Jimmy Ryan (baseball)

Infobox MLB retired
name=Jimmy Ryan


position=Outfielder
birthdate=February 11, 1863
city-state|Clinton|Massachusetts
deathdate=death date and age|1923|10|26|1863|2|11
city-state|Chicago|Illinois
bats=Right
throws=Left
debutdate=October 8
debutyear=by|1885
debutteam=Chicago White Stockings
finaldate=September 24
finalyear=by|1903
finalteam=Washington Senators
stat1label=Batting average
stat2label=Hits
stat3label=Runs
stat1value=.306
stat2value=2,502
stat3value=1,642
teams=
*Chicago White Stockings / Colts / Orphans (by|1885-by|1889, by|1891-by|1900)
*Chicago Pirates (by|1890)
*Washington Senators (by|1902-by|1903)
highlights=
* National League home run champion: 1888

James Edward "Jimmy" Ryan (February 11 1863 - October 26 1923), nicknamed "Pony", was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball 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 CF, also appeared in that game as a pitcher. He is the only player in the history of baseball 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 hitter career 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, he 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.

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.

ee also

*Hitting for the cycle
* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
* List of Major League Baseball home run champions
* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 stolen bases
* Chicago Cubs all-time roster

External links

*
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Ryan_Jimmy.stm BaseballLibrary.com]
* [http://z.lee28.tripod.com/sbnsforgottenintime/id27.html Simply-Baseball-Notebook.com]
*

[http://www.capanson.com/cap_anson_books.html Howard W. Rosenberg, "Cap Anson 4: Bigger Than Babe Ruth: Captain Anson of Chicago"] (Arlington, Virginia: Tile Books, 2006).
*