December 10, 1971: Mets Trade Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi

December 10, 1971: The New York Mets trade pitchers Nolan Ryan and Don Rose, catcher Frank Estrada, and right fielder Leroy Stanton to the California Angels for shortstop Jim Fregosi.

Estrada was a backup catcher who'd played 1 big-league game, for the Mets in '71, and never appeared in another. No loss there. Rose had also reached the majors for 1 game with the '71 Mets, put up a 1-4 record for the '72 Angels, and by April 1974 had appeared in the majors for the last time. No loss there.

Stanton turned out to be a good player, putting up OPS+ seasons of 110, 116 and 123, before slumping a bit in 1976, and being left unprotected in the expansion draft. Taken by the Seattle Mariners, he put up an OPS+ of 130 in 1977, before an injury ended his career the next season at just 32 years old.

We all know what happened to Ryan: He found his control with the Angels in 1972. He set records for strikeouts in a game (19, since broken), a season (383 in 1973, still stands) and a career (5,714, still stands). He pitched 7 no-hitters. He won 324 games, 295 of them after leaving the Mets. And we know what happened to Fregosi: He got hurt, was never the same player again, and is now better known as a manager, having gone back to the Angels and leading them to their 1st postseason appearance, in 1979 -- he was only 37, and could still have been a productive player -- and then leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a Pennant in 1993.

This was just 8 days after the New York Yankees traded Stan Bahnsen to the Chicago White Sox for Rich McKinney. That remains one of the worst trades in Yankee history, but it turned out to not be even the worst New York baseball trade of the month.

Why did the Mets do something so stupid? If you know your baseball history, then you've heard the case for the prosecution. Can there possibly be a case for the defense?

Maybe. At this point, there was nothing wrong with wanting a healthy Jim Fregosi on your team. He would be just 30 years old on Opening Day 1972, had been an American League All-Star 6 times, won a Gold Glove in 1967, and, until slumping to 89 in 1971, had never had an OPS+ (on-base percentage + slugging percentage, in relation to the league average) lower than 108 in his first 8 full seasons in the majors, peaking at 141 in 1964.

His highest batting average had been .290, in 1967; peak home runs, 22, and peak runs batted in, 82, both in 1970. In 1968, he led the AL in triples with 13. The franchise was just 11 seasons old at that point, but Fregosi was, without a doubt, the greatest player the Angels had yet had.

Certainly, Fregosi was a better player than the Mets' incumbent starting shortstop, Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson. Although Harrelson had helped the Mets win the 1969 World Series, and had won the '71 season's National League Gold Glove for shortstops and was selected for the last 2 All-Star Games, Harrelson couldn't hit a lick. His highest single-season OPS+ was 82, well below Fregosi's slump season. His peak batting average thus far was .254, and he would top that only twice; his peak RBI year was 42, and his peak home run year was... 1 -- in each case, it would remain so.

Clearly, what the Mets needed to do was make Harrelson a backup, a "defensive replacement." Or maybe the Mets could move him to 3rd base, where 1969 starter Wayne Garrett had badly tailed off, and incumbent starter Bob Aspromonte was at the end of the line. (Bob was a Brooklyn native, now best known as the last active player who had played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was also the brother of the somewhat better Ken Aspromonte.)

Instead, the Mets kept Harrelson at short, and moved Fregosi to 3rd. At first, it seemed to work, but then Fregosi got hurt. He appeared in only 101 games that season, finishing the season with only 32 RBIs and an OPS+ of just 89, and was never the same again. His 382 plate appearances that season would be far and away more than he'd ever have again.

Between the ages of 21 and 28, Jim Fregosi was, statistically speaking, similar to Alan Trammell, the longtime Detroit Tiger shortstop who is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. But between the ages of 29 and 36, Fregosi was just another broken-down player.

Another problem was Joan Payson, the owner of the Mets. She trusted her team chairman, M. Donald Grant, to make the team's personnel decisions. After the 1973 World Series, Grant began breaking up their "dynasty." Keep in mind, this man not only traded Seaver and Dave Kingman away on the same day, but he used Ryan (and his wife! and Seaver's wife, too) as an excuse to lowball Seaver on contract talks.

