I like to refer to my years with the Angels as the foundation of my career.

I always thought that there was going to be life after baseball, and so I designed that in my life I would have other interests after baseball that I would be able to step into. And I didn't realize the grip that baseball had on me and on my family.

I had the pleasure, as Robin said, to live a childhood dream as many young Americans and Puerto Rican children live that play youth baseball. And I feel honored and very thankful for that opportunity.

For my children, they spent 15 to 20 years of their life in baseball. And Ruth and I spent so many years of our married life that that was our life. We knew nothing else.

I like to refer to my years with the Angels as the foundation of my career.

One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something.

It took me a while to figure that out and to realize what a gift that I had been given. And when I finally did, I dedicated myself to be the best pitcher I possibly could be, for as long as I possibly could be.

And when I retired, trust me, not only did Nolan Ryan, but the entire Ryan family had withdrawals from baseball. And it was tough.

Everyone has limits. You just have to learn what your own limits are and deal with them accordingly.

Dick Moss, my agent. Dick became my agent in 1979 when I signed my contract with the Houston Astros.

I am going to spend my time today just thanking the people that played a role in my career, because I truly do believe that I was blessed by a lot of people that paths crossed mine as I went down the road in my career.

And then when I went to stay in '68, I can honestly say that I was not focused on my career and on what it took to be a major league pitcher and to be a starting pitcher.

Baseball life is a tough life on the family.

What man in his 40s would not like to look in the mirror and find Nolan Ryan?

When I got traded to the California Angels, I really wasn't that excited about going to the Angels because it meant changing leagues and also a whole new set of teammates. But shortly after I got there I realized that it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

I can honestly say it took two full years for me to get over the fact that I was no longer a baseball player.

And to play as long as I did and to have a family you have to be very blessed and I was with my wife Ruth. Ruth, I appreciate the job you did, and my three fine children, Reid, Reese, and Wendy.

And that's what makes this a great game, is the support and the commitment that the fans give the game.

It helps if the hitter thinks you're a little crazy.

I came into the game when I broke into the major leagues, the minimum salary was seven thousand dollars, and I'd have to go home in the wintertime and get a job.

I feel very fortunate that I played for the four organizations I did.

And when I went to Houston, they had a conditioning coach by the name of Gene Coleman. And that was the first time I had gone to an organization that had a program with a weight room and designed specifically for pitchers.

Enjoying success requires the ability to adapt. Only by being open to change will you have a true opportunity to get the most from your talent.

My job is to give my team a chance to win.

And I'm a believer that you take a negative and turn it into a positive, and as it turned out, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. And so I do appreciate the Ranger staff and the Ranger organization for giving me that opportunity.

Enjoying success requires the ability to adapt.

Put the right pitching mechanics together with good health, and there's nothing surprising about lasting a long time.

Angels are like diamonds. They can't be made, you have to find them. Each one is unique.

It may be that when the angels go about their task praising God, they play only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they play Mozart.

You didn't hear the angels singing. It was brought down to Mother Earth, which is where it should be. And that led me to a lot of other reading.

The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.

I don't see how I possibly could have come from where I entered the planet to where I am now if there had not been angels along the way.

Death makes angels of us all and gives us wings where we had shoulders smooth as ravens claws.

Like Confucius of old, I am so absorbed in the wonder of the earth and the life upon it, that I cannot think of heaven and the angels.

But all lost things are in the angels' keeping, Love; No past is dead for us, but only sleeping, Love; The years of Heaven with all earth's little pain Make Good Together there we can begin again, In babyhood.

An angel's arm can't snatch me from the grave; legions of angels can't confine me there.

If I have freedom in my love, And in my soul am free, - Angels alone that soar above, Enjoy such liberty.

The righteousness of Jesus Christ is one of those great mysteries, which the angels desire to look into, and seems to be one of the first lessons that God taught men after the fall.

For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

I like to refer to my years with the Angels as the foundation of my career.

The near stillness recalls what is forgotten, extinct angels.

What is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.

Whether the angels play only Bach praising God, I am not quite sure. I am sure, however, that en famille they play Mozart.

Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs.

It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has not been God's pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.

I do not believe in God, angels and the hereafter.

There was no club but the Hells Angels as far as I was concerned.

Our acts our angels are, for good or ill, our fatal shadows that walk by us still.

In the Christian world... it is believed that angels were created at the beginning, and that heaven was formed of them; and that the Devil or Satan was an angel of light, who, becoming rebellions, was cast down with his crew, and that this was the origin of hell.