Lynn Nolan Ryan (born January 31, 1947) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the major leagues from 1966 to 1993. He played for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers.. As a pitcher, Ryan struck out 5,714 batters. This is the most all-time. Ryan is the only pitcher in the MLB to strike out 5,000 batters. Ryan has also walked more batters and thrown more no-hitters than anyone else. He is now the president and one of the owners of the Texas Rangers. Ryan is from Refugio, Texas.