Nolan Ryan, Jr.

Nolan Ryan, Jr. was born on January 31^st of 1957 in Refugio, Texas. Nolan was the youngest of six children. His parents were Nolan Ryan, Sr. and Martha Lee Hancock Ryan. His family moved to Alvin, Texas when he was he was only 6 months old. As a young boy, Nolan liked throwing objects at targets so his dad got him into baseball. He joined little league when he was nine.

In MLB, Nolan played for four different teams. He started in 1966 with the New York Mets, and stopped playing for them in 1971. He then moved to the California Angles in 1972, and stopped in 1979. He then signed to the Houston Astros for eight years, from 1980 to 1988. His last team was the Texas Rangers and he played for them from 1989 to 1993.

Ryan played in more seasons (27) than any other player in major league history. Ryan ranks first all-time in strikeouts (5,714), fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.56), and no-hitters (7).

Nolan Retired from playing baseball but stayed in the baseball spirit. He threw out the ceremonial "first pitch" before Game 3 of the 2005 World Series between the Astros and the White Sox, the first World Series game ever played in Texas. That game went 14 innings, equaling the longest in innings in World Series history.