Bradley Jackson’s “Facing Ryan” tells the story of an agreeable fellow from small-town Texas who married his high school sweetheart, followed his dream of playing major league baseball, pitched for…
’s “Facing Ryan” tells the story of an agreeable fellow from small-town Texas who married his high school sweetheart, followed his dream of playing major league baseball, pitched for four MLB teams over a 27-year career while operating a cattle ranch during off-season, set records for no-hitters and strikeouts that remain unbroken to this day, held high-profile executive positions with two of his former teams more than a decade after his retirement from the game, and currently resides on the...
A veteran sportswriter — one of the many on-camera interviewees who share screen time with Ryan himself — recalls the legendary pitcher casually admitting, “Once I cross that white line, I don’t even like myself.” Another observer describes Ryan as “the most intimidating pitcher in the history of the game,” a description echoed in assorted ways by Pete Rose, Rod Carew, Cal Ripken Jr. and other players who batted against him.
Every now and then, “Facing Nolan” offers by way of balance a revisionist take on certain elements of the “Ryan Express” mythos, noting that the oft-told story about Ryan developing his 100-mph fast ball at an early age while he was a paperboy delivering The Houston Post to folks around his childhood home in Alvin, Texas, is, well, bunk.