This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/7/2014
Baseball great Nolan Ryan threw more than 80,000 pitches over 5,386 innings during his 27-year Major League Baseball career. He struck out a total of 5,714 batters, earned 324 victories and pitched a record seven no-hitters. But his final outing on a major league mound was less than memorable. On Sept. 22, 1993, at the age of 46, Ryan took the mound for his final start for the Texas Rangers at the Kingdome in Seattle to face the upstart Mariners. He never made it out of the first inning. In less than an inning’s worth of work, Ryan pitched to six batters and gave up two hits, four walks and five earned runs. One of those two hits was a grand slam to Mariners left fielder Dann Howitt. Ryan left the game, literally, with a stiff right elbow and a 3-1 count on Seattle first baseman Dave Magadan who eventually walked. It was just the third time in 773 starts that Ryan failed to retire a single batter. The Mariners eventually wound up winning the game, 7-4. This lot includes a Nolan Ryan autographed game ball in slightly faded blue ink from that fateful night. The dirt-covered ball, an official American League (Brown) baseball, even includes an inscription written in black ink on a side panel to commemorate its significance: “9-22-93 Game Ball Nolan Ryan’s last game.”
Full LOA from PSA/DNA.
Includes Letter of Authenticity from the Game's Umpire Durwood Merrill.