B.J. Ryan turns 50 today.
Looking at his picture, I see that he looks like a former neighbour of mine, Scott. Off-topic, but I’m terrible with names. Around then, I used baseball players’ names to help me remember. Unfortunately, the player I picked for Scott was a former pitcher, Scott Terry, and I spent six months calling him Terry. But I digress.
I’m sure you remember B.J. He had been an excellent reliever for the Orioles for several years. Then, in 2005, he got the closer role, making 36 saves
with an ERA of 2.43. It was perfect timing for him. He became a free agent after the season.
During the winter between the 2005 and 2006 seasons, JP Ricciardi decided it was time for the Blue Jays to spend a pile of money to catch the Yankees and Red Sox and end our long stretch without making the playoffs. So he traded for Lyle Overbay and Troy Glaus. They also signed Bengie Molina and A.J. Burnett as free agents.
He also gave Ryan an insane amount of money to become the Jays’ closer ($47 million over five years).
In 2006, Ryan was terrific. 38 saves, a 1.37 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 72.1 innings. It still seemed like too much money for a closer, but at least we had an All-Star, though it didn’t get us to the playoffs. We still finished a distant 2nd to the Yankees, ten games back.
And that’s pretty much where the good times ended with B.J. He had Tommy John surgery in early May of 2007, missing the rest of the year.
He returned strong in 2008, getting 32 saves with a 2.95 ERA in 60 games. His strikeout numbers were down, but he still struck out more than a batter an inning.
In the spring of 2009, his velocity was down. He missed some time with ‘shoulder inflammation.’ When he did pitch, he was awful, posting a 6.53 ERA in 20.2 innings and walking 17 batters before being released on July 8th, ending his major league career.
The Jays have had lousy luck on big contracts for closers. It wasn’t B.J.’s fault; everything lined up perfectly for him. He became a free agent at the right moment. But then, Ricciardi should have remembered the ancient saying: “Don’t give tens of millions to a closer with iffy mechanics.” But JP wanted to make a big splash, get people talking about the Jays again and get us to the playoffs.
Happy birthday, B.J. I hope it is a good one.
Mitch White turns 31 today.
White came to us in a trade from the Dodgers on August 2nd, 2022. We sent Moises Brito and Nick Frasso to LA for him and Alex De Jesus.
He pitched for us in two and a half seasons, going 1-6 with a 7.26 ERA in 24 games, 8 starts. He didn’t become a fan favourite with the Jays.
In April of 2024, he was sold to the Giants. He went from there to the Brewers. Last year, he pitched in Korea, making 24 starts with a 2.87 ERA, with more than a strikeout per inning. Another season like that and he’ll be able to come back to the MLB.
Happy birthday, Mitch.
