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As much as everyone wanted to talk about his surgery and return timetable Sunday, there was one pressing piece of business for injured Texas Rangers ace Jacob deGrom to share.

His newborn son’s name.

Before deGrom learned the true extent of his injury, he made a detour to Florida for the birth two weekends ago. He and his wife, Stacey, had a name picked out well before he signed his five-year deal with the Rangers.

Nolan.

deGrom, naturally, knows what the name Nolan means in Texas. He and his wife even had a conversation about whether to move ahead with it.

“We talked about it and we were like, ‘Uh, should we still do it?’” deGrom admitted from the Rangers clubhouse before the 11-7 comeback victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

They did do it. The baby’s full name is Nolan Myles deGrom.

The name Nolan Ryan is synonymous with baseball in the state of Texas. The Ryan Express retired with the Rangers, pitching the last two of a record seven no-hitters, as well as recording his 300th win and 5,000th strikeout, during his five-year stint with Texas.

Ryan entered the Baseball Hall of Fame with a “T” on his cap. He also served as the Rangers CEO for several years and spent a large part of his career with the Houston Astros.

Ryan obviously inspired generations of baseball fans in the Lone Star State and across the country. Maybe some on that influence rubbed off on the deGrom family.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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