Nolan Ryan's Pitcher's Bible: The Ultimate Guide to Power, Precision, and Long-Term Performance

This book will make you a Ryan fan if you're not already. Genetics alone don't explain why the greatest flame-thrower of all time was very rarely injured over his amazing 27-year career; more on this below. We all know about the Ryan Express's seven no-hitters, twelve one-hitters, and nobody-else-even-close 5714 strikeouts. Ryan also set the career record for walks, but in any given season if a pitcher with an ERA below 4.00 is having a good year, then Ryan's career ERA of 3.19 was stellar. (If only he had decent run support over the years, who knows how many more wins he would have had on top of the 324 he recorded. But enough on that; I'm an unapologetic fan.) What makes this book interesting and valuable is how Ryan explains his journey from being a young pitcher during the dark ages (my term) when nobody knew how to train pitchers for durability and to prevent injury -- in fact, teams cracked down on pitchers venturing into a weight room -- to the model of sound mechanics and fitness for which he became known. Along with relaying how he traveled this journey, Ryan passes on to the reader the pointers and lessons he learned along the way. Pitching guru Tom House also has several passages in this book and it is clear Ryan holds House in high regard. The combined instruction and insight which they relay, along some very good photographs and illustrations, contain many "lightbulb moments" for the reader. Remembering Ryan pitch (the high leg kick, the audible "grunt", the awesome drive and finish with his lower body), it was a thing of beauty. But I wish I had this book in my own youth because it breaks down and distills the many separate moving parts of Ryan's great form. My 13 year-old son is now learning how to pitch and we've found this book not a moment too soon.In the chapter on weight-training, just a few of the excersises might seem a bit dated at first glance (along with the vintage early-1980's equipment). But the purpose of virtually all of the excercises remains sound. Some might quibble with, say, the need for a pitcher to bench press. But Ryan is merely explaining what his own training regimen was without making any claims that his way is the ONLY way. Like all advice, the reader should consider what is presented thoughtfully then take that which he finds useful. I'm certain the reader will find far more of Ryan's lessons useful than not. I am equally sure the reader will appreciate Ryan sharing what was going on in his mind in various situations. The man was / is a fierce competitor and it never hurts to gain whatever insight one can from such an elite and successful individual.

Tons of pitching information but Nolan really kind of only goes "skin" deep. The physical preparation is superb, it describes and shows detailed pictures of Nolan's entire workout regimen and it is quite a workout, even for non ball players. The part that I was really disappointed in was the diet portion, I get that he was one of the greatest pitchers of all time but when talking about what to eat for breakfast, he often says something like "I ate a lot of fruit" & "I get room service to bring it early." Uhm, none of us have room service.... So should I just eat an entire watermelon? I just wish him and Tom would have gotten more in depth on some of the technical stuff, especially when you call it a "pitching bible". That implies to me that I should be able to follow it like a blueprint to replicating an MLB career but I guess I just felt like they left a few things out. With that being said it dwarfs other books on the subject because it includes Nolan's entire weight training program, stretching, tension bands & ab workout. Good book but falls short of the greatness to be expected from Nolan Ryan.

Well this was a severe disappointment. I was expecting some insight on his mechanics, going into grave detail... The information on pitching form was extremely generic and repetitive. There is absolutely no unique insight that you couldn't get from using an internet search engine. It all comes down to this: keep your weight back during the leg kick (don't move forward), and then have a controlled fall towards the plate. Thats about it. Chapter 1 was fluff about his career and Ryan's various coaches, chapter 2 was mostly fluff about mental attitude, and chapter 3 was the only instruction on how to properly throw the baseball.The rest of the chapters were just an "introduction to weight lifting and stretching". Chapter after chapter of what weights to lift, and how to lift them. Don't get me wrong, it isn't bad weight training information... but there are far better weight training books out there and the excercises are not really unique to baseball or pitching. Generic normal excercises, like the ones you'd find in any weight training book (there are only so many ways you can lift a dumbell).I was looking to the book for some deeper insight into mechanics, and maybe some more illustration of ryans form. I wanted to dissect his delivery, and see how his pitching style differed from my own. The book did not deliver.To those other reviews that claim conditioning is the reason ryan was so successful... I'd say you are partially right. Conditioning is important. Its also very basic. I don't need a book telling me how to do squats or shoulder presses. The act of throwing the baseball, on the other hand, is extremely complicated. This is where you need the most information...This is not an "ultimate guide" to anything. I wouldn't even reccomend this book to a novice since its so incredibly vague that the information probably wouldn't be clear to them. There are several superior *free* resources on the internet that can be found using your favorite search engine. Some come equipped with free videos and all.Bottom line: this book was a waste of time

I bought this for my 11-year-old son and he is now finally reading it. His pitching has improved so much. We call him the singing pitcher because he relaxes so much he sings a song in his head while he pitches. I was 11:50 pm and he just went outside to practice something he read. He said, "Practice never sleeps." Love that little boy and love that he loves this book. I was a swimmer and a catcher so I am glad Nolan Ryan is teaching him how to pitch because I definitely can't.

This does a great job laying out a fundamental program that works, even being an older book.

Lots of informations are found in the book. What should one eats, which types of warm up exercises to do, what are the things to do during baseball peak and off peak seasons.

Bought the book for my Grandson but it didn't have as much in it as I thought it would based on my expectations for training. He is enjoying it tho and that's what matters.

練習法、メンタルトレーニング、フォーム、調整、食生活にそれぞれ章をあてて論理的に解説する非常に優れた一冊だった。ライアンの知性や人格が窺い知れる内容で、長く読み継がれているのも納得がいった。多くの野球選手、野球少年に読まれるべき作品だと感じだ。

ライアンの軌跡や、コンディショニングのやり方は参考になる。ただ、小学生の指導にはあまり、参考にならないかな