Kenneth Frederick Ryan, Jr. (born October 24, 1968), is an American former baseball pitcher. He played eight seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Professional career

After graduating in 1986 from

Seekonk High School Seekonk High School is a public high school operated by Seekonk Public Schools in Seekonk, Massachusetts, United States. It serves the district's grade 9–12 student population. The school's mission statement is ''"All students will achieve ...

Seekonk, Massachusetts Seekonk is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Massachusetts border with Rhode Island. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth. The population was 15,531 at the 2020 census. In 1862, under a U.S. ...

, Ryan was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

. He received an $11,000 signing bonus, forgoing an offer to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Maine Black Bears The Maine Black Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maine. A member of the America East Conference, the University of Maine sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's and women's Col ...

. He worked his way through the Red Sox minor league system and made his MLB debut on August 31, 1992. Ryan spent the next three years splitting time between the Red Sox and the minors. He had a team-leading and career-high 13 saves in the strike-shortened 1994 season. On January 29, 1996, he was traded with

Lee Tinsley Lee Owen Tinsley (March 4, 1969 – January 12, 2023) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 1997 for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. Tinsley later ...

and Glenn Murray to the

for Heathcliff Slocumb, Larry Wimberly, and Rick Holifield. In 1996, he pitched in a career-high 62 MLB games, going 3–5 with 8 saves and a 2.43 ERA. He spent the next three seasons pitching for both the Phillies and their minor league affiliates. He last pitched in the majors on May 15, 1999, taking the loss after allowing one run in one inning. He pitched in Triple-A until the Phillies released him on August 22. Ryan signed with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

on August 26, 1999 He played for the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

until the Pirates released him at the end of the season. During the 1999–2000 off-season, Ryan signed with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He pitched four times for the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

. He spent most of the 2000 season pitching for the

Nashua Pride The Nashua Pride was a professional baseball team based in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the United States, not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played home games at Holman Stadium from 1998 through 2008, when they were sold and renamed t ...

of the independent

Atlantic League The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are loc ...

. He collected 24 saves in 40 relief appearances and helped the Pride win the league title. Ryan then retired from professional baseball. After retiring, Ryan was a broadcaster for the Boston Red Sox in 2007 and the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

from 2012 to 2015.

Personal life

Ryan married Odalys Rodriguez in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

in 1991. He currently lives in

, with his wife and three daughters, Julia, Amanda, and Kelli Rose. Ryan is the owner of the KR Baseball Academy, an instructional facility for young players, in

Lincoln, Rhode Island Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistica ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Ken 1968 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Phillies players Boston Red Sox players Columbus Clippers players Nashville Sounds players Pawtucket Red Sox players Winter Haven Red Sox players Nashua Pride players Sportspeople from Pawtucket, Rhode Island Baseball players from Providence County, Rhode Island Clearwater Phillies players Elmira Pioneers players Greensboro Hornets players Lynchburg Red Sox players New Britain Red Sox players Reading Phillies players Sarasota Red Sox players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Trenton Thunder players 20th-century American sportsmen