October Legends Closing October 27,2018
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/27/2018
The Hall of Fame ace Nolan Ryan wore this tan Rawlings glove during the 1983 MLB season. Ryan was in his fourth year with the Houston Astros in 1983, and 36 years old. In 29 starts, Ryan went 14-9 with a sterling 2.98 ERA and two shutouts. Despite his age, Ryan was still one of the most dominant power pitchers in baseball, striking out 183 batters in 196.1 innings. Ryan’s 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings were the second highest in baseball, behind only his fellow Hall of Famer Steve Carlton. The former Angels star formed a veteran 1-2 punch at the top of the Astros rotation with the 38-year old Phil Niekro, but the guile of the two aces helped the Astros to an 85-77 record in 1983.
Ryan pitched another 10 seasons in the big leagues, finally retiring after the 1993 season to complete a career that began in 1966. The Texas native won 324 games in his career while striking out 5,714 batters, an MLB record by a wide margin. Ryan was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 after receiving 98.8% of the vote.
This Rawlings fielder’s glove is tan, with a Rawlings logo on the thumb and a Rawlings tag sewn above the wrist. The web is a basket web, and the palm features the Rawlings “Heart of the Hide” brand. “Ryan” is written on the thumb in black marker. This glove shows even wear throughout and is a terrific Nolan Ryan gamer from his very productive Houston Astros era. This item is accompanied by a LOA from PSA/DNA (1G00519).