Throwing Heat

This story of a talented pitcher's rise to stardom contains plenty of charm at its beginning. From throwing rocks at water moccasins in Mustang Bayou to lying ''in bed on those hot summer nights listening to [ baseball on ] the radio,'' the young Nolan Ryan was part of the natural world of Alvin, Tex., his hometown, with its simple pleasures and clear truths. Traded from the Mets to the California Angels in 1971 while still relatively unknown, Mr. Ryan has since become a legend with a lightning fastball that has struck out over 4,500 batters, more than any other pitcher in history. With the Houston Astros last year, at the age of 40, he had the most strikeouts and enjoyed the lowest earned run average in the major leagues. But his success dissolves his charm as his account degenerates into a list of record-breaking statistics. Further, he is too eager to blame his teammates for his unimpressive lifetime record of victories and defeats, glossing over the fact that in eight of 21 years in the majors he walked more batters than anyone else in his league. Passages by people such as Whitey Herzog, Tom Seaver and Reggie Jackson occasionally give ''Throwing Heat'' the narrative quality of a novel. The co-author, Harvey Frommer, who wrote ''New York City Baseball,'' deserves credit for retaining Mr. Ryan's country boy style and self-absorbed perspective, allowing us to see both the pitcher and the person.

* Throwing Heat: The Autobiography of Nolan Ryan Nolan Ryan and Harvey Frommer -- A home run by the greatest strikeout artist ever