August 22, 1989, a game between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics took place at the packed Arlington Stadium, the home turf of the Texas Rangers. All eyes were on the 42-year-old starting pitcher, Nolan Ryan, as he faced off against the crowd of 40,000. 

As the 5th inning began, it was none other than Ricky Henderson, often hailed as one of the greatest lead-off hitters in history, stepping up to the plate. Nolan Ryan's pitch sliced sharply into the catcher's mitt, and Ricky Henderson's bat cut through thin air. The entire crowd erupted in a standing ovation. It was the moment of unprecedented history, the achievement of 5,000 strikeouts.

*Lead-off: To advance towards a base or steal a base against a pitcher. Also, a batter known for their ability to excel at it.

“At 8:15pm in Texas time Nolan Ryan get No.5,000 strike out. Rickey henderson will be in the record look as strike out No.5,000.” 

Nolan Ryan, with a career record of 324 wins, 292 losses, and an average ERA of 3.19, spent an astonishing 27 seasons in Major League Baseball, making him one of the longest-serving players in MLB history. Even after reaching the 5,000 strikeouts milestone, he went on to pitch for six more seasons, accumulating a total of 5,714 strikeouts, which is more than 800 strikeouts ahead of the second-place Randy Johnson (retired, with 4,875 strikeouts) and is considered one of "The Most Unbreakable Records" in MLB history. 

Considering the current MLB strikeout leader averages around 250 strikeouts per season, breaking Nolan's record would require achieving the strikeout title for a staggering 23 years. 

**The official MLB record can be found on the official website (MLB STATS). Another seemingly unbreakable record is Ricky Henderson's career stolen bases (1,406), with a 468-steal lead over the second-place Lou Brock (938).   

“He was the only man I was afraid of. I was terrorized by the thought that being hit by his ball could kill me.” 

- Ricky Henderson

What makes Nolan Ryan's record even more remarkable is that he was a "power pitcher" who regularly threw fastballs exceeding 160 km/h. Typically, power pitchers who throw such high-speed fastballs have relatively short careers, often not exceeding 10 years. However, Nolan was known for his extraordinary self-discipline and durability. Even at the time of his retirement, in his 27th season and at the age of 46, he was still clocking speeds above 157 km/h. In fact, during the 2010 All-Star Game, Nolan Ryan, then 65 years old, made headlines by throwing pitches at speeds exceeding 130 km/h. 

“Alright Lads, Back in Formation” 

- Nolan Ryan, After achieving 5,000 strikeouts

His overwhelming records aside, many players looked up to Nolan as a role model due to his unwavering self-discipline, leadership, and sincere approach to the game. In the Hall of Fame*** voting, he was enshrined with an astonishing 98% of the vote.
 

***Hall of Fame: A space dedicated to honoring legendary players in Major League Baseball history. Hall of Fame inductees are determined through a vote by baseball journalists who have covered the game for at least 10 years. Only players receiving 75% or more of the votes can be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.