Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 6, 1993 TAG: 9308060084
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ARLINGTON, TEXAS LENGTH: Medium
Winfield, then with the San Diego Padres, charged the mound in the Houston Astrodome. Ryan backed up, Winfield threw a punch, and they both fell to the ground in a tangle.
Ryan decided he wouldn't back up the next time something like that happened.
It happened again Wednesday night and young Robin Ventura got the lesson of his life, going one-on-one with the older but stronger Ryan.
"When someone comes out to the mound they are coming out there with the intent to hurt you and I'm not going to be passive about it," Ryan said. "I learned that against Dave Winfield. I decided I was going to be the aggressor. I wasn't going to just take it."
The 26-year-old Ventura charged the mound in the third inning and the 46-year-old Ryan whipped Ventura and proceeded to pitch hitless baseball the rest of the way in a 5-2 victory.
Ryan put a bulldogging headlock on Ventura and delivered six straight punches.
"I've had a couple of confrontations in my career but nothing of that nature," Ryan said. "I'm not a big believer in fights. Usually even the winner gets hurt."
Ventura and manager Gene Lamont were ejected.
"It was just self-preservation," Ryan said. "I didn't expect that to happen. I was just trying to pitch him inside. You don't have time to think, you just react."
Ryan added "I'm not a big believer in fights but we'll do what it takes to win games. I have nothing against Robin Ventura. The next time I face him, it won't even cross my mind."
The adrenalin-charged Ryan set down 12 of the next 13 batters without allowing a hit to earn his 322nd major league victory with relief help the last two innings from Craig Lefferts and Tom Henke.
Ventura said Ryan, who is the active major league leader in hit batsmen, was throwing at him.
"It's no secret that he was throwing at me and I have to do what I have to do to protect myself and I don't care who it is," Ventura said. "I'm all right. He gave me a couple of nuggies but that was about it."
Ventura said he could be suspended but said "I had to go after him. But I didn't want to be out there alone again. He hit me with a fastball. You don't go out there on a breaking ball. Ryan should have been ejected but it's not going to happen because he's Nolan Ryan."
Umpire Richie Garcia gave Ryan his only career ejection last season for throwing at Oakland's Willie Wilson. Garcia said this incident was different.
"The guy charged him, what can he do?" Garcia said. "People are under the assumption nobody wants to throw him out. That's not the case at all. This just didn't call for it."
Lamont defended his third baseman.
"Robin did the right thing," Lamont said. "If he thought Nolan was throwing at him he needed to go out there instead of yelling at him.
"As it turned out it was Ryan who was throwing all the punches. It all started when Ryan threw the punches."
Texas manager Kevin Kennedy said Ventura picked on the strongest Ranger.
"Nolan can handle himself," Kennedy said."I'm not worried about him because he's in as good a shape as anyone on that field."
Rafael Palmeiro's two-run homer ignited a five-run Rangers sixth-inning against loser Alex Fernandez, (12-6). Palmeiro said Ventura's charging the mound was a foolish mistake.
"It was a wakeup call for our team," Palmeiro said. "We were basically dead until then and it helped get us going. I never thought I'd ever see anyone charge the mound against Nolan Ryan. I bet we won't see it again."
by CNB