Click to hide.

YEAR	Team	Lg	G	GS	IP	W	L	SV	H	BB	SO	HR	PPF	H/9	BB/9	HR/9	K/9	GB%	BABIP	WHIP	FIP	ERA	cFIP	DRA	DRA-	WARP
1966	NYN	MLB	2	1	3.0	0	1	0	5	3	6	1	96	15.0	9.0	3.0	18.0	0%	.571	2.67	6.01	15.00	109	4.98	124.7	0.0
1968	NYN	MLB	21	18	134.0	6	9	0	93	75	133	12	87	6.2	5.0	0.8	8.9	0%	.242	1.25	3.49	3.09	102	2.83	82.6	2.0
1969	NYN	MLB	25	10	89.3	6	3	1	60	53	92	3	99	6.0	5.3	0.3	9.3	0%	.252	1.26	2.85	3.53	89	3.04	74.3	1.7
1970	NYN	MLB	27	19	131.7	7	11	1	86	97	125	10	98	5.9	6.6	0.7	8.5	0%	.228	1.39	4.23	3.42	111	4.20	96.3	1.3
1971	NYN	MLB	30	26	152.0	10	14	0	125	116	137	8	98	7.4	6.9	0.5	8.1	0%	.273	1.59	4.01	3.97	116	4.45	114.0	0.0
1972	CAL	MLB	39	39	284.0	19	16	0	166	157	329	14	86	5.3	5.0	0.4	10.4	0%	.236	1.14	2.35	2.28	71	1.86	50.3	8.7
1973	CAL	MLB	41	39	326.0	21	16	1	238	162	383	18	92	6.6	4.5	0.5	10.6	0%	.280	1.23	2.50	2.87	58	2.05	48.5	10.7
1974	CAL	MLB	42	41	332.7	22	16	0	221	202	367	18	92	6.0	5.5	0.5	9.9	0%	.255	1.27	2.96	2.89	77	2.52	61.0	8.8
1975	CAL	MLB	28	28	198.0	14	12	0	152	132	186	13	92	6.9	6.0	0.6	8.5	0%	.264	1.43	3.63	3.45	97	3.47	82.2	3.1
1976	CAL	MLB	39	39	284.3	17	18	0	193	183	327	13	90	6.1	5.8	0.4	10.4	0%	.269	1.32	2.89	3.36	74	2.41	60.5	7.5
1977	CAL	MLB	37	37	299.0	19	16	0	198	204	341	12	93	6.0	6.1	0.4	10.3	0%	.263	1.34	3.11	2.77	81	2.53	56.5	9.0
1978	CAL	MLB	31	31	234.7	10	13	0	183	148	260	12	97	7.0	5.7	0.5	10.0	0%	.292	1.41	2.92	3.72	79	2.47	59.6	6.5
1979	CAL	MLB	34	34	222.7	16	14	0	169	114	223	15	96	6.8	4.6	0.6	9.0	0%	.266	1.27	3.24	3.60	76	2.68	59.7	6.3
