Rapper Celebrates New Song with a Picture of (Not) Nolan Ryan

I believe it was the legendary wordsmith Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. who recently re-confirmed what we all already knew…“athletes wanna be rappers, rappers wanna be athletes.”

And while this might be true (it probably is if Lil Wayne said it!), it doesn’t necessarily mean that rappers know who athletes are, and vice versa. Take Hoodie Allen for example. The New York-based rapper released his latest single “Nolan Ryan” on Wednesday to triumphant fanfare apparently.

But, there’s a problem.

“Nolan Ryan” dropping tomorrow. Spread the word! pic.twitter.com/pXDA9KHtoM

— Hoodie Allen (@HoodieAllen) June 10, 2014

Yup…that ain’t Nolan Ryan, folks. That’s the Hall of Famer’s former teammate Jerry Grote. Sure, both men shared the New York Mets clubhouse from 1966-1971 and even won the World Series in 1969, but that’s where the similarities end.

We all know the story of “The Ryan Express” but Grote, the pride of San Antonio’s MacArthur High School was not a pitcher…he was a catcher and not a particularly great one. In sixteen big league seasons, he hit .252 with a mere 39 career home runs. Somehow he managed to be an All-Star in both 1968 and 1974.

Oh…here’s the song should you want to hear it.

 (h/t Cut 4)