Nolan Ryan Speaks Out About Texas Rangers

Jun 15, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers ceo

in the stands during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The Blue Jays won 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports.

In a recent interview with ESPN, former Texas Rangers great Nolan Ryan spoke out about the circumstances that led to him leaving the organization, Ian Kinsler and more. Jerry Crasnick sat down with Ryan about his new job with the Astros and of course some Texas Rangers talk came out of it. When asked about his situation and what led him to eventually leave the Texas Rangers, Ryan said

"“…when I came into that situation, I was dropped in J.D.’s sandbox. He had his organization and his group of people, and all of a sudden — boom! — Nolan Ryan was there. It was a dimension they didn’t anticipate. It probably wasn’t handled properly with my coming in.”"

Some people may take the J.D.’s sandbox as a disparaging comment, but I don’t.  I think it was Ryan’s way of saying that he was encroaching on another man’s turf and sometimes it is tough to do that when you are as well-known as Nolan Ryan is. Ryan knew that J.D. was intimidated by him, and it most likely made for a very difficult situation for Daniels. My opinion is that Nolan Ryan was not pushed out, but felt like he was a distraction to the team so he decided to leave and let Jon Daniels feel like he was not under Ryan’s shadow. Just my opinion. I could be totally off here. Either way, I feel like the decision was Nolan Ryan’s alone.

Ryan also spoke out about the comments that Ian Kinsler made in a seperate ESPN article a couple of weeks ago, and his take was much more tame than my take was.

"“The real point of the article was that Ian was hurt by the trade. He was mad, and he just vented, but he was truly in his heart a Texas Ranger and he wanted to retire as a Ranger.”"

I don’t know if I totally believe that, but I will take Nolan Ryan’s word as a former player and an executive that worked with Kinsler. Kinsler said just a few short years ago that he wanted to remain a Texas Rangers player, and he also commented on how excited he was to be resigned by the Texas Rangers when he got his new contract. I am pretty sure that Ryan was right is asserting that Kinsler was hurt by the trade and probably lashed out. I probably would too. ( I kind of did in this piece here). Nolan Ryan went on to say he wanted to retire as an Astro.

All in all, nothing Nolan Ryan said was hurtful, but it is interesting. It is really the first time publicly he has spoken out about he and Jon Daniels. I found the article interesting. You can read Crasnick’s article here.