Mrs. Payson offered little oversight over Grant's decisions. In contrast to Dan Topping and Del Webb, who would occasionally overrule George Weiss' decisions with the Yankees in the 1950s, she let Grant do whatever he wanted. After she died in 1975, her daughter, Lorinda de Roulet, continued this policy, until she finally fired him in 1978.

So, chances are, keeping Nolan Ryan beyond the 1971 season would have meant giving him up well before 1984. 

At the time of the trade, Ryan was a month and a half short of his 25th birthday. He had a career won-lost record of 29-38. Not good, especially when you consider that the Mets had won 100 games in 1969, 83 in 1970 and 83 again in 1971.

He struck out a lot of batters, but also walked a lot, giving him a WHIP (Walks and Hits, divided by Innings Pitched) of almost 1.6 in '71. His ERA was nearly 4, not good in the NL of the time, which was pitching-friendly with a lot of concrete multipurpose oval stadiums (3 new ones in the preceding season and a half), and, of course, no designated hitter.

With Ryan having been disappointing thus far, and with Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and a somewhat-still-effective Ray Sadecki in their rotation, the Mets could afford to let Ryan go. He was expendable. Trade bait. Or so it seemed at the time.

And keeping Ryan might not have mattered in the short term. The 2 biggest questions in Met history are, "What if Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry hadn't fallen victim to drugs?" and, "What if the Mets had never traded Nolan Ryan?"

The answers to both questions are uncomfortable. After all, Doc and Darryl had injuries that cut their careers shorter than they should have been, and those would probably have happened even without substance abuse. And having Ryan might not have helped the Mets much.

Met fans see a rotation with Ryan and Tom Seaver as being unbeatable from 1972 onward. But would it have been? From 1972 until 1983, the Mets only got close to a National League Eastern Division title once, in 1973. They actually did win it, although with the worst record any Division title winner has ever had, 82-79. Then they won the NL Championship Series over the Cincinnati Reds. They didn't need Ryan to do that.

The key is the World Series, against the defending World Champion Oakland Athletics. The Mets took a 3-2 lead, with Games 6 and (if necessary) 7 still to play in Oakland. Yogi Berra, then the Mets' manager, gambled by starting Seaver in Game 6, on 3 days' rest. It didn't work: The A's won. That left him with Jon Matlack as his best available Game 7 starter, and he had 1 bad inning (the 3rd), and the A's won.

If the Mets still had Ryan, they could have started him in Game 7. Or, depending on how Yogi set up the rotation, Ryan in Game 6 and, if necessary, Seaver in Game 7.

But let's look at Ryan's postseason record. It's mixed. He saved the Mets' bacon in Game 3 of the '69 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, and did so again in Game 3 of the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles -- all this before he became NOLAN RYAN.

After that, he next appeared in postseason play in 1979, and while he pitched well for the Angels, it wasn't enough, as they lost the game and the Pennant to the Orioles.

In 1980, now with his hometown Houston Astros, he blew the Pennant-clinching Game 5 of the NLCS, at the Astrodome no less, enabling the Phillies to win their 1st Pennant in 30 years, and then their 1st World Championship in 98 years of trying. At that point in their history, blowing a Pennant to the Phillies was like losing to Suzanne Somers on Jeopardy! (This was when she was playing Chrissy Snow on Three's Company, well before she proved her smarts as a fitness expert and a businesswoman. She wasn't a dumb blonde, she just played one on TV.)

In the strike-forced Division Series of 1981, Ryan pitched well for the Astros, but in the process, he only got a split of 2 decisions against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And he made just one other postseason appearance, in the 1986 NLCS with the Astros, losing Game 2, and pitching well but not getting the decision in a Game 5 his team lost... to the Mets.

And even in 1973, the year the Mets won the Pennant and Ryan fanned a still-standing record of 383, he also led the AL in walks with 162. In fact, he led the League in walks 8 times (6 in the AL, 2 in the NL). He also gave up 18 homers. He was hard to hit, but when he got hit, he got hit. (Which sounds like something Yogi might say.)

Having a 2nd World Series win since the Yankees' last one in 1962 would have been a huge bragging point for Met fans until the Yankees started winning again in 1977. Until 1996, they could say that, since 1962, we've won just as many titles as you have (2). But, if you'll pardon my mixing of my sports metaphors, but having Ryan in the 1973 World Series to pitch to "The Swingin' A's" of Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Sal Bando, Gene Tenace and Deron Johnson was no slam dunk.

