Was Last Year a Fluke for Ryan?

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[i:2faf27167e]by Neil Hohlfeld
originally printed: The Sporting News, March 17, 1986[/i:2faf27167e]

Kissimee, Fla. - Nolan Ryan, who last year suffered through his worst season since 1978, once again will have to answer critics who are ready to write off his fastball and his career.

Ryan, 39, was 10-12 for the Houston Astros in 1985, his first sub-.500 year since 1978, when he was 10-13 with the California Angels. Last year was particularly frustrating for Ryan, who got off to an 8-3 start but went more than two months without a win.

Ryan nevertheless added two more items to his list of accomplishments. On June 12, he won his 100th game in the National League, joining Cy Young, Jim Bunning, Gaylord Perry and Ferguson Jenkins as the only pitchers to win 100 or more games in both leagues. On July 11, he fanned Danny Heep of the New York Mets for his 4,000th strikeout, becoming the first pitcher to reach that plateau.

Still, Ryan didn't win from June 17 to August 28. After breaking the drought, he felt stiffness in his shoulder in his next start and had to miss two turns. He returne to win his final start, but enters his 19th major league season having to prove last year was a fluke.

"I really felt I was just as consistent in the second half as I was early," said Ryan. "A lot of things happened last year, just like they always do when you have a losing streak. I don't think I've ever been hurt as much as by fly balls in between the infield and outfield.

"My arm feels strong now. I've been throwing for about a month, so it'll just be a question of fine-tuning, like it always is."

Ryan is surprised that the Astros didn't make more offseason trades in an attempt to reshape a team that has hovered near .500 for the last five seasons.

"Every year at the end of the season, you anticipate quite a bit of movement," said Ryan. "Then every spring - or at least 90 percent of the time - you come to sprint training surprised there wasn't more activity.

"This is one of those times again. It seems to me there are some clubs that, no matter how high they finish, have the attitude that they have weaknesses and go about trying to improve themselves. It also seems to me there are some clubs that hang around the .500 level and have a tendency to stay pat."

Ryan said he does expect the Astros to make at least one more before the season starts. He thinks they will have to find another veteran starter to fill out a rotation whose core is Ryan, Bob Knepper and Mike Scott.