MLB legend Nolan Ryan has parted ways with the Houston Astros, after recent changes in the front office.
Things are apparently not well in Houston this week. On Thursday afternoon, the Houston Astros made the announcement that Reid Ryan was essentially being replaced as team president. Taking over that role will be Jared Crane.
Here’s the kicker — Reid Ryan, who has been president since 2013, is the son of legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan. Jared Crane is the son of current Astros owner Jim Crane. So realistically, Nolan’s son was replaced with the owner’s son. In the midst of that announcement, Nolan informed the team that he would not be returning in 2020.
The move obviously didn’t sit well with Nolan, who was one of the top three names on the Astros food chain until Thursday. Mark Berman, from FOX26 in Houston, noted on Twitter that Ryan sent a very brief text that announced his departure.
In a statement from Crane to the Houston Chronicle, the move was made for the younger Ryan to “have more opportunities to focus on his other business ventures while remaining an important part of the Astros organization.”
It seems like it’s a bad look for Houston, a team that has had nearly a month of off-field controversy to highlight everything. Just after the Astros won the ALCS last month, assistant GM Brandon Taubman was fired for inappropriate comments to female members of the media. It makes Thursday’s moves seem like they were somewhat of a domino effect of that situation.
In terms of management, the Ryan family has been synonymous with success. Whether at the minor league level with the Round Rock Express, or the majors with the Astros and Texas Rangers, teams have done well with a Ryan in charge. Conversely, those same teams share something else in common — when a Ryan leaves a management position, the team backslides and fails. It happened with Round Rock and it happened in Arlington.
Will his departure spell the same future for the Astros? Will it have much of an impact on the team in 2020? If it doesn’t turn out to be too messy, chances are not many fans will have an interest in it. But it looks to be a wait-and-see game if we hear from Nolan Ryan or what the fallout will be for the 2017 World Series Champions.