‘Facing Nolan’ Documents One of the Most Intimidating Pitchers in Baseball History (Movie Review)
Facing Nolan
Rating: 7/10
Director & Writer: Bradley Jackson
Style: Sports Documentary
Time: 105 minutes
Official Site: www.facingnolan.com
Review by Mike Szymanski
Even if you are not a baseball fan, this is a fascinating documentary about a family man who shows how the support of his wife and three children helped make him a star in his sports profession.
Even if you don’t know much about baseball, you may have heard the name Nolan Ryan who was an intimidating pitcher to stand up against during his time in the game. He struck everyone out. Older, younger, newer players, even fathers and later their sons, in the pro league. None of them could get a hit off of Nolan’s 100-plus mph pitches.
And, if you are from Texas, you know his name as someone who is a legend.
One of the biggest fans of Nolan, who plays prominently in the documentary, is former president George W. Bush. He recalls some of Ryan’s biggest sports moments, and remembers some of Ryan’s biggest plays. He puts the guy squarely in Texas history as a hero.
Throughout the documentary there are photos of Ryan with the likes of former president Bill Clinton and Muhammad Ali and other superstars.
However, this documentary is not about the famous people Ryan met, but about the family around him. One daughter says she recalls when her father put a guy in a headlock on the pitcher’s mound and immediately thought, “I am not going to get a date anymore.” Already most of the guys she went out with were intimidated by her dad, and this would only make her dating possibilities worse.
And when the family was told that Ryan appeared in a soap opera, not surprisingly called “Ryan’s Hope,” they watched it online and one of the family members critiqued: “It’s a good thing you stuck with baseball, not acting.”
Nolan’s rise to become the most dominating pitcher the game has ever seen, as one expert says, is something that his wife, Ruth, had to contend with early on in their relationship. She notes that she was told early on by a friendly coach that she would have to share her husband with the world of baseball. She didn’t want to do that at first, but realized pretty quickly that she would have to, and she did.
Ruth remembers their first date together in 1967. He took her to a movie called “Rome Adventure” and the romance continued for a lifetime. They knew each other in school; he was voted Most Handsome, she was voted Most Beautiful. He was known for his fast pitch, and he ran a cattle ranch on the off-season in case his baseball plans didn’t pan out.
On their second date, he took Ruth to a ballgame to watch Sandy Colfax pitch, and studied his every move. Within 10 years of watching that game, he would have broken all of Colfax’s records.
Nolan wracked up 51 major league records, and many of them are because he is the oldest to accomplish a few baseball records while in his 40s.
With his decades in the game, Ryan accomplished 5,714 strikeouts. He struck out all sorts of superstars. He also got seven no-hitter games in a row.
Nolan was a reliever in the 1969 World Series “Miracle Mets” and four years later led the league with 329 strikeouts. He was also the first Major League player to earn a salary of $1 million.
At the young age of 22, Nolan had a World Series Ring, and he went with his team on the Ed Sullivan Show to sing “You’ve Got to Have Heart.”
Ruth recalled the year he was involved with the World Series, and laughs that it was the first — and last — time she ever tried champagne.
Some of the baseball superstars in this documentary, like Pete Rose and Rod Carew are fascinating enough to see, especially how they talk with fondness about Nolan Ryan.
His pitch was clocked at more than 100 miles per hour, but others believed it to be much faster. Some insist at least 180 mph.
A culmination in Nolan’s career happened on August 4, 1993, and is one of the most common questions he still gets asked about today. Robin Ventura was the Chicago White Sox third baseman who charged the pitcher’s mound after Ryan hit him with a pitch. Ryan grabbed Ventura in a headlock like he would use for his cows and knocked him on the head before an all-out brawl ensued.
Player Robin Ventura declined to be interviewed for the documentary, so it says in a scroll. That’s unfortunate because it would have been nice to hear his side.
The end of Nolan’s career is sad. He was stopped in the middle of a game when his elbow was significantly bothering him due to a torn ligament. Only age could stop “The Express” and he never got to continue the game, or get back into the game ever again.
His wife Ruth talked about how she cried during that game, knowing it was the end of his career, and she teared up while remembering it.
In real life, the director became a dad during the making of the documentary, and he said he thinks that subconsciously he hoped to create a movie that celebrated achieving greatness with the love and support of people around you.
Nolan “is someone who always put family first, carried the banner for his state, and showed the sporting world what hard work and endurance is all about,” said director Jackson.
Joshua Myer’s country music score in the film is delightful and fun, and perfect for the backdrop of the documentary. The documentary baseball footage is priceless, as well as the scenes driving through Alvin, Texas, where Ruth whimsically points out a tree that Nolan planted in the front yard of the family house.
Facing Nolan and his pitch might have been scary, but the reality is that he seems like a great family man, and is a national hero.
###
