Not all Ryan homers were majestic. Some were goofy. In 1976, a guy named Bobby Darwin hit a blooper that barely cleared the fence. Ryan laughed about it later.
Another time, in 1982, Dave Kingman hit a pop-up that the wind carried over the wall. The ball landed in a hot dog vendor’s cart. Ryan just shrugged. “Wind’s part of the game,” he said.
Then there’s the Benny Ayala story. In 1983, Ayala hit a ground-rule double that bounced into the stands. The umpire called it a home run by mistake. Ryan didn’t argue. He just pitched the next guy.
Inside Nolan Ryan's Legendary Home: A Virtual Tour - Home Improvement Cast
The Oddest Stat of All
Want to feel confused? Ryan gave up exactly 321 home runs. But only two were grand slams. Two! In 27 years!
Compare that to modern pitchers. Many give up five grand slams in a single season. Ryan’s total? Two. The first? To Ken McMullen in 1970. The second? To Gary Carter in 1986.
That means 99% of Ryan’s homers were solo shots or two-run jobs. He rarely got crushed with the bases loaded.
