Jimmy Ryan

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1885-1903)

Jimmy Ryan was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1885 to 1903 for the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago Pirates, and the Washington Senators, a span of 19 seasons. In 2,014 career games, he hit .308 with 2,513 hits, 118 home runs, and 1,093 RBI. He also pitched in 24 games, going 6-1 with a 3.62 ERA. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 27,588.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .308
HR 118
RBI 1,093
H 2,513
OPS .820
PIV 27,588
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
5'9" / 162 lb
Born
2/11/1863 in Clinton, MA, USA
Died
10/29/1923 in Chicago, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1885-10-08
Last Game
1903-09-24

Full name: James Edward Ryan

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Career Batting Statistics

Jimmy Ryan — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,014 8,172 1,643 2,513 451 157 118 1,093 419 804 491 .308 .375 .444 .820 27,588

Career AVG .308 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — +15.0% above league average.

Career OBP .375 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — +13.2% above league average.

Career SLG .444 vs. league average .358 across their career seasons — +24.2% above league average.

Career OPS .820 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — +18.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jimmy Ryan Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1885 CHN NL 3 13 2 6 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 .462 — — — — 0.0
1886 CHN NL 84 327 58 100 17 6 4 53 10 12 28 .306 .246 (+24%) .302 (+9%) .331 (+30%) .634 (+20%) 951.0
1887 CHN NL 126 508 117 145 23 10 11 74 50 53 19 .285 .270 (+5%) .331 (+9%) .373 (+16%) .705 (+13%) 1318.7
1888 CHN NL 129 549 115 182 33 10 16 64 60 35 50 .332 .238 (+39%) .290 (+30%) .319 (+61%) .610 (+46%) 4236.6
1889 CHN NL 135 576 140 187 31 14 17 72 45 70 62 .325 .263 (+23%) .334 (+21%) .357 (+44%) .691 (+33%) 3740.8
1890 CHP PL 118 486 99 165 32 5 6 89 30 60 36 .340 .260 (+30%) .336 (+24%) .351 (+32%) .687 (+28%) 2695.5
1891 CHN NL 118 505 110 140 22 15 9 66 27 53 38 .277 .254 (+9%) .331 (+7%) .343 (+26%) .675 (+17%) 1492.9
1892 CHN NL 128 505 105 148 21 11 10 65 27 61 41 .293 .244 (+20%) .316 (+18%) .327 (+34%) .644 (+26%) 2451.7
1893 CHN NL 83 341 82 102 21 7 3 30 8 59 25 .299 .279 (+7%) .356 (+14%) .379 (+13%) .735 (+14%) 1012.3
1894 CHN NL 110 482 133 172 37 7 3 62 12 51 24 .357 .309 (+15%) .379 (+11%) .435 (+11%) .814 (+11%) 1215.0
1895 CHN NL 108 438 83 139 22 8 6 49 18 48 22 .317 .296 (+7%) .361 (+9%) .399 (+11%) .761 (+10%) 958.6
1896 CHN NL 128 489 83 149 24 10 3 86 29 46 16 .305 .290 (+5%) .354 (+4%) .387 (+7%) .741 (+5%) 548.4
1897 CHN NL 136 520 103 156 33 17 5 85 27 50 27 .300 .291 (+3%) .354 (+4%) .387 (+18%) .741 (+12%) 1145.8
1898 CHN NL 144 572 122 185 32 13 4 79 29 73 24 .323 .270 (+20%) .333 (+21%) .347 (+28%) .680 (+25%) 2932.6
1899 CHN NL 125 525 91 158 20 10 3 68 9 43 25 .301 .282 (+7%) .343 (+4%) .366 (+8%) .710 (+6%) 571.5
1900 CHN NL 105 415 66 115 25 4 5 59 19 29 19 .277 .279 (-1%) .338 (-3%) .366 (+7%) .705 (+2%) 108.1
1902 WS1 AL 120 484 92 155 32 6 6 44 10 43 5 .320 .266 (+20%) .321 (+19%) .343 (+30%) .665 (+25%) 2295.7
1903 WS1 AL 114 437 42 109 25 4 7 46 9 17 29 .249 .261 (-5%) .316 (-8%) .345 (+8%) .662 (avg) -87.0
Career · 18 seasons 2,014 8,172 1,643 2,513 451 157 118 1,093 419 804 491 .308 — — — — 27,588

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Pitching Statistics

Jimmy Ryan — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
6 1 24 5 3 0 2 117.0 133 47 8 44 43 3.62 -2688.6

Career ERA 3.62 vs. league average 3.68 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jimmy Ryan — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1886 CHN NL 0 0 5 0 0 0 1 23.1 19 12 13 15 4.63 3.37 (-37%) -1043.1
1887 CHN NL 2 1 8 3 2 0 0 45.0 53 21 17 14 4.20 4.17 (-1%) -992.3
1888 CHN NL 4 0 8 2 1 0 0 38.1 47 13 12 11 3.05 2.95 (-4%) -653.1
1891 CHN NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 5.2 11 1 2 2 1.59 — 0.0
1893 CHN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4.2 3 0 0 1 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 6 1 24 5 3 0 2 117.0 133 47 44 43 3.62 — -2,689

