"GOAT watching the GOAT" - Fans ecstatic as MLB legend Nolan Ryan is in attendance for college basketball star Caitlin Clark's record-breaking pursuit
Legendary baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan was in attendance to watch Caitlin Clark break the all-time NCAA scoring record with the Iowa Haweyes in her final regular-season home game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
As the first half of the game was coming to a close, Clark made two free throws to break Pete Maravich's record of 3,617 points from his time at LSU.
She needed eighteen points going into the game, and she scored every one of them in the first half, breaking the record after scoring the technical foul free throws before the game clock wound down for halftime.
Fans were ecstatic to see the former MLB legend and RHP Nolan Ryan in attendance to witness Clark setting a new NCAA record, and voiced their happiness on X (formally known as Twitter).
"GOAT watching the GOAT" - Mister_Wiskers
David Blulder, husband of Iowa Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder, confirmed before last night's historic game that MLB Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan was going to be in attendance to watch Caitlin Clark smash the record. David added that he had heard that Nolan had paid good money for his seat in the Carver-Hawkeye arena.
"Nolan Ryan's coming and I want to see if he still has his fastball. I have heard that he paid a lot of money for his tickets" - David Bluder (via AthlonSports.com).
Caitlin Clark praised her teammates and the fans for constantly supporting her throughout her journey as an NCAA athlete and exclaimed the following after breaking the all-time NCAA scoring record:
"I think just reflecting back over my four years, I’m just very grateful. These people are my best friends and that’s not for show. They have my back, and they do a lot of dirty work for me to have fun and take crazy shots.… They’re my best friends off the court," she said (via Fox News).
"We played with a lot of energy. …I’m just proud of our girls. Five seniors that have been together for a long time, and we wanted to go out and send them off on their home court," she added.
Despite a startling career in the big leagues, Nolan Ryan never won a Cy Young award
A pitcher's win-loss record has always been taken into consideration for the Cy Young Award. Nolan Ryan was an eight-time All-Star with a career win-loss record of 324–292 (.526).
He played in the MLB for a record 27 seasons and had 5,714 career strikeouts with four different ballclubs. Nolan Ryan could record outstanding individual stats and accumulate strikeouts, but he did not always have the same victory totals as some of his peers. Other times, he was inconsistent with his performances, which could have hammered his chances of ever winning one.
Pitchers such as Ryan competed fiercely during their playing days. Pitchers like Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, and others had great seasons during their careers as well; thus, Ryan's chances of winning the award dwindled. Despite never winning a Cy Young Award, he was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1999.