SURPRISE, Ariz. — You know how it is with kids. If they want something to which dad won’t accede, then they’ll go find mom.
Sometimes even when they are approaching 50.
Thankfully, when Nolan Ryan told sons Reid and Reese a twangy “nope” to their request he sit for a documentary on his pitching career, the boys sought out mom.
So, thank Ruth Ryan, y’all.
It sounds like the matriarch of the Ryan clan not only held sway with her husband on the project that resulted in “Facing Nolan,” a 105-minute documentary, she also comes across in it as bright a star as Ryan.
“She was like, ‘Look, I really want you to do this,’” Reid Ryan said Monday at the Rangers’ spring training complex, which he’s visiting as part of the ownership group of the Round Rock Express, the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate. “She’d said, ‘I followed you all over the place forever and I want you to do this for me and your grandkids. Your story needs to be told for them.’
“I just think my dad is a humble guy and he’d never do it without her sort of encouraging him.”
Fortunately for a generation of fans, Nolan listened to Ruth. The film, which debuted at SXSW earlier in March, received positive reviews. The Rangers are going to show it to a mass audience for the first time after their May 1 game against Atlanta. It’s the 31st anniversary of Ryan’s seventh and final no-hitter. Fans can get a Nolan Ryan pitching rubber as a giveaway before the game and sit through a Q&A with Ryan after the film. It doesn’t get more Nolan than that.
Stadium showings and a theatrical release are expected to follow during the summer. And, sure, it will be available to stream eventually.
The film, you should know, doesn’t touch on scandal or tragedy. With Ryan, there really are none. There is not great adversity or conflict (except, you know, the Robin Ventura thing). It’s a tribute. It’s about a man with extreme talent, who married his high school sweetheart nearly 55 years ago, raised a loving family and enjoyed universal respect throughout the game.
It’s not “The Last Dance,” though the documentary on the twilight of Michael Jordan’s career was the impetus for director Bradley Jackson and producer Russell Groves, both Texas natives, to pitch the film.
“When you look at [Ryan], he does seem like a tall tale,” Jackson said. “A guy from a tiny town, with no pitching coach and kind of out of nowhere. I wanted to lean into that. It’s almost an antidote to some of the stories in sports we’ve seen of guys who have achieved greatness, but only at extreme cost.
“There is another story out there where guys stick to their values and the good guys end up winning,” he said. “It feels nice to have an optimistic and uncomplicated story. I think the Variety review called it a crowd pleaser. And that’s what we want. Nolan always was a crowd pleaser.”
It’s also time. Ryan turned 75 in January. He had a knee replacement about 18 months ago and, according to Reid, he’s feeling better than he has in a while. Walks an hour daily. He’s in good shape.
But the last two years have been hard on Hall of Famers. Tom Seaver, Ryan’s teammate with the New York Mets at the start of his career. Don Sutton, a rotation mate in Houston. Phil Niekro, a regular foe in Atlanta. Joe Morgan, Lou Brock and Henry Aaron. All legends. All gone.
The Ryan boys weren’t necessarily motivated by all those deaths, but they didn’t go unnoticed either.
“We said ‘Now’s the time where your memories and your recollections are as strong as they were 55 years ago,’ ” Reid said “I think that probably weighed into the decision. You want the memories and all the stories.”
The film has extensive footage of Ryan outings but relies heavily on interviews with teammates and opponents. From George Brett and Pete Rose to Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson.
The filmmakers didn’t want to rely too heavily on Ryan discussing his own career. They agreed to a pair of sit-down interviews for the project so as to not overburden Ryan. Of course, there ended up being more. Of course, Ryan, who has a wry, dry sense of humor needled Reid: “Two interviews, huh?”
“When you asked him about his seventh no-hitter, he’d talk about how his back was bothering him and how he’d just worked it out,” Jackson said. “But then you ask him about his kids or grandkids and he just lit up. He just comes across as a very down-home guy. He had an extreme gift and he achieved the highest of highs. And he stayed the same guy.”
Whatever else is in danger of falling through the cracks, Ruth Ryan rescues. There is a point at which Ryan almost quit the game; Ruth talked him out of it. According to Variety, she “impresses here as an invaluably level-headed and straight-talking woman.”
“There was a point where she said ‘I never thought any of this would happen to us; I just wanted to be with him,’” Jackson said. “It would be easy to make this a male-dominated movie. Ruth made it a richer, more well-grounded picture. She’s just really proud of him.”
And come May, she will be able to share her pride and joy once again with Rangers fans.
So, thanks Ruth.