1980	HOU	MLB	35	35	233.7	11	10	0	205	98	200	10	93	7.9	3.8	0.4	7.7	0%	.291	1.30	2.88	3.35	71	2.49	58.1	6.8
1981	HOU	MLB	21	21	149.0	11	5	0	99	68	140	2	96	6.0	4.1	0.1	8.5	0%	.246	1.12	2.35	1.69	66	1.74	43.4	5.5
1982	HOU	MLB	35	35	250.3	16	12	0	196	109	245	20	95	7.0	3.9	0.7	8.8	0%	.263	1.22	3.22	3.16	74	2.32	53.8	8.1
1983	HOU	MLB	29	29	196.3	14	9	0	134	101	183	9	94	6.1	4.6	0.4	8.4	0%	.247	1.20	3.00	2.98	74	2.30	53.0	6.5
1984	HOU	MLB	30	30	183.7	12	11	0	143	69	197	12	91	7.0	3.4	0.6	9.7	0%	.274	1.15	2.68	3.04	56	2.05	47.9	6.6
1985	HOU	MLB	35	35	232.0	10	12	0	205	95	209	12	91	8.0	3.7	0.5	8.1	0%	.293	1.29	2.83	3.80	73	2.49	57.2	7.5
1986	HOU	MLB	30	30	178.0	12	8	0	119	82	194	14	93	6.0	4.1	0.7	9.8	0%	.241	1.13	3.03	3.34	70	2.22	50.1	6.5
1987	HOU	MLB	34	34	211.7	8	16	0	154	87	270	14	92	6.5	3.7	0.6	11.5	0%	.281	1.14	2.46	2.76	47	2.02	42.3	8.9
1988	HOU	MLB	33	33	220.0	12	11	0	186	87	228	18	95	7.6	3.6	0.7	9.3	0%	.285	1.24	2.97	3.52	70	1.91	45.9	8.2
1989	TEX	MLB	32	32	239.3	16	10	0	162	98	301	17	103	6.1	3.7	0.6	11.3	0%	.258	1.09	2.59	3.20	66	1.83	44.0	9.2
1990	TEX	MLB	30	30	204.0	13	9	0	137	74	232	18	103	6.0	3.3	0.8	10.2	0%	.244	1.03	2.86	3.44	66	2.23	52.0	7.1
1991	TEX	MLB	27	27	173.0	12	6	0	102	72	203	12	99	5.3	3.7	0.6	10.6	0%	.230	1.01	2.79	2.91	75	2.15	49.8	6.3
1992	TEX	MLB	27	27	157.3	5	9	0	138	69	157	9	98	7.9	3.9	0.5	9.0	0%	.301	1.32	3.07	3.72	84	2.81	68.0	4.1
1993	TEX	MLB	13	13	66.3	5	5	0	54	40	46	5	98	7.3	5.4	0.7	6.2	0%	.246	1.42	4.43	4.88	105	4.55	98.2	0.8
Career		MLB	807	773	5386.0	324	292	3	3923	2795	5714	321	94	6.6	4.7	0.5	9.5	47%	.265	1.25	2.97	3.19	76	2.47	58.9	157.9

