Now Ryan Has Beaten Them All

Is swooning in the press box allowed? If so, I’m guilty.

I just saw Nolan Ryan pitch.

He wears a Texas Ranger uniform now--as if it matters. Ryan could wear a clown outfit (some say he did with the Houston Astros) and hitters still would tread lightly in the batter’s box. After all, clothes don’t make the pitcher; fastballs, curveballs and change-ups do, and Ryan has a closet full of those.

Ryan didn’t do anything extraordinary Wednesday evening, except win, which, at 42, probably deserves a hyperbole or two. He is the oldest player in the game, but still one of its most feared--no small compliment. And to watch him pitch is to watch the forces of nature suspended. His hairline recedes, but his legend grows.

I understand that as victories go, his 5-1 decision over the Angels wasn’t one of Ryan’s finest. But it did come with a piece of history attached: By disposing of his former team, Ryan became the sixth major league pitcher to defeat all 26 franchises.

This takes some doing, of course. You need to play in two leagues. You need to play on at least two teams in both leagues. And you generally need to be something special.

Don Sutton, one of the select six, probably uncorked a bottle of Chardonnay to celebrate that 26th victim. Gaylord Perry, another member of the group, most likely thanked his tube of Vaseline for beating the final team.

But Ryan? He shrugged and stared at his shoes.

“It should happen if you hang around long enough,” he allowed.

Ryan isn’t much on emotion. After nearly 22 seasons in the majors, he has learned to conserve his energy for more important things, such as disposing of the Angels, not exactly the most difficult task these days. He is paid to pitch and he does so with surprising economy.

To watch his windup--a fluid, easy motion--you’d think he was getting ready to play catch with one of his young sons. But then the ball appears from the darkness of his glove, a white splotch moving toward the plate. In an instant, it is there. Hit it if you can.

Amazingly enough, Ryan grows stronger as the game progresses. He threw 139 pitches Wednesday night and the last one might have been thrown as hard as the first. Had it not been for a slight hamstring pull late in the game, he might have gained his 56th shutout.

Instead, Ryan was removed with one out remaining in the ninth. It was not a popular decision. As Ranger Manager Bobby Valentine made his way out of the dugout, a sellout audience booed lustily. Ryan had just allowed three consecutive hits and a run, but it didn’t matter; they wanted to see Ryan finish what he started. And who cared if Valentine was summoning reliever Jeff Russell, who began the night tied for the American League lead in saves.

Even Ryan was upset, not with Valentine but with himself. He stood on the mound, hands on hips and let loose with a hearty, “Damn!” You didn’t need to read lips; you could hear it in the mezzanine level.

When Russell arrived from the bullpen, Ryan tossed the ball at him and stormed to the dugout without acknowledging a standing ovation. The pro glide, the ability to look cool at all times, is not part of Ryan’s permanent repertoire.

A few minutes later, Ryan had his eighth victory and the Angels had their sixth straight loss. This time, after shaking hands with Russell, Ryan waved to the crowd.

“At that point in time, I was getting behind the hitters,” Ryan said later. “Bobby did the right thing.”

Ryan was calm now. He twanged his way through the postgame interview, calling it “kind of a strange game. I was in and out on my pitches.” He aw-shucked his way through the Angel connection, saying that it didn’t matter all that much to beat his former team. And then he was off to the trainer’s room, where his hamstring was treated and ice was applied to that remarkable right arm of his.

About the slight hamstring injury: Valentine didn’t know about it until the shutout was gone in the ninth. That’s when someone, certainly not Ryan, informed him of the minor pull.

“He never tells me,” Valentine said. “He went out and then I found out about it.”

This is standard operating procedure for Ryan. It is part of the Old School mentality, where you pitch through pain, especially when the pain is coming from your legs, not your arm. And don’t think the Rangers don’t appreciate it.

Asked to explain Ryan’s impact, Valentine doesn’t mention the famed fastball as much as he does the Ryan aura.

“He brings the competitiveness out of our team,” Valentine said. “He’s such a good competitor that everyone rallies around that type of atmosphere. He’s the greatest guy in the world. How can you not want to play hard for him?”

You’ll get no argument here. Or from the Angels, who continue to contribute to the Ryan legacy. Thanks to Ryan, they swooned, too--and their record with them.

“Everybody thinks (Ryan) just goes out and throws,” Angel Manager Doug Rader said. “No, sir. He’s a pitcher.”

There was respect in Rader’s voice, as if he had just witnessed something very unique.

He had. Trust me.

BEATING THEM ALL PITCHERS WHO HAVE VICTORIES AGAINST ALL 26 MAJOR LEAGUE TEAMS.

PITCHER YRS TEAMS RECORD Doyle Alexander 19* Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Dodgers, 192-162 New York Yankees, San Francisco, Texas, Toronto Gaylord Perry 22 Atlanta, Kansas City, New York Yankees, 314-265 San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Texas Nolan Ryan 23* Angels, Houston, New York Mets, Texas 281-256 Don Sutton 23 Angels, Dodgers, Houston, Milwaukee, Oakland 324-256 Mike Torrez 18 Baltimore, Boston, Montreal, New York Mets 185-160 New York Yankees, Oakland, St. Louis Rick Wise 18 Boston, Cleve., Philadelphia, San Diego, St. Louis 188-181

* active