Home     News     Obituaries     Sports     Dallas Cowboys     Features     Entertainment     Opinion     Classifieds

SPORTS Local Baseball Basketball Dallas Cowboys Football Golf Motor Sports Outdoors Recreation Soccer Tennis Tiger Woods Track and Field Other Sports

PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Friday, August 14, 1998 Mentor Ryan gets up close look at Johnson HOUSTON (AP) - The teacher got a first-hand look at his prized pupil - and he loved what he saw. Characteristically, Nolan Ryan, baseball's all-time strikeout king, tried to downplay his role in the development of Randy Johnson, baseball's current strikeout leader, as the Houston Astros' new ace fanned 13 and allowed only five hits in beating Milwaukee 3-0 Wednesday night. It was Johnson's second consecutive shutout and his third victory in three starts since arriving from Seattle in a July 31 trade. "I don't know if I had an impact," said Ryan, who watched Johnson in the front row behind home plate in the box seats of Astros owner Drayton McLane. "He was right on the verge of putting it together." Ryan, who had left the Astros for the Texas Rangers, huddled with Johnson, then with the Mariners, in 1993. Until then, Johnson was a pitcher with a feared fastball that often had trouble finding the strike zone. "Nolan Ryan didn't have to take time to help me, but he did," Johnson said. "I worked on my mechanics with him and (Texas pitching coach) Tom House. It was very influential in working out the problems I had with the everyday grind." With the Astros leading the NL Central by 8-1/2 games over Chicago, Ryan said Johnson's impact will be even more important during the playoffs, where Houston was swept in the opening round last year by Atlanta. "If I want a major league pitcher for a short series, I want Randy Johnson because of what he brings to a series like that," Ryan said. "I know an opposing club is thinking they are going into a short series and might have to face him. ... That's on their minds, and that's what you want." Johnson said he wasn't aware that Ryan, who lives south of Houston, was in the Astrodome Wednesday night until spotting him on the stadium's big TV screen. "It was a pleasant surprise," Johnson said. "He means a great deal to my success." Johnson has been amazing in his brief tenure with the Astros. He's given up only two runs in three starts, for a microscopic 0.72 ERA. His 13 strikeouts Wednesday gave him 33 with Houston. And he's walked only four. "The thing that's very special about him has been his control," Astros manager Larry Dierker said after the Milwaukee game. "The bottom line ... is that he allowed no runs, and we got a win with only three runs. It's not easy in this day and age to score three runs and win, but that's what he allows you to do. "All I know is that I feel a lot smarter in the dugout with him pitching than I usually do." Johnson also has impressed his new teammates. "His presence on the field and in the clubhouse has been exciting," said pitcher Shane Reynolds, who surrendered his designation as the Astros' No. 1 starter with the arrival of Johnson. "He's a super guy, down to earth and he's fit right in. We needed somebody like him, a true No. 1 guy and leader on the staff. He's it ..." Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1998, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:

Search current site:        Search archives for:

© 1995- The E.W. Scripps Co. and the Abilene Reporter-News. All Rights Reserved. Site users are subject to our User Agreement. We also have a Privacy Policy.