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shown —Click to hide.

YEAR	Team	Lg	LG	G	GS	IP	W	L	SV	H	BB	SO	HR	PPF	H/9	BB/9	HR/9	K/9	GB%	BABIP	WHIP	FIP	ERA	cFIP	DRA	DRA-
1966	NYN	MLB	NL	2	1	3.0	0	1	0	5	3	6	1	96	15.0	9.0	3.0	18.0	0%	.571	2.67	6.01	15.00	109	4.98	124.7
1968	NYN	MLB	NL	21	18	134.0	6	9	0	93	75	133	12	87	6.2	5.0	0.8	8.9	0%	.242	1.25	3.49	3.09	102	2.83	82.6
1969	NYN	MLB	NL	25	10	89.3	6	3	1	60	53	92	3	99	6.0	5.3	0.3	9.3	0%	.252	1.26	2.85	3.53	89	3.04	74.3
1970	NYN	MLB	NL	27	19	131.7	7	11	1	86	97	125	10	98	5.9	6.6	0.7	8.5	0%	.228	1.39	4.23	3.42	111	4.20	96.3
1971	NYN	MLB	NL	30	26	152.0	10	14	0	125	116	137	8	98	7.4	6.9	0.5	8.1	0%	.273	1.59	4.01	3.97	116	4.45	114.0
1972	CAL	MLB	AL	39	39	284.0	19	16	0	166	157	329	14	86	5.3	5.0	0.4	10.4	0%	.236	1.14	2.35	2.28	71	1.86	50.3
1973	CAL	MLB	AL	41	39	326.0	21	16	1	238	162	383	18	92	6.6	4.5	0.5	10.6	0%	.280	1.23	2.50	2.87	58	2.05	48.5
1974	CAL	MLB	AL	42	41	332.7	22	16	0	221	202	367	18	92	6.0	5.5	0.5	9.9	0%	.255	1.27	2.96	2.89	77	2.52	61.0
1975	CAL	MLB	AL	28	28	198.0	14	12	0	152	132	186	13	92	6.9	6.0	0.6	8.5	0%	.264	1.43	3.63	3.45	97	3.47	82.2
1976	CAL	MLB	AL	39	39	284.3	17	18	0	193	183	327	13	90	6.1	5.8	0.4	10.4	0%	.269	1.32	2.89	3.36	74	2.41	60.5
1977	CAL	MLB	AL	37	37	299.0	19	16	0	198	204	341	12	93	6.0	6.1	0.4	10.3	0%	.263	1.34	3.11	2.77	81	2.53	56.5
1978	CAL	MLB	AL	31	31	234.7	10	13	0	183	148	260	12	97	7.0	5.7	0.5	10.0	0%	.292	1.41	2.92	3.72	79	2.47	59.6
1979	CAL	MLB	AL	34	34	222.7	16	14	0	169	114	223	15	96	6.8	4.6	0.6	9.0	0%	.266	1.27	3.24	3.60	76	2.68	59.7
1980	HOU	MLB	NL	35	35	233.7	11	10	0	205	98	200	10	93	7.9	3.8	0.4	7.7	0%	.291	1.30	2.88	3.35	71	2.49	58.1
1981	HOU	MLB	NL	21	21	149.0	11	5	0	99	68	140	2	96	6.0	4.1	0.1	8.5	0%	.246	1.12	2.35	1.69	66	1.74	43.4
1982	HOU	MLB	NL	35	35	250.3	16	12	0	196	109	245	20	95	7.0	3.9	0.7	8.8	0%	.263	1.22	3.22	3.16	74	2.32	53.8
1983	HOU	MLB	NL	29	29	196.3	14	9	0	134	101	183	9	94	6.1	4.6	0.4	8.4	0%	.247	1.20	3.00	2.98	74	2.30	53.0
1984	HOU	MLB	NL	30	30	183.7	12	11	0	143	69	197	12	91	7.0	3.4	0.6	9.7	0%	.274	1.15	2.68	3.04	56	2.05	47.9
1985	HOU	MLB	NL	35	35	232.0	10	12	0	205	95	209	12	91	8.0	3.7	0.5	8.1	0%	.293	1.29	2.83	3.80	73	2.49	57.2
1986	HOU	MLB	NL	30	30	178.0	12	8	0	119	82	194	14	93	6.0	4.1	0.7	9.8	0%	.241	1.13	3.03	3.34	70	2.22	50.1
1987	HOU	MLB	NL	34	34	211.7	8	16	0	154	87	270	14	92	6.5	3.7	0.6	11.5	0%	.281	1.14	2.46	2.76	47	2.02	42.3
1988	HOU	MLB	NL	33	33	220.0	12	11	0	186	87	228	18	95	7.6	3.6	0.7	9.3	0%	.285	1.24	2.97	3.52	70	1.91	45.9
1989	TEX	MLB	AL	32	32	239.3	16	10	0	162	98	301	17	103	6.1	3.7	0.6	11.3	0%	.258	1.09	2.59	3.20	66	1.83	44.0
1990	TEX	MLB	AL	30	30	204.0	13	9	0	137	74	232	18	103	6.0	3.3	0.8	10.2	0%	.244	1.03	2.86	3.44	66	2.23	52.0
1991	TEX	MLB	AL	27	27	173.0	12	6	0	102	72	203	12	99	5.3	3.7	0.6	10.6	0%	.230	1.01	2.79	2.91	75	2.15	49.8
1992	TEX	MLB	AL	27	27	157.3	5	9	0	138	69	157	9	98	7.9	3.9	0.5	9.0	0%	.301	1.32	3.07	3.72	84	2.81	68.0
1993	TEX	MLB	AL	13	13	66.3	5	5	0	54	40	46	5	98	7.3	5.4	0.7	6.2	0%	.246	1.42	4.43	4.88	105	4.55	98.2

