Jimmy Ryan (baseball)

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Jimmy Ryan

Outfielder
Born: February 11, 1863(1863-02-11)
Clinton, Massachusetts
Died: October 29, 1923(1923-10-29) (aged 60)
Chicago, Illinois
Batted: Right Threw: Left 
MLB debut
October 8, 1885 for the Chicago White Stockings
Last MLB appearance
September 24, 1903 for the Washington Senators
Career statistics
Batting average     .306
Hits     2,502
Home runs     118
Runs batted in     1093
Stolen bases     419
Teams
Career highlights and awards

James Edward Ryan (February 11, 1863 – October 29, 1923), nicknamed ″Pony″, was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Stockings/Colts/Orphans (1885–89, 1891–1900) in the National League, Chicago Pirates (1890) in the Players League, and Washington Senators (1902–03) in the American League.

A native of Clinton, Massachusetts, Ryan was a power hitting outfielder who occasionally made pitching appearances throughout his career.

Ryan enjoyed his best season in 1888, leading the league in home runs (16), hits (182), doubles (33), total bases (283) and slugging percentage (.515), and also was second in batting average (.332), runs (115) and extra base hits (59). In that season, he also hit for the cycle. Ryan, primarily a center fielder, also appeared in that game as a pitcher, to become the only player in Major League Baseball history to hit for the cycle and pitch in the same game. The date was 7/28/1888. The Cubs beat the Detroit Wolverines 21–17.

Ryan was a .306 career hitter with 118 home runs and 1093 RBI in 2012 games. As a pitcher, he compiled a 6–1 record with 43 strikeouts and a 3.62 ERA in 117 innings.

On the tough side, Ryan was one of the few players to punch a reporter at least twice. After his first episode, in 1887, Charlie Seymour of the Chicago Herald wrote, "Ryan slugged the magnificent Chicago reporter in Pittsburg [sic] the other day." In the other, in 1892, he took exception to George Beachel of the Chicago Daily News. In the clubhouse after a game, Ryan "picked a quarrel with [Beachel], and then attacked him, using him up pretty badly. No arrests have been made." In 1896, he punched a train conductor after losing his place and his teammates had gone to bed. A conductor who intervened was "called down by Mr. Ryan, who got in one upper cut before [his longtime-captain manager Cap] Anson stopped the fun," wrote Tim Murnane of the Boston Globe.[1]

Ryan, in an article under his byline in 1905, advised against baseball as a profession, because few players last long enough in the big leagues to make money: "Baseball is not a permanent business. Look in the newspapers and you will see that a baseball player 35 years of age is considered an old man."

Ryan died in Chicago, Illinois at age 60.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rosenberg, Howard W. (2006). Cap Anson 4: Bigger Than Babe Ruth: Captain Anson of Chicago. Tile Books. pp. 560. ISBN 9780972557431. http://www.capanson.com/cap_anson_books.html. , p. 268.

1. Rosenberg, Howard W. (2006). Cap Anson 4: Bigger Than Babe Ruth: Captain Anson of Chicago. Tile Books. pp. 560. ISBN 9780972557436. http://www.capanson.com/cap_anson_books.html. , p. 268.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Billy O'Brien		 National League Home Run Champion
1888		 Succeeded by
Sam Thompson
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