True story… I grew up idolizing Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame Pitcher. I had baseball cards of his, an autographed (stamped most likely) photo of him on my bedroom walls, and a souvenir newspaper clipping from a trip to Cooperstown when I was a teenager that read “Roby tops Ryan at 101 MPH.” I still have the baseball cards, that photo is still on the walls of my bedroom in my mother’s home, and the fake newspaper still hangs in my mother’s den. Another true story… After a Wickford Little League game, I asked my mother if (when I turned 18), I could change my name to Nolan Ryan Roby. She said no, and I remain Noel Patrick Roby. And at the ripe old age of 50, I am still idolizing the life and career of Lynn Nolan Ryan of Alvin, Texas. So much so, that when I revisited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown last fall, one of the first plaques I bee-lined to in the Plaque Room was Nolan Ryan’s.

So when I heard about a documentary highlighting the amazing baseball career of Nolan Ryan, I jumped at the chance to watch it. With the rain pouring down most of the day yesterday, I hopped onto Netflix, found “Facing Nolan” and hit play. For those of you unfamiliar with the documentary, here is the trailer:

The documentary covers his life to date – childhood, high school playing days, his amazing relationship and marriage to Ruth Ryan, his children, grandchildren, the Mets, the Angels, the Astros, the Rangers, the Ranch, life after baseball, and many other aspects of his life chronicled in incredible details. It dives into baseball free agency and why some players move from team to team when they are playing at an elite level. It discussed fitness and how to stay healthy enough to play almost 30 years of professional baseball. All stars, teammates, rivals a the plate, managers, even former Presidents of the United States comment throughout the documentary about Nolan and his place in baseball and American history. As a huge fan of Nolan Ryan, I was blown away by the scope of coverage and rare footage and commentary throughout the film.

“Facing Nolan” is a fantastic hour or so of baseball footage, excellent commentary, personal insights and recollections by Ruth and the Ryan family, and of course straight talk from Nolan Ryan himself. I was captivated from minute 1 and loved every second of the entire documentary. Highly recommended to baseball fans of all ages!!!

You can find out more about the film and how you can view it at www.facingnolan.com.