Now by no means am I inferring that folks perceive Ryan as a bottom-of-the-barrel player, I think it’s just hard to stand out on this Orioles team, especially playing alongside guys like Gunnar, Adley, and Jordan. However, I can’t help but feel like we are not paying him the respect he deserves.
As I have been watching the games this year and even more so in the past few weeks it seems like Ryan is always there to get the job done when it matters most. A calm collected base hit on 2 outs with RISP is the norm for this guy. I was eager to decipher if this was just a hunch or if Ryan was that guy.
I did some digging and came across some mind-boggling stats that confirm my suspicion. Aside from hitting a respectable .287 on the season thus far, Ryan doesn’t truly wake up until the seventh inning.
Get this, Ryan is batting a .375 – 1.069 OPS in the seventh, .474 – 1.369 OPS in the eighth, .417 – 1.129 OPS in the ninth, and .500 – 1.750 OPS in extra innings! Ryan undoubtedly is a major contributing factor to the Oriole’s tremendous performance beyond seven innings.
I can’t make this up, Ryan knocked in 3 RBIs tonight against the Rays (June 10) all coming from 2 outs. A double in the 5th to put the O’s up by two, and a single in the 7th to bring in Gunnar for some extra insurance.
As I’m sure someone smarter than me has once said- I’m glad we’re on the same side! I much rather have a consistent player who shows up when it matters than someone who is all flash and salary cap. I will be raising my $15 beer to you good Sir at the Phillies game this Saturday.
Great post dude keep it up