Miracle Man: Nolan Ryan the Autobiography

by Nolan Ryan, Jerry B. Jenkins

Whether you're a sports enthusiast or not, you've heard his name, you've seen is face...Nolan Ryan...the miracle man of baseball with an incredible forty-eight major league pitching records. Now, for the first time, meet the man behind that 95-mile-per-hour fastball that has propelled him to legend status.

Genres: Sports, Baseball, Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Memoir

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last year for Christmas, my brother gave all the immediate family figures and books by/about the baseball players whose cards we used to particularly collect. This was 30+ years ago that we used to go to card shows and actively look for our favorites. Mine was Nolan Ryan. I was impressed with his skill, his longevity,and his attitude.

This book shows that he is definitely a man with opinions! Definitely the epitome of a conservative Texan. The book was a good read and I feel like I got to know him pretty well.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Nolan Ryan, as much of him as a person as of a former player. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his early days in baseball as well as his pro career up through his time with the Texas Rangers. It is in Ryan's own words and he doesn't hold back on his opinions, not only on management while with the Mets, Angels and Astros but also on politics and basic morals. It's an older book, written in 1992 while still pitching so none of the time with the Rangers as part owner is covered. It is amazing what this man did during his pro career and how he remained a record setting pitcher well into his forties.

[Eric Bjerke · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite athlete of all time. If you are a Ryan fan, you HAVE to read this. If you are not, you may not like it as much.
I learned a lot of Ryan's character, faith and family life. He is really a great man and role model.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written after the 1991 season, one in which Ryan had a won-lost record of 12 and 6 and struck out over 1 batter per inning. He was also 44 years old at the time. He played two more seasons, his last when he was 46. At the age of 45 he pitched 157 innings and fanned 157 batters. Other people have pitched into their mid-forties, but by that time they were generally junk-ball pitchers, using slow stuff to get batters off balance. Although he lost a bit of velocity in his forties, Ryan was still throwing in the mid-nineties. While it is always foolish to say any record is unbreakable, his 5714 strikeouts seems completely untouchable. This book is his autobiography.
Since he was a man that never generated any significant scandals during his career, there is nothing in the way of hot stuff or apologies regarding his behavior in this book. Furthermore, Ryan almost completely avoids speaking negatively about his teammates or coaches. Having been in the majors for 25 years when this book was written, there is no question that he has witnessed enough to fill a book with juicy details of the lives and careers of others. Yet, he chose not to do so.
This combination has led to a book that is not as lively or as entertaining as other baseball books, where the players bare all about themselves and others. Even though he tossed a record seven no-hit games, the descriptions are very matter-of-fact with no building of tension for the final three outs. Ryan and his co-writer give us his life story in and out of sports with no embellishment or flair.

[Tom Gase · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nolan Ryan is one of the best pitchers of all time and a personal favorite of mine to watch back in the day, but this book really wasn't good. It's almost as if he didn't want to write it. It's waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too short. His entire tenure with the California Angels is described in about one chapter. He played eight years there. The game where he won his 300th is described in one paragraph to to end a chapter. In fact, the game he failed to win 300 is discussed even more than the actual win No. 300. It was also written while he was still playing. Why not wait a few years and write the book after you retire? Didn't really learn anything in this book except he kind of seems like a really nice person, with occasional Clint Eastwood "Gran Tornino" get off my lawn moments. Too bad, one day Jenkins (who wrote a decent book on Orel Hershiser) or Ryan should write a better book on the Ryan Express.

[Josh Skogman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read. The writing isn’t very polished, but I think that’s one of the reasons I liked this book. It seemed like Nolan Ryan is just having a conversation. I enjoyed his opinions on various topics (baseball and non-baseball related). It was also refreshing to see someone give their opinions and then acknowledge that there are differing views and that’s ok, it’s just not what he believes. The back of the book is filled with his records, which is astounding when you see them all together. Overall, I liked this book.

[Roben Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book about Nolan Ryan that I've read. He's always been a favorite of mine and finally picked up this book to read it. It was a great intro to his life, and perhaps if I had been older while he was pitching I'd understand his reason to write the book. He starts out saying he wanted to get his own version out there. Overall, I liked it. It was a quick read, and the last 100 pages or so were stats and notes from his seasons. All very interesting and good stuff. I'm looking forward to reading more about Nolan Ryan.

[Chris Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

An update to a previous Ryan autobiography written in 1988. This one has emphasis on his career with the Rangers, which at the time of this printing, took the Ryan legend up a notch. At times, book seems like an attempt to capitalize on his popularity...liked the strikeout list in the back...in the days before the internet this was a neat feature. Still cool to have a printed version of this today.

[Maddison H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nolan Ryan was always one of those players everyone talks about as being a Texas legend. He was my Dads favorite player so obviously I liked Nolan Ryan. After reading this book I’m a huge fan of the man himself and have a lot of respect for the man he chose/chooses to be. If you’re a baseball fan enjoy!

[Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read , you get to know Nolan ryan a bit , his opinions and stuff. he was great and reading about him is interesting.

[Tim Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent recap by Nolan Ryan of his career.

[Jim Patton · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, not a lot of real depth on the players he played with.

[Brad Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ignore the first 3 chapters it's a great read.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read from a fellow Georgetown resident….and someone I hold in high regard

[Kevin Kirkhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me Nolan Ryan was the poster boy for hard work and humility. A class act, as they say in the media. I picked this book up hoping to find out something about Nolan that I never knew about him or had somehow missed. What I took from this book was that Nolan expected a certain amount of respect for being an elder statesman of Major League Baseball. Even more so, he couldn't understand how gifted athletes wouldn't work to keep themselves in shape to survive more than five years in the league.

