Lynn Nolan Ryan was drafted by the Mets in the 12th round of the 1965 amateur draft. He appeared in portions of five seasons for the Mets, posting a 29-38 record with a 3.58 ERA. I feel like there is a lot to write about Nolan, but most of it you already know. We all know he threw hard, we also know the day he was dealt to the Angels is looked at by many as the worst trade in Mets history. Perhaps the Seaver trade was worse? Just to recap the deal, Ryan was dealt to California on December 10th, 1971 along with Don Rose, Leroy Stanton and Frank Estrada in exchange for Veteran 3B Jim Fregosi. Fregosi a six time all star, was terrible in '72 while Ryan made the All Star team and lead the AL in strikeouts. Perhaps, Mets scouts should have seen the decline coming. Fregosi was also terrible in 1971, the season before the trade. 1973 was more of the same, Ryan became a second time all start, while the Mets cut their losses and sold Fregosi's contract to the Texas Rangers on July 11th. Nolan Ryan was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. He received votes on 491 of 499 ballots.
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