Plate Discipline

YEAR	Pits	Zone%	Swing%	Contact%	Z-Swing%	O-Swing%	Z-Contact%	O-Contact%	SwStr%

Injury History — No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On	Date Off	Transaction	Days	Games	Side	Body Part	Injury	Severity	Surgery Date	Reaggravation
1993-09-23	1993-10-04	DTD	11	10	Right	Elbow	Sprain	Ulnar Collateral Ligament	-	-
1993-08-22	1993-09-12	15-DL	21	20	-	Trunk	Strain	Ribcage	-	-
1993-05-08	1993-07-19	15-DL	72	63	Left	Hip	Strain		-	-
1993-04-15	1993-05-07	15-DL	22	18	Right	Knee	Surgery		1993-04-15	-
1992-09-28	1992-10-05	DTD	7	6	Left	Hip	Strain	Gluteal Muscles	-	-
1992-04-07	1992-04-30	15-DL	23	22	Left	Lower Leg	Strain	Calf with Inflamed Achilles	-	-
1991-07-29	1991-08-19	15-DL	21	22	Right	Shoulder	Strain		-	-
1991-05-14	1991-05-29	15-DL	15	13	Right	Shoulder	Inflammation		-	-
1990-05-18	1990-06-06	15-DL	19	18	-	Low Back	Spasms		-	-
1986-07-28	1986-08-12	15-DL	15	13	Right	Elbow	Inflammation		-	-
1986-06-01	1986-06-24		23	23	Right	Elbow	Sprain	Ligament	-	-
1984-09-21	1984-10-01	DTD	10	9	Left	Lower Leg	Strain	Calf	-
1984-06-18	1984-07-03	15-DL	15	15	Left	Lower Leg	Strain	Calf	-	-
1984-06-02	1984-06-17	15-DL	15	15	Right	Fingers	Blister		-	-
1983-05-03	1983-06-07		35	30	Left	Thigh	Strain	Hamstring	-	-
1983-03-26	1983-04-17	15-DL	22	11	-	General Medical	Inflammation	Prostrate Gland	-	-
1978-08-21	1978-09-06	15-DL	16	11	Left	Trunk	Sprain	Rib Cartilage	-	-
1978-06-11	1978-07-05		24	24	Left	Thigh	Strain	Hamstring	-	-
1969-05-12	1969-06-11		30	22	-	Groin	Strain		-	-
1968-07-30	1968-09-03		35	37	Right	Hand	Blister		-	-

Compensation

Year	Team	Salary

Service Time	Agent	Contract Status

Details

4 years (2012-15). signed extension with Texas. Relinquished title of president 3/1/13.
4 years (2008-11). Hired by Texas as team president 2/29/08. Elevated to President & CEO 3/12/11.
Texas Rangers, 1989-93. 89:$1.8M, 90:$1.4M, 91:$3.3M, 92:$4.2M, 93:$3.757M.
Houston Astros, 1980-88. 4 years/$4.5M (1980-83). 2 years (1984-85), signed extension 5/83. 2 years/$2.35M (1986-87), plus $1M 1988 club option.
California Angels, 1972-79. 1 year/$0.1M (1974).
New York Mets, 1966-71

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT	W	L	SV	G	GS	IP	H	BB	SO	HR	BABIP	WHIP	ERA	DRA	VORP	WARP
Weighted Mean	?	?	?	?	?	0.0	?	0	0	?	.000	0.00	0.00	?	0.0	0.0

