Picture if you can Nolan Ryan standing in the executive offices at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, dressed in suit and tie, his left arm wrapped firmly in a headlock around Chuck Greenberg’s neck, his Hall of Fame right hand punching Greenberg repeatedly on the top of the head.

All right, that was Robin Ventura nearly two decades ago on the pitcher’s mound at the Rangers’ park, his head firmly in the grasp of the uniformed Ryan. But if you get the idea that that was what Ryan the owner/executive, not the pitcher, did metaphorically to his partner last week, you understand why Greenberg resigned as the Texas Rangers’ managing partner and chief executive officer last Friday.

The moral of the story is clear: whether you’re a third baseman from Chicago or a lawyer from Pittsburgh, don’t mess with Nolan Ryan in Texas.

Greenberg, a successful owner of minor league teams, was the driving force behind the purchase of the Rangers from debt-laden Tom Hicks, and it’s very likely that without his aggressive pursuit the current owners would not be the current owners. But in the seven months between the closing last Aug. 12 and last Friday, the team’s top two executives, Greenberg and Ryan, found they could not function as a harmonious leadership team.

The two Texas oil money man, the co-chairmen of the Rangers’ board of directors, Bob Simpson and Ray Davis, agreed that circumstances had become untenable.

A baseball official said that both Ryan and Greenberg called Commissioner Bud Selig to discuss the situation and seek his advice. “They didn’t want this to happen,” the official said. When the Rangers were for sale last year, Selig clearly preferred the Greenberg-Ryan group.

But the solution was clear. Greenberg, whose fan-friendly style had made him what one observer called a rock star, had to leave.

Simpson and Davis asked Ryan to add chief executive officer to his title of president and agreed that Ryan would be the control person for Major League Baseball. The team would have no managing partner.

“I’m in the ownership group, but I don’t look at it like I’m an owner because I have such a minimal amount,” Ryan said by telephone Tuesday from the Rangers’ spring camp in Surprise, Ariz.

Ryan, who was the first million-dollar-a-year baseball player, and Greenberg are believed to have invested $3 million each. Greenberg had to be bought out of his role as managing partner, and figures of $25 million and $20 million have been mentioned, though with no direct knowledge.

Greenberg did not return numerous telephone calls seeking comment, and Ryan said he was not involved in the settlement talks between Greenberg and the co-chairmen.

In a news release, in which Simpson and Davis lauded Greenberg, the ousted managing partner said, “Unfortunately, Nolan Ryan, the Co-Chairmen, and I have somewhat different styles. While I am disappointed we did not work through our differences, I remain wholeheartedly committed to doing what’s right for the franchise. Together we concluded it is best for all concerned for me to sell my interest back to Rangers Baseball Express and move on.”

Greenberg did not cite any specifics, and neither did Ryan in our telephone conversation.

“We have chosen not to get into the details,” Ryan said. “Basically it was a difference in styles between he and I and the board. Everybody came to the realization it wasn’t compatible and it made more sense to go our separate ways. The board felt from their perspective my association with the ball club and their familiarity with me was the route they wanted to go.”

In the absence of details, speculation was rampant, some of it likely true but some definitely not.

It was reported, for example, that the Atlanta Braves were unhappy at the way Greenberg induced the Braves’ advanced Class A minor league team in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to switch its affiliation to the Rangers after 12 years as an Atlanta affiliate.

The Braves, the report said, filed a complaint with the commissioner’s office about Greenberg, who not long ago owned the Myrtle Beach team.

None of that is true, John Schuerholz, the Braves’ president, said.

“When we started hearing rumors that Greenberg was pursuing the Rangers, it was a year before,” Schuerholz related in a telephone interview. “We all assumed that when that day came to be Myrtle Beach would no longer be our affiliate.

“We weren’t surprised or feel betrayed. We felt everything was above board. It was as expected. The owner of a minor league club who owned it when it was an affiliate, why would he not want that minor league club with his major league club?

“There was no underhandedness. Everything was straight forward. We were not surprised or angered or any of that.

Someone might have suggested the Braves were unhappy that they switched, but we’ve moved the franchise. We’re in Lynchburg, Va., in the same league.”

A more likely difference involved Jon Daniels, the Rangers’ general manager. Daniels had a luxury suite at the team’s park that family members used and where Daniels hosted visiting general managers, but Greenberg supposedly sold it out from under him.

The Rangers were also negotiating a contract extension for Daniels, and an executive from another club said Greenberg, in what was described as “the final straw” for Ryan, was “nickel and diming” Daniels.

When the new group took command of the club, Ryan was to be in charge of the baseball operation and Greenberg the business aspects. But in his aggressive and passionate way Greenberg strayed into the baseball area.

When the Rangers were trying to retain Cliff Lee last December, Greenberg flew to Little Rock, Ark., to visit the pitcher and his wife at their home. Ryan and Daniels were said not to favor the visit and opted not to accompany Greenberg.

Perhaps most basically, their management styles clashed. Ryan made a point of saying he didn’t micromanage while a lawyer who has had experience with Greenberg said, “He tries to micromanage everything.” The lawyer also said the 49-year-old Greenberg has alienated many people with whom he has worked.

Describing his management style, Ryan said he expected club officials, his subordinates, to do the jobs they were hired to do. As in the Lee pursuit, Greenberg tended to become involved in matters others were supposed to be handling.

“My theory,” the 64-year-old Ryan said, “is in the baseball department you need to have good people there, from Jon Daniels and Thad Levine to scouting and development. You have to have confidence in them.”

And, he added, he believed in “letting people do their jobs,” saying, “We can discuss things as a group and make decisions as a group. It’s a team concept so it’s not me. I’m like the pitcher on the team. I initiate the pitch, but we react to what happens.”

Given Ryan’s success as a pitcher, it’s hard to ignore his philosophy.