But there would be other chances, right? Having Ryan would certainly improve those chances, right? Maybe not: From 1974 to 1983, the Mets were not in one single Pennant race, and it's hard to say how much difference Ryan would have made then.

Then there's the Mets' glory years from 1984 to 1990. Then again, for all their talk, there wasn't a whole lot of glory. Could Ryan, who pitched remarkably well even until he was 44 in 1991, have made a difference there? The Mets finished 6 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs in 1984, so Ryan wouldn't have made the difference there.

In 1985, the Mets finished 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals, but Ryan was 10-12 with a 3.80 ERA. If he makes 3 games' difference, do the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS? Maybe, the Dodgers had Tom Niedenfuer in their pen; Jack Clark hitting a Pennant-clincher in the top of the 9th in Game 6 wasn't a surprise, but Ozzie Smith hitting a walkoff in the bottom of the 9th of Game 5 was. I can certainly imagine Niedenfuer giving up homers to Lenny Dykstra in Game 5 (or maybe Lenny still hits his in Game 3) and Gary Carter in Game 6.

The Series, against the Kansas City Royals? I don't know, because the Cards did lose, and if Cardinal fans still curse the name of umpire Don Denkinger over a quarter of a century later, what would Met fans say if that same call were made? I think the Mets win the '85 Pennant, but lose the Series.

Ryan would have made no difference in 1986. How could he? The Mets won the World Series. The only difference is that the Mets beat the Reds in the NLCS, since the Astros don't have Ryan. (Then again, the Astros won the NL West by 10, so maybe they win it anyway.)

In 1987, at age 40, Ryan led the NL in ERA and strikeouts, but had an 8-16 record, because the Astros remembered that they are the Houston Astros: Great pitching, good defense, couldn't hit the ground if they fell off a ladder.

The Mets finished 2nd to the Cards again, 3 games back. Ryan definitely would have made a difference here, and the Mets would probably have beaten the San Francisco Giants for the Pennant. But the Minnesota Twins were not going to lose any World Series games in the Metrodome. Nobody beat the Twins in the Dome in October. Nobody. (Except, as it turned out, the 2003, '04 and '09 Yankees, who clinched 3 ALDS in that disgraceful facility.) So the Mets reach their 3rd straight Series, but win only 1.

In 1988, the Mets lost the NLCS to the Dodgers in Game 7... or, rather, they lost it in Game 4, when Mike Scioscia took Gooden deep in the 9th. The Mets started, in the 7 games, Gooden, David Cone, Ron Darling, Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Coney, Darling. Ryan had a good year, but I'm not sure where he starts. In all honesty, I can't say with any certainty that he makes a difference in this series.

In 1989, his 1st season with the Texas Rangers, Ryan had his last big season in terms of wins, 16, for an 83-win team. The Mets finished 2nd to the Cubs again, 6 games back. Maybe with Ryan, now 42 but still effective, the Mets don't make that dumb trade for Frank Viola, and win the Division.

But I don't think they win the Pennant, unless there's another dumb trade they don't make, Kevin Mitchell to the San Diego Padres for Kevin McReynolds. Mitchell's trade, soon after, from the Padres to the Giants made the Giants a postseason team in '87 and '89, and they beat the Cubs soundly in the NLCS; they would have done the same to the Mets.

In 1990, the Mets finished 2nd, 4 games behind the Pirates. Ryan had a pretty good season, and if he'd been in the rotation instead of the sinking-fast El Sid, they might have won the Division. On the other hand, as I said, if they still had Ryan, they wouldn't have traded for Viola, who won 20 in his one good season for the Mets. No, having Ryan at this point probably hurts them.

In 1991, Ryan's last effective season -- as a fastball pitcher at age 44! How come no one ever tested him for steroids? -- the Mets collapsed, finishing 20 1/2 back of the Pirates. Having Ryan wouldn't have helped. Having him in the disastrous '92 and '93 seasons, Ryan's last 2, wouldn't have helped, either.

So Ryan might have helped them win 3 more Division titles (1985, '87 and '89), and 2 more Pennants (1985 and '87), but it's hard to see how he wins them any more World Series (unless you count 1973, and you can't count on that).

