Ryan Church (baseball)

:"For the concept artist, see Ryan Church (concept artist)"Infobox MLB player
name=Ryan Church

---

width=300
caption=
position=Right Fielder
team=New York Mets
number=19
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1978|10|14
birthplace=city-state|Santa Barbara|California
debutdate=August 21
debutyear=2004
debutteam=Montreal Expos
statyear=September 19, 2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.288
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=47
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=200
teams=
*Montreal Expos (by|2004)
*Washington Nationals (by|2005-by|2007)
*New York Mets (by|2008-present)

Ryan Matthew Church (born October 14, 1978 in Santa Barbara, California) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the New York Mets.

Career

Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 14th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. Church signed June 7, by|2000, after graduation from the University of Nevada, Reno. By January by|2004, he was traded by the Indians with Maicer Izturis to the Montreal Expos for Scott Stewart.

Church made his major league debut for the Expos in August 2004, struggling in the 30 games he played in the last two months of the season. He ended the season with a .187 batting average.

After struggling in the first month of the by|2005 season Church was considered a candidate for the Rookie of the Year Award, until he injured himself running into the outfield wall at PNC Park on June 22, 2005. At the time of the incident, Church was batting .325 with a .544 slugging percentage. After the incident, Church made two trips to the disabled list and was unable to match his hitting performance from the first half of the season.

In by|2006, Church was demoted to Triple-A New Orleans after struggling early in the year. However, Church was sent back to the majors on July 23, and ended up hitting .276 with a career best 10 home runs and .892 OPS. His 10 home runs in just 196 at-bats in 2006 projects to around 30 home runs for an entire season.

In by|2007, Church had career highs in games (144), at bats (470), runs (57), hits (128), doubles (43), home runs (15), and RBI (70). He finished the year batting .272, slugging .464 and a .813 OPS.

After the 2007 season, Church was heavily mentioned in trade talks, with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Minnesota Twins all reportedly very interested in his services. However, on November 30, 2007, Church was traded along with Brian Schneider to the New York Mets for Lastings Milledge. [citeweb|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071130&content_id=2314337&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym&partnered=rss_nym/|title=The Official Site of The New York Mets: News: Mets land Church, Schneider from Nats|publisher=mlb.mlb.com|accessdate=2008-05-31]

In spring training by|2008, Church was involved in a collision with first baseman Marlon Anderson that resulted in a Grade 2 concussion for Church. He recovered without any serious injuries. On May 20, 2008, Church suffered a minor concussion while sliding into Atlanta Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar. It appeared as though when Church initially slid, his head made contact with Escobar's right knee. Following Church hitting his head, he slid about 8 feet past 2nd base with his forehead dragging on the dirt. Church made his return to the starting lineup on June 1, 2008, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, collecting three hits including a home run and a double. However, he was placed on the disabled list with aftereffects of the concussion he suffered. On September 3rd, Church had his second career grand slam off of Dave Bush.

His batting song is Korn's "Hold On" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train".

Controversy

In 2005, the Nationals suspended Jon Moeller, a volunteer chaplain, and issued an apology after Church, a devout Christian, revealed conversations he had with him about a Jewish former girlfriend. Church told the "Washington Post" that the chaplain nodded when he asked whether Jews were "doomed" because they "don't believe in Jesus." After Jewish community leaders complained, Church issued a statement saying, "I am not the type of person who would call into question the religious beliefs of others." [citeweb|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/rockies/2006-05-30-rockies-cover_x.htm|title="Baseball's Rockies seek revival on two levels"|publisher=www.usatoday.com|accessdate=2008-05-31]

Career statistics

small|Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through September 25, 2008.cite web| url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/churcry01.shtml | title=Ryan Church Statistics| work=Baseball-Reference| accessdate=2008-09-25]

References

External links

*Baseballstats |mlb=425508 |espn=6078 |br=c/churcry01 |fangraphs=2106 |cube=c/ryan-church
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/02/28/VI2007022800416.html 2007 spring training highlight video at "The Washington Post"]
* [http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/team/player_gallery/player_gallery.html?425508 Gallery photos of Ryan Church]