This book was written in 1992, so Nolan had not yet retired.

The book's chapters deal with Nolan's opinions, growing up, and baseball. The opinion chapters are pretty much what I expected from Nolan; laid back, hard work, conservative beliefs. He adores his wife Ruth for putting her life on hold to raise kids and deal with his being gone a lot. The one thing he wants to do more than anything when he retires is spend time making up for lost time. He has a chapter dedicated to each of the teams he played for; Mets, Angels, Astros, and Rangers. He gives more of his opinions on "today's" ballplayers and other odds and ends.

The one part I thought was not needed was the last chapter on next year's Rangers. Oh sure, I got to hear about Ivan Rodriguez, Dean Palmer, and Juan Gonzalez before they were big stars, but hey, most of the players are gone along with the '93 season. So who really cares?

All in all, it was an interesting book for anyone wanting to know about Nolan Ryan, from Nolan Ryan. Unfortunately, his description of himself and his baseball career was a lot like I expected.

[Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just start with the fact that i love baseball. I read this book because I wanted to learn more about this living legend who played the game better than anyone else. Nolan Ryan holds a record for most pitching records, thats how many records he has set and broken.

Anyway, Nolan wrote this book before he retired witch I thought was interesting. The many chapters he writes are all meaningful in the spirit of life. He has so many opinions and he throws out what he believes in. He criticizes himself and talks about what he can do better. He explains rough times in his childhood. He is just a very understanding person and I can totally relate to him.

He has a Wife named Ruth and lets just say he is in debt with her. She put her life on hold so she could raise kids and have a family. And in one chapter he says that when he retires he has some catching up to do.

The majority of this book though is what got him to where he is today. Hard work, hustle, love for the game, being humble, and respect for the game. All these pieces to the puzzle he had to put together to put him in the spotlight he is in today.

I absolutely love this Book~!!!!!

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is all about Ryan and I mean ALL about him. I know that successful athletes have big egos and it's not what he said but that his book rarely mentioned other players [until the end] and never his relationship with them. You could believe he went thru his long career without making a teammate friend or spoke to anyone in the locker room.
But you learn a lot about him, his beliefs, family, goals, and accomplishments. But I really wanted to know how he got along with others.
Since I am a big Astro fan, I consider him an Astro even though he finished his career with the Rangers. I was disappointed with his relationship with the Astros and of course, this book only gives his views. If true I finally understand why he left.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book got off to a rocky start and I am fairly certain that impacted (negatively) my impressions of the rest of the text. In the first chapter Nolan Ryan shares his opinions on a wide variety of issues. I appreciate Ryan's willingness to take and share his thoughts, but the variety of issues tackled made the transitions between topics - rough. I found the behind the scenes baseball information fascinating and praise Ryan for keeping a level head and his family values in spite of all the fame, recogntion, and other riches he deservedly earned.

[Larry Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, VERY easy read. Nolan doesn't take anything off his pitches, and he says at the beginning he's not going to apologize but lets you know he'll be brutally honest.

It is listed as an autobiography, but there is almost as much non-biographical information about Nolan as there is biographical.

Nonetheless, there is enough interesting and it's interesting enough to read to make it worth the time, especially since it doesn't take much time. You definitely get a feeling for the person. Admirable, strong-opinionated, old-school, but one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

[Nick Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nolan Ryan is my inspiration for pitching and my drive to push myself to do better. Reading this book just intensified that feeling. It was great to read about his young life and when he started baseball in little league and his progression throughout his life and eventually into the major leagues. Of course my favorite part of the book is all the stats at the end. Its very interesting to see the stats for his no-hitters and his 5,714 strikeouts and who each and everyone they were against.

[Dave Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great look into one of the great pitchers of all time. The reader not only gets an insight into his life but also how the game of baseball has changed over his career. For example when he was starting out in his career, he would often work in the off-season in order to make ends meet. There's great insight into the work ethic that lengthened his career.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I still had this book. A kid I know is a big baseball fan and loves to read biographies.

I liked it, but agree with most of the reviews that his personal beliefs kind of got in the way of the story of his career. That being said, his personal beliefs and level head seem to be part of the reason he was so consistent as a ball player.

Overall, it's good.

[Douglas Graney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of the better sports books I've read. The appendix stuff is interesting; box scores of all his no-hitters, a list or each of his 5,000+ strikeouts. It's odd that he wrote this when he did considering he played two more years in the majors. Why not just wait until the end of his career?

[Taylor Belt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great autobiography from one of my favorite players of all time. This was a nice piece in his own words about his career. If you are a fan of Nolan and want to continue to be amazed by this man who is more than a baseball player, then this is a great read.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fuck yeah. I loved Nolan. After he retired, I decided to hate baseball.

[Rick Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

He's my sports hero and wish all professional athletes acted this way. Humble and yet recognizes the talent that was given him.

[Estevan Alvarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nolan Ryan gives thoughts and views on baseball, business, and living. Many of the thoughts are conservative in nature. Enjoy the parts of the book that dealt with this baseball. Career.

[David-jacky Breech · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a reason he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with the second highest percent vote ever. He was a great pitcher and even a better person and family man.

[Matty Duvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as a kid and loved it! If you're a baseball fan you owe it to yourself to know this man's whole story.

[Steven]

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