European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 30, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 the stars and stripes wednesday. March 30,19bb fast Baller Ryan still throwing smoke h Ronald  a1 sports writer Al Ati a c when most putters of his Genc Thloon an wearing blazers instead of in roving Ilu m. 41-year-old Nolan Ryan dominates Power pitching the Way no once a has before. Turn solver mired. Claylord Perry re tired. I Lul no Khianii Ferguson pc nuns went Hinr. To. Steve Carlton not much left. I5on Sutlon gels by Wilh offs Ceil pitches. Bui Nolan Ryan goes out even1 five Days and throws smoke. Still hiatus after nil i desc years. To Pinny to be a Power Pitcher until lie Day i can t be and when lho1 comes i m going in get out of baseball Ryan said one morn i no in ring the of season. Lie s not Power. He s overpower. Tor big league Bailers he is proof of George Bernard Shaw s assertion that every Man Over 40 is a scoundrel Ryan is Ruck Oul 270 batters in Iii i innings last season the most sri Kouts in the the majors and the most Ever by a pile i r -10 or older. He was h-16 Only because the Asirosh averaged 3.35 runs in his 34 starts. In his 16 tosses la Ouslin scored 13 runs while he was still in Hie game. He a Cal 0-5 in july but mild a 2.36 earned run average Hal month. Each year people ask How he does  said Alan Ashy. Inc ail Ros Colcher. It s a never ending Story and they la probably he bark asking me again next year it Shiv. Ages aug that Ryan was the wild texan the new York mets unloaded tit Calil Tironia. Because Ilis pitches did not full Pri ditto blk paths from the  plate. He a am a Star for inc Mali during the in pm soils and world series win Ning the playoff clincher with seven in Ninis of Fri to Hii Relief and saving game 3 til the world series with 2v shutout innings hut after he struck Oul 137 and walked i i m ii2 innings in 1971. Inc acts traded him to the Angels. Since then a record five no a liners the career strikeout record Wilh 4,547, the Wain record of 383 in 197-1, eight Tsirik Tihoi Lillis. Surprisingly no by your a awards. I Lake i itch car As they conic along Ryan said lining into last Spring i to lion t kno How i d  lie had gone pm inc disabled list twice in 1186 Wuh a sort Elbow caused by a sprained ligament. But he won 11 of his last 13 decisions and pitched masterfully in the plan offs beating the mils in tame 2 and pitching a two hitter with 12 strikeout Over nine innings in games which the mils won in the 12lh. He still throw i Over 96 Mph. Faster the in Dwight Gooden. Faster than Roger Clemens faster than Mark lungs on. N to have the advantage of youth. How docs he a il7 my ability is a god Given  he said not wanting to try i divine any reasons. While pitchers have gotten hit Ano stronger with each generation the top ones of 111 is Era throw slower than Ihns of the last. Ryan thinks in May in be cause the Ball movement has been pm Rivasi cd Over Speed in the age of inc split fingered fastball. I think Young pitchers nowadays arc much further ahead than Pitcek is com ing up in my Era because of the fact that there arc so Many More people out there who arc qualified to teach pitching Kyan said. There s More known Aboul it. There s More pitchers Oul there now Hal like the split fingered the Slider and those arc two pitches Hal arc fairly cosy to teach so kids arc having Success throwing them. I think that s one reason that we Don t see at Many hard throwers As we used lo/1 things were different when Ryan came up in the Laic 1960s. "1 never had to throw a breaking Ball until 1 got to the major league  he said somewhat incredulously. And it was years after lie arrived until he could throw in for strikes. The first six seasons he won the american league strikeout title he also led the league in w Alks. List season he had 3.1 Siri Couis per walk the Best ratio of his career. And he also is training harder than he did be f be. When i firs came up into the league with the Way salaries were we were working in the of season. Spring training was for getting in shape Ryan said. When i first broke in inc major leagues All pitchers did was run a lot. They did t cup Cal pitchers to last Hal Long. After you Lur cd 30, they started phasing pitchers Oul. 1 did t anticipate being any different but now Ryan along with almost every Pitcher has a daily of season conditioning program. He also has become a sponsor of sports sense a illness pro Gram for High school students i enjoy working with Young pitchers because 1 have something to offer Ryan said. A lot of