M. Donald Grant made a lot of bad decisions as the Mets' de facto owner, and trading Ryan for Fregosi is the one that sticks out the most. But, just as Harry Frazee had reasons to let Babe Ruth go from the Boston Red Sox in 1919, there was more to the move than meets the eye. It would be fairer to say that both Frazee in the early 1920s and Grant in the 1970s broke up their winning teams, each with many bad decisions, too soon.

*

December 10, 1971 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. Football was played the next 3 days, but not on this day. But there were 8 games played in the NBA that day:

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-106 in overtime at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Buffalo Braves, 101-100 in overtime at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-111 at the Cleveland Arena. Bob Lanier scored 35 points for the Pistons, but it was in a losing effort.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Baltimore Bullets, 118-102 at the Chicago Stadium. 

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics, 120-104 at the Milwaukee Arena. In 1974, it was renamed the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 55 points, and had 18 rebounds. John Havlicek scored 32 for the Celtics, but it didn't get them close to the defending NBA Champions.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 95-88 at the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 126-117 in overtime at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Gail Goodrich scored 32, Jim McMillian had 31, Jerry West had 28k and Wilt Chamberlain had 14 points and 28 rebounds. This was during the Lakers' record 33-game winning streak. For the Suns, Dick Van Arsdale scored 31, and Connie Hawkins scored 28.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Golden State Warriors, 105-94 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were 5 games played in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets beat the Memphis Pros, 103-101 at the Island Garden in West Hempstead, Long Island, New York. The Nassau Coliseum opened 2 months later, on February 11, 1972, and the Nets moved in. Bill Melchionni scored 36 for the Nets on this night.

* The Virginia Squires beat the Indiana Pacers, 118-114 at The Scope in Norfolk, Virginia. Charlie Scott scored 41 for the Squires. Adding 19 for them was a rookie, Julius Erving.

* The Pittsburgh Condors beat the Carolina Cougars, 144-138 at the Greensboro Coliseum. No, that wasn't in overtime: That was in a regulation 48 minutes, making for a typical ABA barnburner. For the Condors, George Thompson scored 41, John Brisker 34, and George Carter 28. For the Cougars, Jim McDaniels scored 45, and Larry Miller (not the later Utah Jazz owner) 33.

* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Miami Floridians, 116-100 at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

* And the Utah Stars beat the Denver Rockets, 110-102 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. Ralph Simpson (not Sampson) scored 43 in a losing effort for the Rockets, who became the Denver Nuggets in 1974.

Only 1 NHL game was played that day. The St. Louis Blues and the California Golden Seals played to a 4-4 tie at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

September 27, 1973: Nolan Ryan's 383rd Strikeout

September 27, 1973: The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4 at Anaheim Stadium – now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Richie Scheinblum doubles Tommy McCraw home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Nolan Ryan went the distance, to finish the season at 21-15. In the 8th inning, he struck McCraw out, to tie Sandy Koufax's record of 382 strikeouts in a season. He didn't get another in the 9th, but the game went to extra innings, giving him another chance. He didn't get another in the 10th, but he struck Rich Reese out in the 11th, for his 383rd strikeout.

During Reese's at-bat, Rod Carew stole 2nd base. The Anaheim crowd cheered the call of "Safe," because, if he had been called out, it would have ended the inning, and taken away Ryan's chance at a 383rd K. Instead, Carew was safe, and Ryan fanned Reese.

That total of 383 remains the single-season major league record. The following season, he struck out 367 batters, and that remains the 2nd-most in American League history, and the 3rd-most in the major leagues.

On 4 occasions, but only 1 without extra innings, Ryan struck out 19 batters in a game. From 1983 to 1986, when Roger Clemens became the 1st pitcher to strike out 20 in 9 innings, Ryan held (or, in the case of the single-season mark, shared) the records for strikeouts in a game, in a season, and in a career. He still holds the records for a season and, with 5,714, in a career.

*

September 27, 1973 was a Thursday. There were 5 other Major League Baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Pat Dobson allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Despite being a Baltimore native, Tiger legend Al Kaline did not play. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-4. Joe Coleman Jr., son of a major league pitcher, won his 23rd game of the season, outpitching rookie Wayne Garland.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Greg Luzinski, not the fastest of men, scores the winning run in the top of the 13th inning -- on a wild pitch by Chris Zachary. Willie Stargell went 0-for-5. So did Mike Schmidt, on his 24th birthday, wrapping up a rookie season in which he batted .196 -- albeit with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs. He led the National League in home runs in each of the next 3 seasons, and average 36 home runs a year for the next 14 seasons.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Buddy Bradford won it with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Jim Kaat went the distance for the win.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Reggie Cleveland faced the minimum 27 batters, allowing a single Ken Rudolph in the top of the 6th inning, and then eliminated him on a double play. Lou Brock hit a home run.

