Just a few years ago, it was Jim Crane who was rumored to be the next owner of the then-bankrupt Texas Rangers. But a court hearing that went well into the night hours finally resolved everything, and it was a group led by Bob Simpson that featured Nolan Ryan that ended up winning the bid, and the former Rangers legend was an owner of the team.
Two AL pennants later, Ryan is out as of Oct. 31, stepping down from his post of CEO that had been changed from team president/CEO before Jon Daniels took on the president role himself, reportedly causing a riff.
Now, Ryan could be on the verge of joining Crane in Houston. Crane bought the Astros prior to last season and has since hired Ryan's son, Reid, to head up the Astros' front office.
"I have talked to Nolan," Crane told the Houston Chronicle last week. "We haven’t really discussed anything about him joining the team yet. But that certainly could be a possibility down the road. It depends what Nolan wants. ... As far as an offer of us talking about a position, we haven’t done that."
What Nolan wants is the biggest mystery. It's not surprising that if he wanted join the Astros, another one of his former teams, that they would welcome him with open arms.
But it's also been rumored that Ryan is considering a run for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, which would also seemingly be right up the beef mogul's alley.
