WHY I THINK JIMMY RYAN SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK JIMMY RYAN SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Jimmy Ryan was easily one of the best hitters in all of baseball in the 1880’s and 1890’s, perhaps the absolute best. He is the owner of a .308 lifetime batting average and averaged 132 runs scored for every 162 games in which he played. An outfielder and occasional pitcher, Ryan ranks ninth in career double plays turned in the outfield and third in outfield assists. Another of Ryan’s skills was his base stealing ability, as he stole well over 400 bases over his career. Jimmy Ryan started his career with the Chicago White Stockings in 1885 with a .462 average across three games. He batted .306 in 1886 and in 1888 led the NL in five different offensive categories and started a three year streak in which he batted a combined .331, leading the MLB in home runs in 1888. In 1888, he also went 4-0 on the mound with an ERA of 3.05. Ryan slipped to .277 in 1891 and failed to hit .300 again until 1894 (although he was always missing by a few points), when he batted  a resounding .357 at the age of 31. After that he put together five more consecutive .300 seasons including two at .323 and .317, but in 1900 he was limited to 105 games and another .277 season. Ryan spent the 1901 season entirely in the minors, but tore up the league’s pitchers enough for the AL Washington Senators to give him a job in 1902, despite his age. Ryan had one last fine season for them that year, hitting .320 in 120 games, and retired after the 1903 season, his best defensively. Jimmy Ryan was a great hitter, a dependable fielder, a fine base thief, and a good pitcher when called upon. He was such a good hitter and combined so many other essential skills into his game that he is an obvious Hall of Famer. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 2,014 season high: 144 in 1898 

At Bats career: 8,172 season high: 576 in 1889 

Hits career: 2,513 season high: 187 in 1889 led NL: 182 in 1888 

Doubles career: 451 season high: 37 in 1894 led NL: 33 in 1888 

Triples career: 157 season high: 17 in 1897 

Home Runs career: 118 season high: 17 in 1889 led NL: 16 in 1888 

Runs career: 1,643 season high: 140 in 1889 

Runs Batted In career: 1,093 season high: 89 in 1890 

Stolen Bases career: 419 season high: 60 in 1888 (Ryan’s stolen base total for 1885 is unavailable.) 

Walks career: 804 season high: 70 in 1889 

Strikeouts career: 491 season high: 62 in 1889 

Batting Average career: .308 season high: .357 in 1894  

On Base Percentage career: .375 season high: .422 in 1894 

Slugging Percentage career: .444 season high: .516 in 1889 led NL: .515 in 1888 

Total Bases career: 3,632 season high: 297 in 1889 led NL: 283 in 1888, 297 in 1889 

Sacrifice Hits career: 65 season high: 10 in 1896 and 1897 (Ryan’s sacrifice hit totals from before 1894 are unavailable.) 

Fielding Percentage career: .910 season high: .970 in 1903 (the league fielding percentage was .919) 

Double Plays career: 88 season high: 19 in 1889 led NL OF: 9 in 1889 (Ryan also played 29 games at shortstop in 1889, turning ten double plays) 

Putouts career: 3,811 season high: 288 in 1903 

Assists career: 603 season high: 133 in 1889 led NL OF: 34 in 1888 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Pony” 

-struck out only five times across the entire 1902 season 

-became the first of two players ever to both pitch and hit for the cycle in the same game on June 28, 1888 (Larry Twitchell also did so on August 15, 1889) 

-led the NL with a home run percentage of 2.9 in 1888 and with 652 plate appearances and 62 extra-base hits in 1889 

-led NL outfielders in games (136) in 1897 

-batted .250 with a double and a stolen base in the 1886 World Series 

-hit five home runs off of Hall of Famer John Clarkson, four off of both Amos Rusie and Kid Nichols, three off of Tim Keefe, two each off of Hoss Radbourn, Mickey Welch, Pud Galvin, and Bill Dinneen, and one each off of Vic Willis, Jack Chesbro, Tony Mullane, Doc White, Clark Griffith, and Eddie Plank

-went 2-1 on the mound in 1887 and led the NL in games finished in 1886 and 1888 with five each season 

-finished second in the 1888 NL batting race in 1888 (.332) to Hall of Famer Cap Anson (.344) 

-was the oldest player in the NL in both 1902 and 1903 

-ranks 37th in career runs scored and 45th in triples