BP Annual Player Comments

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BP Articles

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BP Chats

Date	Question	Answer
2016-04-14 20:00:00 (link to chat)	Noah Syndergaard!!! Can't tell if this guy is the second coming of Doc Gooden or Nolan Ryan. What do you make of this guy?? (Greggy from NY)	No need to make comps with Thor. He doesn't have Doc's curveball or young Nolan Ryan's control problems. He's a beast, though, and looks ready to contend for a Cy Young award right now. (Scooter Hotz)
2014-12-18 15:00:00 (link to chat)	You can pick one of the following pitchers to win a game with your life depending on it, the kicker is you get their career best stuff that day: Big Unit, Pedro, Clemens, Nolan Ryan, Kerry Wood, Maddux, Doc Gooden, Gibson, Koufax Who do you choose and why? (rangerfans2 from Fort Worth)	Pedro because he's Pedro. (Craig Goldstein)
2014-06-24 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Everything I read about Lucas Giolito makes him seem like the next Nolan Ryan. I know the risk is high with TJ on the resume, but if it all clicks, how high is this ceiling really? Are there any current comps or is his ceiling higher than what we're seeing in the big leagues right now? (Steve from Los Angeles)	I've had a scout tell me that Giolito's floor is out of baseball in five years due to arm problems, and his ceiling is Cooperstown. Do with that what you will. (Jordan Gorosh)
2014-05-13 11:00:00 (link to chat)	Did you think you were underrated on Tyler Kolek? Kolek has higher ceiling than Stewart and Harvey, he is an ace in the future. (James Kolek from Texas)	I haven't ranked Kolek, so its hard to underrate him. I've seen him several times, and he's a big-bodied Texan that can throw 100. I don't love the secondary stuff at present, but its hard to really complain about Kolek's raw stuff. He will likely be a top 3 pick in this draft. How is that for underrating him? Or was this just a blanket comment towards anybody that doesn't think he's a 1:1 reality and the next Nolan Ryan? (Jason Parks)
2014-02-28 14:00:00 (link to chat)	How much of pitching is genetics vs hard work and good training? If the top pitching coaches from around the league coached a bunch of determined but otherwise very average joes, how many of them would make the majors? (Rags from Brooklyn)	Genetics certainly matter, but to be elite requires tons of hard work and appropriate training. The best pitchers of all time were obsessive about improvement through hard work and proper training, from Nolan Ryan to Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson. The second question is impossible to answer without context. (Doug Thorburn)
2013-09-06 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Is Mariano's cutter the best pitch ever? I mean every one knows it's coming and it's gonna be between 90-92 MPH, but he still gets the job done. (Shawnykid23 from CT)	I don't know about the best pitch ever, since I have only been watching baseball for the last 25 years or so, but it might be the most effective pitch of my generation. Other votes go to Nolan Ryan's fastball and Randy Johnson's slider, to name a few. Right now, I think that Jose Fernandez's "Defector" may be the nastiest pitch in baseball. (Doug Thorburn)
2012-11-09 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Which great pitcher from the 50s, 60s, or 70s would be most changed by today's dogma on teaching pitching mechanics? (Paul from DC)	Awesome question. It depends on the organization, as well as the player. For a guy like Bob Gibson, many teams would be hesitant because of his "violence," but they might be afraid to tinker with his delivery until he suffered failure. Nolan Ryan is a fun answer, because he both pitched during the aforementioned era and also adjusted his mechanics as he matured. So based on his improvements and sustained longevity, my guess is that he would have been way more efficient if he had been exposed to mechanical teachings earlier in his career. The guys led all of baseball in walks AND strikeouts SIX different times in the 1970's - ridiculous. On the jukebox: Corrosion of Conformity, "Clean My Wounds" (Doug Thorburn)
2012-08-10 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Doug, I've read from Dick Mills that long-toss ruins pitchers arms and causes injury. Do you buy into that? He states that is why the Rangers have so many injuries in their staff. (Jacob from Illinois)	With all due respect to Dick Mills, I am wary of such claims in light of the variables involved in injury prediction. There are also a variety of long-toss programs, and any pitcher who fails to support such a program with proper mechanics and conditioning will be at an increased risk when throwing long-toss. A pitcher also needs to retain sound mechanics during the long-toss exercise, as some players will sell out to throw the ball a further distance, or raise the shoulder axis like a cannon shooting at a distant target. Regarding the Rangers, they are way ahead of many other teams when it comes to the art and science of pitching despite the old-school perception of Nolan Ryan. He was one of the first to be involved with hi-speed motion analysis, and his coaching staff is on top of all the latest research. On the jukebox: Guns N' Roses, "You Could Be Mine" (Doug Thorburn)
2012-04-13 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Good chat. Over the last 15 - 20 years, who are some of your favorite players to go to the ballpark and see play and why? (Jerome from T Hills)	Some of them are obvious - warts and all, I'm thrilled that I've gotten to see Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez as often as I have over the years - both have provided some incredible moments. Mariano Rivera, of course. I'm lucky to have seen Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson relatively late in their careers. Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and Randy Johnson were pretty special because the Mariners were a favorite before I came to New York, and a common point of reference for me and my brother. Manny Ramirez, when he was still an Indian, was a lot of fun. Jim Thome was a beast who seemed to homer every time he came to town. Going further back, I'm thrilled I got to see Fernando Valenzuela pitch in person, even if it was only spring training. Likewise for seeing Reggie Jackson in spring training - both were huge parts of my childhood and adolesence. My first regular season major league game was Roger Clemens vs. Nolan Ryan in 1989 (read about it in today's column). That was incredibly special in retrospect because Ryan always meant a great deal to me. I'm sure I've forgotten somebody, but that's a good start. (Jay Jaffe)
2012-03-26 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Angels/Rangers second best rivalry in baseball right now? (Jeff from Dallas)	I do think that rivalries get hot very fast now, because of the Twitter and the interaction between fan bases and the fact that every perceived insult is televised and talked about. So, even without a long history between them -- Nolan Ryan is really the only thing that links the rivalry to the past -- it has become a really good feud really quickly. On the other hand, they haven't really played a lot of super meaningful games against each other, because none of the division races have been very close over the past five years. They need a defining weekend series this September. (Sam Miller)
2012-01-26 13:00:00 (link to chat)	If Bryce Harper were a native Texan, would he be a combination of Babe Ruth and Ryan Braun (sans herpes medicine)? (Busty Olner from Chicago)	Combination of Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan, and a plate of BBQ brisket with Stubbs all over it (Jason Parks)
2011-11-30 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Me and my friend had a little disagreement the other day over Nolan Ryan. My friend thinks he's one of the top 10 pitchers of all time, I say he might not even crack the top 20. What's your take on it? (yankeesbg13 from Indianapolis)	The new JAWS figures have him 14th all-time, well ahead on career, but a bit behind on peak (64.1/32.3/48.2 vs the standard of 53.0/37.1/45.1). Having watched him throw his 5th no-hitter and caught several more starts where he gave it a good run, he's absolutely in my top 10 in terms of "If I could have a ticket to see one guy pitch." (Jay Jaffe)
2010-07-22 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Tommy, how bad is it for baseball that the Rangers are still in bankruptcy court? And how likey is MLB to get involved under the "for the good of the game clause"? I kinda get the feeling Nolan Ryan's getting the shaft here. (Jquinton82 from NY)	Is it bad for baseball? I don't know. As long as most of the players and employees do not take haircuts on their contracts, and most bond holders come out mostly unscathed, I don't think it's so bad. Look at the alternative: Hicks is running the risk of completely ruining the Liverpool EPL franchise into the ground by his refusal to sell below his (very high) reservation price. Bankruptcy exists for a reason, and that's the orderly resolution of insolvency. That is to say, it beats the heck out of the alternative. (Tommy Bennett)
2010-05-25 13:00:00 (link to chat)	How tense are things between Nolan Ryan and his (as of right now) employer, Tom Hicks? (xxx from yyy)	Very tense. (John Perrotto)
2010-01-06 13:00:00 (link to chat)	As an older Mets fan who fondly remembers Ventura for his grand slam single, and a young baseball fan who fondly remembers Ventura for charging Nolan Ryan. He deserved better than being one and done, right? (J.P. from Hartford)	Absolutely. I'm not convinced yet that he belongs, but as with Will Clark, Lou Whitaker, Dwight Evans, Bobby Grich and several others, I certainly feel the debate should have gone on a whole lot longer before anyone made up their minds. (Jay Jaffe)
2010-01-06 13:00:00 (link to chat)	I'd like to make an argument for aesthetically pleasing baseball (for lack of a better term) being just as good reason to elect someone to the Hall Of Fame. The reason we love baseball is because it's amazing, exciting, and beautiful. There are some players who win ugly, and there are some players who don't help the team win as much as some would think, but are certainly fun to watch (Rice, Dawson, Nolan Ryan). Shouldn't there be room in the Hall for both? (Jim from Brooklyn)	I have no beef with Ryan being there. If your idea of aesthetics includes exciting long home runs salted among lots and lots of outs, where's Dave Kingman on your ballot? (Jay Jaffe)
2009-12-15 14:00:00 (link to chat)	Will Nolan Ryan "cure" injury-prone Rich Harden by having him throw more? If Harden does throw more than 200 innings, is Ryan a genius? (Drew W from NoVA)	Ryan? You meant to say "Mike Maddux," and the answer to whether or not he's a genius is perhaps better answered by saying an exceptional technician is worth his weight in gold, which is why the Rangers filched him from the Brewers in the first place. (Christina Kahrl)
2009-10-09 13:30:00 (link to chat)	Happy to see Nolan Ryan is going to give Neftali Feliz a chance to start next year. Thoughts on implementing a Joba Rules type approach with him? (Corey from Fort Worth, TX)	I don't think the Joba rules should be applied to Joba, so no, not a fan. (Kevin Goldstein)
2009-06-25 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Will the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim win the division or will Nolan Ryan's Manly Man pitchers be enough to carry the Rangers? (Bogomil from (Anaheim, Gm 2, 2002 ALDS))	I still like the Angels, with 85 wins or so. I don't trust the Rangers' offense much more than I do their rotation. (Joe Sheehan)
2009-05-12 13:00:00 (link to chat)	Hi Steven. Do you think the Yankees should trade or release Veras and Ramirez? (Kevin from Texas)	My coffee finally arrived... It's easy to get frustrated with Veras and Ramirez, particularly the latter because he's so vulnerable to the home run. He's been a mess this year, with more walks than he can sustain, more than anyone this side of Nolan Ryan could sustain, and the longball rate is insane. He shouldn't be released, nor should Veras, but there's certainly an argument to be made for sending him down given that he's done just about nothing right so far. The question is, who do you replace him with? The Yankees have already sorted through Mark Melancon and Dave Robertson and are now looking at Brett Tomko for goshsakes. Steve Jackson sat in the pen for two weeks without being tried like he had been blacklisted or something... Veras's problem has always been control, and it's probably worth giving him more time to get it locked down again. Unlike Ramirez, he's not a gimmick pitcher. (Steven Goldman)
2009-04-06 13:00:00 (link to chat)	The A's have taken Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, highly regarded pitching prospects with little experience over A-ball, and put them in the Opening Day rotation. The Rangers have taken Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland, highly regarded pitching prospects with little experience over A-ball, and put them in AAA, with Nolan Ryan saying they will likely initially pitch out of the bullpen when they do get to the majors. Which path do you think is preferable? (X from Y)	I lean towards the latter, although the pitchers in question are so different that the divergent approaches probably work best for each pairing. It's worth noting that breaking in pitchers in Oakland is much different than doing so in Arlington, so you can push the envelope more. (Joe Sheehan)
2008-12-23 14:00:00 (link to chat)	What's your take on Nolan Ryan's planned pitching expedition to the 1970s? Even if the Texas youngsters all avoid getting hurt will anyone follow them on the journey to 40 starts and 280 innings? (Cris E from St Paul, MN)	I like what Ryan's saying conceptually, because on some level he's right--one of the causes for today's offensive levels is the amount of mound time going to third-tier talent (or worse). I don't think we're going to see 40 starts any time soon, but he's right to want to return to relief workloads that aren't defined by the habitual pursuit of slivers of situational advantage that handicap your ability to manage and develop actual pitching talent. (Christina Kahrl)
2008-12-15 13:00:00 (link to chat)	How do you feel about Nolan Ryan's plan for his pitchers? I'm skeptical about whether more random throwing (such as BP) mixed in between starts and bullpen sessions will really lead to increased durability. It seems like these things were gotten rid of as part of an attempt to increase the control a club had over how much a pitcher used his arm. If that's the case, they'd actually know less about how hard their pitchers are working. Or is that line of thinking just indicative of how cautious we've become with regards to the position? (Rob from Brighton)	I like that he's got the right goal - more innings, but I'm not sure about the method. I like "throw more, pitch less" and I like that Jamie Reed and Keith Meister are involved, which will help them when they start seeing the inevitable burnouts. I don't like the idea of sacrificing some arms in the hopes that they'll get more innings across the board because those arms might be Neftali Feliz or Derek Holland as much as they're Joe Filler. I wish a team would take me up on a logical, individualized progression. One team discussed it with me, but it didn't go farther. I'm convinced on this one I'm right and no one's been able to say I was wrong. (Will Carroll)
2008-11-19 13:00:00 (link to chat)	A lot of talk out of Texas about Nolan Ryan implementing a stricter conditioning regime for the pitchers, with pitchers expected to throw more and longer, including throwing live BP in the spring. Good idea? Bad idea? (X from Y)	We'll see. It's definitely a change and I think, as I said previous, that they're willing to break some to find some. If they break the wrong ones, this will look like a terrible idea. (Will Carroll)
2008-10-24 14:00:00 (link to chat)	You've been pretty critical of the job Jon Daniels has done as Ranger g.m. Do you think Nolan Ryan, as the new team president, has made a mistake in committing to Daniels and bringing him back? (X from Y)	I thought Daniels did nice work at the 2007 deadline in trading Teixeira, and the Hamilton deal did bring back a superstar level talent whereas Volquez was probably unlikely to flourish under the conditions there. Those two things plus the Bradley signing buy him a bit of time. The bottom line, though, is that the team needs to find a way to field a competent rotation as opposed to the doormats they've put out there. Yes, injuries have played a part, as have some of Daniels' clinkers. We'll see how Ryan's plan for the pitchers' improved fitness plays out - Arlington's a tough place to pitch and maybe they should explore moving the fences back to give their kids a break. (Jay Jaffe)

BP Roundtables

Date	Roundtable Name	Comment
2010-10-06 10:00:00	2010 Playoffs Day One	If Buck Martinez would have read Ben Lindbergh's preview of this series, he'd realize all that talk about the Rangers' starters going longer under Nolan Ryan's plan is a bunch of BS so far. (John Perrotto)
2010-04-05 09:30:00	Season Opener Roundtable	Just caught up on the fact of the Heyward homer... well, that's up there with Will Clark's homering off of Nolan Ryan his first time up in terms of fulfilling expectations from his first live-game introduction. (Christina Kahrl)
2009-10-28 17:00:00	2009 WS Game One	Nolan Ryan was the first million/year guy, he's still in the game obviously. Wasn't Canseco the highest paid at one time? (Kevin Goldstein)
2008-10-10 13:30:00	Friday LCS	I know it's early and I shouldn't say this, but this game kind of reminds me of Game 5 of the 1986 NLCS, the one where Nolan Ryan and Dwight Gooden threw all those zeroes at each other... (Steven Goldman)