May 1, 1991: Nolan Ryan's Lightning Steals Rickey Henderson's Thunder

May 1, 1991: A new all-time record for stolen bases is set -- and it's not the biggest thing to happen in baseball on the day.

The Oakland Athletics defeat the New York Yankees, 7-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. For a few years now, A's manager Tony La Russa had been taking the "Captain Hook" approach of Sparky Anderson (then with the Detroit Tigers after leading the Cincinnati Reds to glory), replacing pitchers after the slightest slip. In this game, both teams used 5 pitchers.

La Russa started with Mike Moore, who was named the winning pitcher, and ended with Dennis Eckersley, whom La Russa turned from a seemingly washed-up former really good starter into a Hall of Fame closer. 

Yankee manager Carl "Stump" Merrill started Tim Leary, but he was knocked out of the box in the 4th inning. Leary had gone 9-19 the year before. This game dropped him to 2-1, and he would finish 4-10. He went 17-11 with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988, when they upset the A's to win the World Series. Other than that season, he went 61-94. He was not related to Dr. Timothy Leary, the psychologist who became the world's leading advocate for LSD; but you'd have to be on drugs to want him to pitch for your team.

Dave Henderson hit a home run for the A's, while Matt Nokes hit one for the Yankees. 3rd baseman Ernie Riles went 4-for-5 with a stolen base and 5 RBIs. He only had 27 other RBIs that season.

But the big story in this game was Rickey Henderson. (No relation to Dave.) He had set a still-standing record of 130 stolen bases in the 1982 season. The Yankees had traded for him in 1985, but, despite being one of baseball's greatest all-around talents -- of his 3,055 career hits, 297 of them were home runs, despite spending most of his career in the Oakland Coliseum, which was a pitcher's park, and Yankee Stadium, which was hard on righthanded hitters -- he never really fit in. They traded him back to the A's in 1989, and he helped them win the World Series, and a 3rd straight Pennant in 1990.

In the 3rd inning, he singled, and was singled over to 2nd base by Dave Henderson. He then stole 3rd base. It was the 939th stolen base of his career, breaking the record held by St. Louis Cardinals legend Lou Brock, who was on hand for the occasion.

A microphone was set up, and Henderson thanked, in turn, God, the Haas family (owners of the A's), the A's organization, the City of Oakland (where he grew up, although he was born in Chicago), the fans in the Coliseum, his mother, his friends, his loved ones, and former managers Tom Trebelhorn and Billy Martin (who had died in 1989).

Then he said, in words that another of his heroes, Muhammad Ali, might have appreciated, "Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But, today, I'm the greatest of all time. Thank you."

Brock took no offense, saying, "He spoke from his heart." But Henderson knew he had gone too far, later saying, "As soon as I said it, it ruined everything. Everybody thought it was the worst thing you could ever say. Those words haunt me to this day, and will continue to haunt me. They overshadow what I've accomplished in this game."

There is a difference between having a healthy ego, which is necessary to succeed in just about any endeavor, including professional sports; and having an excessive ego. Henderson certainly gave the impression of having the latter, not helping himself by being an illeist, a person who tended refer to himself in the third person, often calling himself "Rickey" instead of "I."

Henderson did go on to collect over 3,000 hits, become the major league's all-time leader in runs scored (2,295, a record he still holds) and walks (2,190), since surpassed by Barry Bonds, although he still holds the record for unintentional walks with 2,129). And he raised the record for career stolen bases to 1,406. To put that in perspective: As of May 1, 2022, the active leader is Elvis Andrus, with 318. Add his total to Brock's former record of 938, and that's 1,256 -- 150 short of Henderson's record.

*

Just a few hours later, Henderson's thunder was stolen by Nolan Ryan's lightning. At Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, Ryan pitched the 7th no-hitter of his career, against the Toronto Blue Jays. To this day, no other pitcher has more than 4. And, at age 44, he broke the record he set the year before, with his 6th, becoming the oldest pitcher ever to throw one.

