Nolan Ryan's unparalleled baseball career is chronicled in a new documentary that...
Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan's unparalleled baseball career is chronicled in a new documentary that premiered Saturday at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin.The sports documentary genre has boomed in recent years, with a big assist from ESPN’s “30 for 30” series that launched in 2009.
The nearly 13 years since have seen a wide variety of topics chronicled. But the story of arguably baseball’s most legendary pitcher wasn’t one of them.“Facing Nolan,” a new feature-length documentary on Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, who spent the longest stretch of his career in an Astros uniform, premiered Saturday afternoon at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin. Ryan, who holds 51 major league records and is baseball’s all-time strikeouts leader with 5,714, cut a larger-than-life figure in 27 major-league seasons, hadn’t had his story told in a longform production. While there were VHS-era tapes about him like “Nolan Ryan: Feeling the Heat,” those skimmed the surface as opposed to being a deep dive. But “Facing Nolan,” written and directed by Houston native Bradley Jackson, is the first film that spans the 75-year-old Ryan’s life, from his modest childhood growing up in Alvin to his days playing for the Mets, Angels, Astros and Rangers.The film is a family project of sorts, with Ryan and his sons Reid, the former Astros president of business operations, and Reese among the executive producers. Childhood friends and scores of teammates and officials from each of the franchises Ryan played for are interviewed throughout the 101-minute film, as well as Hall of Fame foes such as George Brett, Rod Carew, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Dave Winfield and MLB’s hit king Pete Rose along with some media members . Former President George W. Bush, the Rangers’ managing general partner during Ryan’s time in Arlington, also appears in the film. But in addition to his voice, Ryan’s story is best told through the insights of his wife and childhood sweetheart Ruth and their sons Reid and Reese and daughter Wendy Bivins. “Upon meeting Nolan and his family, I soon realized this wasn't a baseball movie about a legendary Texan, but actually something far more interesting: it's a love story wrapped in baseball,” Jackson said. “Nolan Ryan might be the main character of this film, but his wife Ruth and their family are the true engine behind the Ryan Express. They helped propel his records and accomplishments into existence.”A preview of the documentary"Facing Nolan" about Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan that premiered Saturday at the South by Southwest Film Festival.Ruth Ryan is shown as playing arguably the biggest role in her husband’s career. After Ryan struggled in the two seasons after he helped the Mets win the 1969 World Series, it was his wife who encouraged him to stick with baseball when he was almost ready to quit after struggling with inconsistency in New York. A trade to the West Coast changed his fortunes and Ryan became baseball’s most dominating pitcher during his eight seasons in California. His legendary reputation as an intimidator — Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. dubbed Ryan “conveniently wild” — and his famous 1993 on-field pummeling of Robin Ventura after the White Sox third baseman charged the mound are thoroughly covered, albeit without the perspective of Ventura, who declined to be interviewed for the film. Ryan’s lack of Cy Young Awards is the subject of much astonishment among his peers who are interviewed — Carew says “you’ve got to be kidding me” — and Ruth Ryan admits the slights by voters bothered her more than it did her husband.
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