kids they overdo in. Too much too soon. A lot of kids Over come improper mechanics because they re Young and  even with conditioning and a better knowledge of pitching baseball people still want the kids who throw heat. The scouts Are always looking for despite an 8-16 record in 1987, noun Ryin slacked up 270 Ilell Icouls. Hal real outstanding Arm Ryan said. They still feel like inc fastball is the Best pitch and that if you find somebody with Good velocity and Leach them Good mechanics you can teach them the other pitches Bui Cven Lually the heal escapes from most Pitcher s arms and icy must sur Vive with offs ced St Dcarlton who dulled with Ryan for the career strikeout Lead in 1984. Is trying to hang on with curves and an unreliable Slider Carllon has even  with Knue Klc balls. Each person s attitude and inc Way he plays the game is different Ryan Saiof he s no doubt a different style Pitcher than he was when he won 27 panics Wilh Philadelphia. But i m sure in his mind he feels that he can still pitch and be  but while Carllon struggles to remain in baseball Kyan is still at the top. It s Elcar no one wants to hit against him Ashby said. I Don t know How to explain what he does. It s a combination of ability and Pride and work habits. There is nobody like  How Long can Ryan keep up inc heal anytime you see u Man his age throwing in the mid-90s, in s  Houston pitching coach Les Moss said. You know it won t happen forever bul you wonder when he will  Larkin took crash course for Lead off role ii Joe Hay plan City. Fla. A when Harry Lai Kin Learned he d be leading off for the Cincinnati reds this Spring he decided logo to base stealing school. He flew to the West coast to take Les ions. A a Nealion Park in the los an Geles area became his classroom. Team mate inc Davis who lives in Woodland Mills calif., became his teacher i m not Tri polished Al thai pan of the  he mid. Me got a Rasli course during the informal sessions. We were hiking a lol about How to gel Slark disk Reni moves the pitchers make Larih said. Larkin. 23. Lias i had much of a Chance i steal in his professional career. Ilis 21 stolen Haws last season were his career High. He could gift to pad that number appreciably this season if manager Pete hic leaves him in the Lead off spol.  figures that will be inc Best thing for Lark s running. The More you hit the better hitter you Are Davis said. The More you Field the Bener fielder you Are. The More you run the Bellcar base stealer you  Larkin ii working hard this Spring pre paring himself for the Ica dolt role. He s changed his Balling stance and is trying to make himself More of an offensive threat "1 feel i m a Good defensive player now. Hopefully no become a very Good  he said. I m working on my of sense now. 1 want to become a Well rounded  Larkin won inc starting Shons Topjon a year ago in his Competition Wilh Kurt Stillwell because Rose considered Larkin a More polished player. He started the season hitting Over .300, until a second base collision sidelined him for nearly a month Wilh an Over extended knee. He struggled when be resumed carry ing a .209 average into the All Star break i came Back a Little Loo Early. I was still  he said. "1 did t want to say anything to i eur. I thought he would have taken me  the All Star break marked a turning Point. He nil .40 1 the first week after play resumed regained his hold on the shortstop Job and finished by Billing .270 in inc season s second half. In addition to his work on his base stealing Larkin changed his Balling stance Over the Winter. He s gone 10 a More straight up Mance instead of his crouched spread stance from last season. Last year 1 became a defensive hit Ler he  new stance has helped him drive the Ball belter and become one or the reds leading hitters this Spring. Larkin s two hits in an exhibition game sunday raised his average la .354 with a team leading 23 hits including two homers in his Success has prompted Rose to con Sider using Larkin full Lime in the Ica dolt role instead of sharing it with Tracy Jones. Rose used Larkin lower in inc order at the Start of Spring training jiving him time to � re on Bis swing before pulling him under the pressures of Balling Lead off. Thai was pc try much by design Rose said. I did l throw him Inlo the Lead off spol right away. I wanted to wait until he was swinging  Larkin is aware of inc pressures of hit Ting first you be got to hit to get on base. You be got to relax he Aid. There s a lol of pressure Balling Lead off. H takes a certain kind of hitter to be a successful Leidolf