Getting Ryan Has Paid Off For Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ben Lovett, sporting a Nolan Ryan T-shirt, was in a hurry to watch the famed fastball flinger set more records, but the 14-year-old Texas Rangers fan agreed to stop for a second.

Why does he like Ryan?

“Even though he’s old, he’s still great,” Lovett said about the 42-year-old strikeout king.

Rangers general manager Tom Grieve couldn’t agree more, as he has watched the cash registers at Arlington Stadium ring up an estimated $1.25 million in additional sales directly attributed to Ryan.

“He’s been actually too good to be true. In every area it’s been better than even we would have imagined,” said Grieve, who paid Ryan $200,000 last December to sign a $1.6 million, one-year contract with the American League team. With incentives and an option year, the total contract tops $3 million.

Negotiations with the Texas-born Ryan were easy, Grieve said. “We said, ‘Here’s a contract. Tell us how much it’ll take to sign you.”’ Ryan went with Texas, even though he had higher offers, because he wanted to remain near his hometown of Alvin, located near Houston.

Grieve signed Ryan after the Houston Astros decided the price was too high, angering many hometown fans, including the Murphy family, which recently drove the 250 miles from Houston to watch their favorite player pitch.

“He’s just really what baseball’s all about,” said Joe Murphy, citing Ryan’s off-field generosity as well as his on-field triumphs.

Ryan has won 286 games, including 13 this year, and is the oldest pitcher still throwing in the majors. His 95 mph fast ball remains too much for even the best hitters to hit consistently.

He is also on the verge of striking out his 5,000th batter and holds 41 Major League records. The closest pitcher to Ryan is Steve Carlton, who struck out 4,136 before retiring last year.

The Lovetts and Murphys were in the crowd of 35,226 recently when Ryan struck out 13 Detroit Tigers as he came within two outs of his sixth career no-hitter. No one else has more than four.

“This is the fourth time this year he’s almost done it,” majority owner George W. Bush said after the game.

“To have a Texas hero like Nolan Ryan bring a no-hitter into the ninth inning before a full house, this is the best that there is,” the president’s son said.

“We signed Nolan Ryan because we needed a starting pitcher and we felt he was an excellent starting pitcher and could help our staff,” Grieve said. “He’s a boost at the gate every time he pitches, but the bottom line is (we signed him) because he was a very good pitcher.”

He also has had a significant impact on that other bottom line -- the one that counts dollar and cents.

While the Rangers have benefited from increased interest in baseball generally, ticket operations manager John Schriever said Ryan still brings out an additional 5,000 to 6,000 people each home game.

“When I did the (attendance) projection a week ago,” for the Aug. 10 game against the Tigers, “I only projected 29,000 to 30,000,” Schriever said.

“I had to change that to 34,000 to 36,000 when I found out Ryan was pitching,” he said. Attendance has averaged 28,363 this year.

“Sixteen starts at home, times 6,000 at eight bucks equals $768,000, plus $5 per head on concessions, that’s $1.25 million for home games,” Schriever said, punching his calculator.

Season ticket sales were up 1,200, about half because of Ryan, Schriever said, bringing in another $400,000.

Although 20 percent of the gate goes to visiting teams, the Rangers get the same deal and, “on the road he does real well, too,” Schriever said.

For example, with Ryan just 14 strikeouts away from 5,000, and scheduled to pitch in an mid-afternoon game in Seattle last week -- hardly a prime baseball time -- more than 20,000 people were in the Kingdome, where attendance has averaged 16,642 this year.

Back in Texas, where Ryan is scheduled to start Tuesday against Oakland, and where odds are he’ll get that 5,000th strikeout, it was already “general admission only” early last week, with an advance sale of 26,000, more than 10,000 higher than the next night.

With advance sales figured in, the Rangers are guaranteed of breaking their previous attendance record of 1.76 million for a year.

“A lot of people in a lot of places want to see Nolan Ryan ... want to say, ‘I saw Nolan Ryan’s 5000th strikeout,”’ Grieve said.

They also bring their wallets, which get thinner quickly.

Chris Ebeier, who runs a concession stand behind home plate, said Ryan T-shirts, at $14.50 each, and posters, which fetch $5, are hot sellers -- especially after a particularly stirring performance.

In addition to spending at the ball park, the Rangers’ radio broadcasts have brought increased participation, both from listeners and advertisers

Chris Leiss, sports marketing director for WBAP, the Fort Worth station that originates the Rangers broadcasts, said advertising revenue is up about 30 percent, “a significant amount of it due to Nolan Ryan.” At least one advertiser is on only when Ryan pitches, he said.

The Ranger audience also has increased about 20 percent, he said, and is highest when Ryan is on the mound.

The Ranger network is larger this year, adding about six stations, with two or three signing up because of Ryan, he said.

“It took off ever since the day we signed him,” Leiss said.

One station in particular, KSEV in Houston, joined because of Ryan, who pitched for the hometown Astros for nine years. It is the first time the Rangers have had an outlet in Houston.

Grieve has no second thoughts about making Ryan the highest-paid Ranger, “by a significant gap,” despite a season shortened last year by a hamstring injury.

“This signing couldn’t have turned out any better in our minds,” Grieve said. “Nolan has done everything and more probably, if it’s possible, because we had high expectations to begin with.”

Grieve said there is no doubt the team will pick up the option to pay $1.4 million for another Ryan year, and will await his decision on whether he’ll pitch a 24th season.

“Hopefully he’ll stay around for his 300th win next year,” Bush said. “He’s the epitome of baseball. Whatever he wants to do is fine with us, in any capacity.”