Ryan to Return to Rangers Next Year : Strikeout King Says He’ll Be Shooting for the 300th Victory of His Career

ARLINGTON, Tex. — Strikeout king Nolan Ryan said today that he will be back with the Texas Rangers next year to shoot for his 300th career victory.

“I’d be disappointed if I pitched the entire season next year and didn’t get 300,” the 42-year-old right-hander said at a news conference.

Ryan said his family, and the way the Rangers treated them, influenced his decision to play another year.

“I’ve always put my family ahead of my career, but the Rangers were so great to me that my family helped me to decide to come back,” said Ryan, who needs just 11 victories to hit 300.

Ryan was 16-11 this season and led the majors with 301 strikeouts. He had a 3.20 ERA in 32 starts and allowed the opposition a batting average of only .187.

He reached the 300-strikeout level Saturday night in his last appearance, fanning 13 California Angels as he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning for the fifth time this season. He is the oldest by 11 years to strike out that many batters in one season.

The Rangers told Ryan that they would give him an option for the 1991 season, but he said, “I haven’t given that any thought.”

In an interview published in today’s editions of the Dallas Times Herald, Ryan said: “For me to come back is not just to get another year in but to maintain my stuff and have another productive year.”

Ryan will be guaranteed $1.4 million for 1990 under terms of the option clause included in the contract he signed with Texas in December.

General Manager Tom Grieve has said it is “a foregone conclusion” that the Rangers want Ryan back next season.

He said the decision to play another season was based on two factors.

“It came down to the kids,” said Ryan. He and his wife have two sons and a daughter; they live in his hometown of Alvin. “They were the ones who were pushing, who wanted me to come back.

“My other question was how would I hold up physically, and I haven’t had any problems,” he said.

Ryan retired the first 22 California hitters Saturday in a three-hit, 2-0 victory, the latest episode in one of the most remarkable seasons ever by a pitcher.

This season, Ryan:

- Won 16 games, equaling his best total since 1977. He took no-hitters into the eighth inning five times and held the opponents to a .187-batting average, the lowest in the major leagues.

- Passed the 5,000-strikeout mark, finishing with 301 this year to lead the major leagues. That figure has been reached only 22 times in history, six of those times by Ryan.

- Became the oldest pitcher to get a win in the All-Star Game.

- Set a club record with 301 strikeouts, averaging 9.4 per start and 11.3 per nine innings, the third-best ratio ever.