Ryan’s Fans Still Faithful : Baseball: Well-wishers in Orange County cheer on Texas pitcher as he tried to win No. 300.

When Bill Madden was a student at UC Santa Barbara in the ‘70s, he used to hop in a friend’s two-seater, fly to Orange County and drive to Anaheim Stadium on the nights Nolan Ryan pitched for the Angels.

Madden still sometimes flies into American League cities to watch Ryan pitch. But usually, you can find him with other Ryan fans in front of a television at his favorite bar, Silky Sullivan’s in Fountain Valley, which always shows the Texas Rangers games whenever Ryan’s pitching.

And why not? Madden owns the bar, and his establishment has become the headquarters for Orange County’s unofficial Nolan Ryan fan club.

“When we opened up here, I just started showing Nolan Ryan games, and word got around,” Madden said. “He’s the kind of hero you can really get behind. He’s a real family man, he’s never tried to renegotiate a contract, and he’s always stood by his word.”

Ryan left the game Wednesday night with the Yankees leading, 7-4. The Rangers eventually came back to win, 9-7, in 11 innings. Madden, whose spirits soared and tumbled with each turn of events Wednesday, plans to fly to Milwaukee to witness Ryan’s next attempt at victory No. 300. Ryan is expected to pitch Monday or Tuesday.

Two years ago, when Ryan became a free agent after playing for the Houston Astros for nine years, Madden organized a widely publicized petition campaign to bring Ryan back to the Angels.

“We got 10,000 signatures,” Madden said. “And the Angels were that close to signing him.”

On Wednesday, the bar was crowded with Ryan watchers. While they didn’t have much to cheer about, they signed a poster to be sent to their hero congratulating Ryan--prematurely, it turned out--on his milestone victory, and consumed specially named concoctions such as the Fireballer (cinnamon schnapps and Tabasco sauce) and the 300 Club (don’t even ask).

“Keep Chugging,” read one inscription on the poster. Everyone in the bar certainly did.

Some fans, such as Brendan Devlin of Orange, became Ryan-lovers when he pitched for the Angels and have remained devoted.

“To be a Nolan Ryan fan, you don’t have to keep up with the numbers or stats,” Devlin said. “You just have to like the man.”

Some devotees are transplanted Texans and come to Silky Sullivan’s to cheer on one of their own.

“When he’s done, that’ll be it,” said Chris Smart, who grew up in Houston and now lives in Huntington Beach. “Coaching, managing, who cares? He justs wants to go back to Alvin, (Tex.) . . . He’s honest.”

Dave Erickson, a Fountain Valley native who watches at Silky Sullivan’s most of Ryan’s appearances, said his interest in the 43-year-old pitcher is not like some other fans’. “These guys are obsessive-compulsive about it,” Erickson said. “I’ve got more important things to do than chase him around the country.”

Some “Silk’s” regulars say that the biggest Ryanmaniac among them is Chuck Baldree, a sales manager who lives in Huntington Beach. Baldree was not at the bar Wednesday night; he was in Arlington, Tex., watching the game.

Baldree, a Houston native, has a shrine to Ryan in his Irvine office. It includes stacks of baseball cards, photos, newspaper clippings, Ryan figurines, books by and about him, and a “limited edition” bronze replica of Ryan’s hand--holding a baseball.

Baldree recently purchased Ryan’s new video, “Feel the Heat,” said his wife, Nancy,who stayed here Wednesday because she is pregnant and she did not want to feel the heat of Texas.

“How many times have I seen that video?” she said. “How about every time someone new comes in the house?”