Hello My Name Is: B.J. Ryan

Personal Stats
Name: Robert Victor (B.J.) Ryan
Age: 30
You Might Remember Me From: Putting up 36 saves for the Orioles last year
Most Resembles: Former WWF wrestler Big John Studd
Why the Jays Picked Him Up: Will act as a long overdue replacement for former mascot BJ Birdie who was cut in favour of Ace and Diamond prior to the 2000 season. Will be asked to save games in addition to occasionally riding an ATV into the outfield wall.

Career Plus/Minus
Plus: Saved 36 games in 69 appearances for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005 (ranked 7th in the AL)
Minus: Saved a total of 6 games in 336 appearances prior to 2005

Plus: Led the Orioles in strikeouts in the 2004 season with 122. It's the first time in the majors since 1991 that a reliever led his team in Ks.
Minus: The last reliever to lead his team happened to be Duane Ward with the 91 Blue Jays. In fact, Ryan and Ward have an eerily similar career path. Once given the closer job, Ward excelled and led the Jays to their 2nd World Series title in 1993, picking up 45 saves along the way. However, he played a total of 4 more games in the majors after his one and only season as the closer. With a 5-year big money deal, we'll have to cross our fingers that this is where Ryan and Ward's career paths differ.

Plus: Had 12.61K/9IP in 2004 and 12.80K/9IP in 2005. That was good for 3rd in the majors in each season - behind studs like Eric Gagne and Brad Lidge.
Minus: There's no downside here. Having someone at the end of a game who can blow away batters is going to be a huge improvement this season.

What To Expect in 2006
Gives the Jays a much needed presence at the end of games. We haven't had a dominant closer since Ward was lost to injury and I've had to repress memories of all the late game failures since. In my humble opinion, a closer has been the biggest need on the team since the World Series days, and Ryan will be expected to fill that void. You can expect lots of saves, lots of Ks, and lots of Bodyslam Challenge matches between Big John Ryan and Andre the Giant.