Jimmy Ryan (baseball player)

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Jimmy Ryan of the Washington Senators at South Side Park in 1903.

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 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.

[edit] Fact

Notably, Ryan was one of those rare players who were not primarily pitchers in major league history who threw left handed but batted right handed. Other such players include: