- Thread starter
- #1
Austin
Well-known member
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan announced his resignation, effective at the end of the month, as CEO of the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
He also sold his ownership stake in the club to co-chairmen of the board Bob Simpson and Ray Davis.
Ryan, 66, left the door open for getting back in the game of baseball, but said he hasn't decided what he's going to do with his future yet.
"Will I be the CEO of another major league ballclub? No, I won't," Ryan said in a news conference at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Thursday afternoon. "But I'm not going to sit here today and tell you that I don't know that a year from now might bring. This might be the final chapter of my baseball career. If there was something else I did, it certainly wouldn't be in the role I had with the Rangers."
One of Ryan's sons, Reid, is the president of the Houston Astros, but Ryan said he wants to spend time with his grandkids and work on his Texas ranch for now.
"You don't just wake up one day and make a decision of this magnitude," Ryan said. "It was something I'd been thinking about off and on for a while now. I felt like it was probably time for me to move on. It just felt like what I needed to do."
Ryan was hired as president by former owner Tom Hicks in February 2008 and was given the title of CEO in March 2011 by the current ownership.
Ryan contemplated stepping down in March after ownership restructured the front office and gave Daniels the added title of president of baseball operations.
Rick George, now the athletic director at the University of Colorado, was named president of business operations.
That left Ryan as the CEO, but uncertain of his role.
It took several face-to-face meetings with ownership, but Ryan decided to stay for the 2013 season.
"I had committed to charities and things and made some commitments," Ryan said. "I felt like I wanted to see how things worked out. I can't say just because we changed titles on some people that it drove me to this decision because that's not what it is."
Ryan said his relationship with Daniels is "good" and that it "didn't come into play on this" decision.
When Ryan arrived in 2008, Daniels was already the general manager and he had hired manager Ron Washington the previous season. Ryan oversaw a club that improved dramatically, going from fighting for third in the AL West to winning the division in 2010 and 2011 and making the World Series both seasons.
Ryan said he was proud of those achievements, but also the fact that so many fans supported the team -- the Rangers drew 3 million fans in each of the last two seasons.
Ryan's impact for the Rangers began as a player when the future Hall of Famer signed as a free agent on Dec. 7, 1988. The Ryan Express threw two of his seven no-hitters for the Rangers and also reached several career milestone in his five seasons with Texas.
He recorded his 300th victory on July 30, 1990 at Milwaukee.
He became the first and only pitcher in baseball history to reach 5,000 strikeouts when he fanned fellow Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson on Aug. 22, 1989 at Arlington Stadium.
Ryan ended his career as a Ranger on Sept. 22, 1993 at the age of 46.
He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, receiving 98.79 percent of the vote, and is the only player in Cooperstown wearing a Rangers cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.
His No. 34 jersey is the only one worn by a Rangers player to be be retired, and there is a statue of the pitcher at Rangers Ballpark.
He also sold his ownership stake in the club to co-chairmen of the board Bob Simpson and Ray Davis.
Ryan, 66, left the door open for getting back in the game of baseball, but said he hasn't decided what he's going to do with his future yet.
"Will I be the CEO of another major league ballclub? No, I won't," Ryan said in a news conference at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Thursday afternoon. "But I'm not going to sit here today and tell you that I don't know that a year from now might bring. This might be the final chapter of my baseball career. If there was something else I did, it certainly wouldn't be in the role I had with the Rangers."
One of Ryan's sons, Reid, is the president of the Houston Astros, but Ryan said he wants to spend time with his grandkids and work on his Texas ranch for now.
"You don't just wake up one day and make a decision of this magnitude," Ryan said. "It was something I'd been thinking about off and on for a while now. I felt like it was probably time for me to move on. It just felt like what I needed to do."
Ryan was hired as president by former owner Tom Hicks in February 2008 and was given the title of CEO in March 2011 by the current ownership.
Ryan contemplated stepping down in March after ownership restructured the front office and gave Daniels the added title of president of baseball operations.
Rick George, now the athletic director at the University of Colorado, was named president of business operations.
That left Ryan as the CEO, but uncertain of his role.
It took several face-to-face meetings with ownership, but Ryan decided to stay for the 2013 season.
"I had committed to charities and things and made some commitments," Ryan said. "I felt like I wanted to see how things worked out. I can't say just because we changed titles on some people that it drove me to this decision because that's not what it is."
Ryan said his relationship with Daniels is "good" and that it "didn't come into play on this" decision.
When Ryan arrived in 2008, Daniels was already the general manager and he had hired manager Ron Washington the previous season. Ryan oversaw a club that improved dramatically, going from fighting for third in the AL West to winning the division in 2010 and 2011 and making the World Series both seasons.
Ryan said he was proud of those achievements, but also the fact that so many fans supported the team -- the Rangers drew 3 million fans in each of the last two seasons.
Ryan's impact for the Rangers began as a player when the future Hall of Famer signed as a free agent on Dec. 7, 1988. The Ryan Express threw two of his seven no-hitters for the Rangers and also reached several career milestone in his five seasons with Texas.
He recorded his 300th victory on July 30, 1990 at Milwaukee.
He became the first and only pitcher in baseball history to reach 5,000 strikeouts when he fanned fellow Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson on Aug. 22, 1989 at Arlington Stadium.
Ryan ended his career as a Ranger on Sept. 22, 1993 at the age of 46.
He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, receiving 98.79 percent of the vote, and is the only player in Cooperstown wearing a Rangers cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.
His No. 34 jersey is the only one worn by a Rangers player to be be retired, and there is a statue of the pitcher at Rangers Ballpark.