The Rangers beat the Jays, 3-0. Ryan struck out 16 batters. He fell short of a perfect game, which none of his 7 no-hitters was, by walking 2 batters: Kelly Gruber in the 1st inning and Joe Carter in the 7th. The last out was a strikeout of Roberto Alomar. Rubén Sierra hit a home run for the Rangers.

His 6th no-hitter was pitched against the A's, at the Oakland Coliseum. The year before that, on August 22, 1989, at Arlington, Ryan had struck Henderson out for his 5,000th career strikeout. Like Henderson with stolen bases, and himself with no-hitters, he raised that record so high that it is incredibly unlikely that it will ever be broken: 5,714.

He finished his career with 324 wins, but also 297 losses, the most in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era. Ryan was a dominant pitcher, but, when he wasn't on his game, which was often, he was far from unhittable.

In 1999, Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Henderson was still active, and therefore ineligible for the Hall. That same year, fan balloting named Ryan to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and did not name Henderson.

Henderson kept playing for as long as he thought he could, but probably should have retired after the 2001 season, shortly after getting his 3,000th hit and breaking the walks and runs records. He hung on for 2 more years at the major league level, and 2 more years in "independent" minor leagues. He did get elected to the Hall in his 1st year of eligibility, 2009.

*

May 1, 1991 was a Wednesday. These other MLB games were played that day:

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 8-7 at Shea Stadium. Fred McGriff went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-5. Bruce Hurst outpitched Frank Viola.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Cal Ripken Jr. went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk.

* The Pittsburgh Prates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Bobby Bonilla and Jay Bell hit home runs for the Buccos, while Barry Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 11-8 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox, 10-9 at Milwaukee County Stadium. This one went 19 innings. The Brewers scored 5 runs in the 5th inning. Each team scored 3 runs in the 15th. Former Yankee 2nd baseman Willie Randolph singled home the winning run in the 19th. Robin Yount went 0-for-7, although he did draw 2 walks. Paul Molitor went 1-for-6 -- with 4 walks.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Scott Erickson pitched a 2-hit shutout. The only run came in the 8th inning, on a home run by Dan Gladden.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. A David Justice groundout got the winning run home in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 5-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

Football was out of season. There were 2 games played in the NBA Playoffs. The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 112-105 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. And the Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 109-106 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3 at the Boston Garden. But the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Also, Marcus Stroman, an All-Star pitcher for the Blue Jays, was born on this day.

April 27, 1983: Nolan Ryan Surpasses Walter Johnson

April 27, 1983: The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 4-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Nolan Ryan of the Astros strikes out Brad Mills of the Expos. It is the 3,509th strikeout of Ryan's career, allowing him to surpass Walter Johnson as the major leagues' all-time leader. Johnson had held the record since surpassing Cy Young in 1921.

Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies would, however, soon catch and surpass Ryan. They would go back and forth as the all-time leader, until late in the season, when Ryan would begin to pull away. Ryan would end his career with 5,714.

As of April 27, 2022, also ahead of Johnson now are the unrelated Randy Johnson with 4,875, Roger Clemens with 4,672, Carlton with 4,136, Bert Blyleven with 3,701, Tom Seaver with 3,640, Don Sutton with 3,574, and Gaylord Perry with 3,534. The active leader is Max Scherzer with 3,210.

*

April 27, 1983 was a Wednesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-0 at Yankee Stadium. Bob Shirley, normally a reliever, allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout. Roy Smalley hit a home run. Willie Randolph and Jerry Mumphrey each got 3 hits. George Brett went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench, in his last season as a player, went 0-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Dick Ruthven outpitched Phil Niekro. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4 with a walk. Pete Rose went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Larry Bowa doubled Jerry Morales home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount and Paul Molitor each went 2-for-5.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-6 at Busch Memorial Coliseum in St. Louis.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 13-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with 2 walks. Fred Lynn and Daryl Sconiers each had 4 RBIs. Reggie Jackson did not play.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 6-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Mike Flanagan pitched 5 innings, Sammy Stewart 4, combining for a 6-hit shutout. Gary Roenicke went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were between rounds. There were 3 games in the NBA Playoffs:

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks, 98-91 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Moses Malone had 30 points and 17 rebounds.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics, 116-95 at the Boston Garden.

* And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets, 126-109 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. George Gervin scored 30 points.