“Facing Nolan” Documents The legend of baseball flamethrower Nolan Ryan – Deadline

While Major League Baseball takes a break for All-Star Break, let’s stop to talk about an All-Star for centuries, firefighter Nolan Ryan.

The Hall of Fame pitcher holds a number of records that many pundits believe will never be beaten, including seven career hitters and 5,714 total strikeouts, nearly a thousand more than the guy at number two on that thin list: Randy Johnson.

Ryan’s incredible achievements are detailed in the documentary In front of Nolan, directed by Bradley Jackson, which will debut on digital platforms next Tuesday. The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March in Ryan’s home state of Texas and has gone on to earn about half a million dollars in theatrical release.

(LR) Producer Russell Wayne Groves, documentary subject Nolan Ryan, director Bradley Jackson and documentary subject Reid Ryan at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, March 12, 2022 Photo by Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for SXSW

It might be fitting that when Jackson first pitched the documentary to Ryan (pardon the baseball metaphor) he eliminated.

“In the beginning, when we introduced Nolan, he said no,” Jackson tells Deadline. “I came up with the idea in the summer of 2020 while I was taking a road trip through Texas and I couldn’t stop thinking, ‘Why didn’t someone make a documentary about Nolan Ryan?’ And after I finished it, I realized: ‘Oh, the reason nobody made a documentary about Nolan Ryan is because of Nolan Ryan. He didn’t want it. ‘ He is a fairly calm and unpretentious boy ”.

Since Ryan is a man of relatively few words, the director has turned to others to speak for him: family members, teammates, former managers, fellow pitchers and batters who have faced him.

Dave Winfield in ‘Affrontare Nolan’ Utopia/David Ward

“He’s rubbing the ball, he’s staring at you,” Dave Winfield remembers confronting Nolie, saying Ryan Glare communicated, “‘I’m the sheriff around here.”

“He is without a doubt the most intimidating pitcher in the history of the game,” says Randy Johnson. “He is mythological.”

It took some time, of course, to reach that mythical status. In front of Nolan reveals that the great future was not the most publicized prospect in the mid-1960s. He was signed by the New York Mets, but only in the 12th round of the draft. Salary: $ 7,000.

He ended up spending five seasons with the Mets and won his only World Series title there in 1969, contributing to major post-season innings as a relief. He wasn’t the star of the Mets staff: that designation belonged to Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.

(LR) Nolan Ryan and his family at the world premiere of “Facing Ryan” at SXSW. LR Reid and Reese Ryan’s children, daughter Wendy Ryan Bivins, wife Ruth Ryan and Nolan Ryan Photo by Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for SXSW

Underrated in New York, Ryan considered giving up baseball. His wife Ruth convinced him to move on. Nolan and Ryan met when they were in elementary school, later became high school boyfriends and got married in 1967. The film makes it clear how important she was to Nolan at every stage of his life.

“This, for me, was the biggest revelation of this movie, because I thought I knew a lot about Nolan,” says Jackson. “When I found out he was thinking of resigning after the Mets, I don’t think that’s a very public fact. Then, when I dug deeper and found that the reason he didn’t quit was because of his wife, I realized that she was going to be a really central character in this movie. “

Ruth Ryan sat down for interviews for the film, recalling her disappointment that her husband never won a Cy Young Award (an almost inexplicable oversight). Without her, the documentary would not have happened.

“[She] he was able to get Nolan to agree to do so, ”observes Jackson. “And we’re very happy that he did it.”

Nolan Ryan at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY Utopia

Early in his career, Ryan didn’t have much control of the frontcourt. In a word, he was wild. A few belated tips from a throwing coach help correct the delivery of him, which has become strikingly machine-like. He lifted his left leg up, the glove tucked into his lap; he looked at the glove like a gambler taking a stealthy spike like his cards, then took the long stride to the plate, right arm hinged to the elbow, the ball leaving the hand in a consistent release point.

“Great pitchers are great repeaters,” says Jackson, quoting one of Ryan’s throwing coaches, Tom House. “You just have to be able to repeat the same movement in perfect sequence over and over and never deviate from that repetition. This is what pitching is. You create a set of mechanical tools and all you do is just repeat them perfectly every single time. Obviously, it’s so hard to do ”.

Ryan has thrown flames: the film estimates its maximum launch speed at just over 108 mph. But he also possessed an evil curve, like 12-6, which means he spun from top to bottom instead of side to side, from 12 on a clock to 6, proverbially speaking. He turned the batters’ legs into spaghetti, and we’re not talking al dente.

Ryan played a 27-year record, retiring in 1993 after working with the Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. He was a workhorse of a kind not seen in the major leagues anymore: in a 1974 game, for example, he threw 13 innings against the Boston Red Sox, throwing 235 pitches. Over the course of his career, he has pitched 222 full games.

One of his most famous debuts came in his final season, against the Chicago White Sox. Ryan, then 46, hit Robin Ventura, 26, with a throw. Ventura stopped, then charged the mound. But the younger man didn’t get the better of the veteran. Ryan pinned Ventura in a headlock, then unleashed a flurry of noogies (well, actually, it was more like a repeated fist beat). The legend of that fight survives.

“Somehow this moment took on a life of its own,” Jackson wonders. “Nolan laughs at it because he’s like, ‘I’ve done all these things in my life. And this is the third question that everyone asks me. And they only ask me third because they think it would be rude if they asked first. ‘”

Jackson continues: “We screened the film at Rangers Stadium after the Braves played Rangers a couple of months ago. And around 10,000 fans remained around. And during the Robin Ventura sequence in the film, people gave a standing ovation, clapping. And I’m like, this moment happened 30 years ago! Why are people still so in awe? Nolan’s son Reid captures him quite well in the film when he said, “I think it’s kind of like old people get along with young people. For example, I still understand. I still have it. ‘ … Obviously, the moment resonates. “

Nolan Ryan is an executive producer on the film, as are his two sons, Reid and Reese. At age 75, Elder Ryan maintains a ranch in Texas, as he has done for many decades. He and his wife have been married for 55 years and have seven grandchildren.

Regarding his successes, Ryan stubbornly remains a fact.

“Nolan would rather talk about his grandchildren than his hitterless seventh,” says Jackson. “I remember the first time I asked him about his seventh no hitter. He said, ‘Well, it all worked out for me that day.’ I’m like, ‘Come on! You pitched your seventh without a batter! No one has ever done that, and never will. ‘ “It was just a good day. I solved some problems and had a good defense behind me and it was one of those special nights. ‘”

Source : deadline.com