Nolan Ryan hasn't lost his fastball

Republished from ESPN MLB. There is a statue of the Texas Rangers owner at Arlington's ballpark. Of course, there is a statue of George Steinbrenner at the new Yankee Stadium as well, but the big difference is the Nolan Ryan statue was erected before he became the team's owner in August. And if ever the Rangers someday feel the need to add a plaque honoring Ryan, they would have to make it twice as big as any other, not because of his ego, but simply to provide ample space for all that he accomplished as a player.

Which explains why this owner receives a whole lot more autograph requests than his players. This is not the situation with, say, Boston's John Henry.

"It's not even close," Rangers third baseman Michael Young says of the owner-to-player autograph ratio. "Nolan is synonymous with Texas sports. You think about the icons in our area and Nolan is at the top of the list, maybe even ahead of some of the Cowboys, or all the Cowboys. Nolan is just on a different level. It's another reason for us to realize how lucky we are.

"I can't think of another scenario where a guy has had such a significant impact on the field and now is calling shots as an owner."

Ryan, who bought an unspecified share in the Rangers with majority owner Chuck Greenberg in August, is the first former major leaguer to become a big league owner since Haywood Sullivan (192 career hits), who had a minority stake in the Red Sox, and the first Hall of Famer since Hank Greenberg (who was a partner with White Sox owner Bill Veeck). He also is the first owner with 5,700 strikeouts and seven no-hitters.

Ryan retired 17 years ago as a player, but he has not retired. He's just turned his competitive juices into transforming the Rangers from a last-place team when he took over as team president in 2008 to American League West champions this season. In other words, Stuart Sternberg better not try charging the owners' suite or they may learn the same lesson Robin Ventura once did.

To read the complete article written by Jim Caple, please click on the link "Nolan Ryan Hasn't Lost His Fastball".