Nolan Ryan

APRIL 27, 1983 — Entering his 17th MLB season, Nolan Ryan was just 14 strikeouts shy of breaking MLB record set by Walter Johnson. In the 36-year-old right-hander's third outing back from the disabled list, he was working on a shutout before needing to drain a blister in the seventh inning. “I had to have the blister drained after the seventh inning,” Nolan said. The flamethrower persevered and came out for the eighth inning, punching out two batters to reach the historic 3,509th career strikeout.