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Jimmy Ryan — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 20 4 5 1 0 0 2 0 1 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

Jimmy Ryan — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1886 WS CHN 6 20 4 5 1 0 0 2 0 1 .250

Playoff Career Pitching

Jimmy Ryan — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 1 0 5.0 8 5 4 4 9.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Jimmy Ryan — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1886 WS CHN 0 0 1 1 0 5.0 8 5 4 4 9.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (608 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Jimmy Ryan — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home329131025140117187.306
Away27911241623218109.286

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jimmy Ryan — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1903-09-24 MINCLEL 200000000
1903-09-23 MINCLEW 400000000
1903-09-07 MINPHAL 301000100
1903-09-05 MINNYYL 101000000
1903-09-04 MINNYYW 321000111
1903-09-03 MINNYYL 400000000
1903-09-02 MINNYYL 400000000
1903-09-01 MINBOSL 400000000
1903-08-31 MINBOSL 301000100
1903-08-31 MINBOSW 411001100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jimmy Ryan — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 8 0 13 13 3 2
3B 6 0 9 7 3 0
OF 1945 0 3701 375 366 71
P 24 0 6 35 7 1
SS 58 0 82 173 57 14

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jimmy Ryan — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1885 CHN OF 1 0 3 0 3 0
1885 CHN SS 2 0 3 11 5 0
1886 CHN 2B 5 0 9 9 0 1
1886 CHN 3B 6 0 9 7 3 0
1886 CHN OF 70 0 93 18 23 3
1886 CHN P 5 0 0 7 1 0
1886 CHN SS 6 0 4 14 3 0
1887 CHN 2B 3 0 4 4 3 1
1887 CHN OF 122 0 164 33 33 7
1887 CHN P 8 0 4 17 3 0
1888 CHN OF 128 0 217 34 35 5
1888 CHN P 8 0 2 9 3 1
1889 CHN OF 106 0 252 36 23 9
1889 CHN SS 29 0 34 97 34 10
1890 CHP OF 118 0 257 25 25 5
1891 CHN OF 117 0 231 25 27 3
1891 CHN P 2 0 0 0 0 0
1891 CHN SS 2 0 4 4 1 0
1892 CHN OF 120 0 241 26 23 5
1892 CHN SS 9 0 17 24 7 2
1893 CHN OF 73 0 162 16 18 2
1893 CHN P 1 0 0 2 0 0
1893 CHN SS 10 0 20 23 7 2
1894 CHN OF 110 0 224 22 25 3
1895 CHN OF 108 0 161 18 12 6
1896 CHN OF 128 0 207 21 22 4
1897 CHN OF 136 0 211 28 14 7
1898 CHN OF 144 0 267 20 27 2
1899 CHN OF 125 0 266 18 13 6
1900 CHN OF 105 0 177 12 18 3
1902 WS1 OF 120 0 280 16 16 0
1903 WS1 OF 114 0 288 7 9 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jimmy Ryan Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 24
Second Base 8
Third Base 6
Shortstop 58
Left Field 393
Center Field 956
Right Field 609

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jimmy Ryan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Sherry Magee
    .291 avg, 83 HR
  2. 93
    Kiki Cuyler HOF
    .321 avg, 128 HR
  3. 90
    Fred Clarke HOF
    .312 avg, 67 HR
  4. 88
    Ben Chapman
    .302 avg, 90 HR
  5. 88
    George Van Haltren
    .316 avg, 69 HR
  6. 88
    Zack Wheat HOF
    .317 avg, 132 HR

Compare Jimmy Ryan

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Ryan's closest peers by position and era.

vs Cap Anson
vs Ed Delahanty
vs Jesse Burkett
vs Billy Hamilton
vs Fred Clarke
vs Joe Kelley

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Jimmy Ryan: the record in brief

Between the debut on October 8, 1885 and the final game on September 24, 1903, Jimmy Ryan built the record summarized on this page. By club, Ryan's seasons break down as the Chicago White Stockings (1885 to 1889), the Chicago Pirates (1890), the Chicago Colts (1891 to 1897), the Chicago Orphans (1898 through 1900), and the Washington Senators (1902 to 1903). Ryan, born on February 11, 1863, in Clinton, MA, USA, is listed as an outfielder and batted right-handed and threw left-handed. Ryan's listed size is 5 feet, 9 inches and 162 pounds. The bio records the death on October 29, 1923, in Chicago, IL, USA. Jimmy Ryan was the playing name; the full given name is James Edward.

The batting record for Ryan: 2,014 games, 2,513 hits in 8,172 at bats, and a .308 average; the totals also include 118 homers, 1,093 runs batted in, and 419 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .375 and the slugging percentage .444, for an OPS of .820.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jimmy Ryan

What years did Jimmy Ryan play?
Jimmy Ryan played in Major League Baseball from 1885 to 1903.
Was Jimmy Ryan a pitcher?
Both. Jimmy Ryan pitched in 24 games, going 6-1 with a 3.62 ERA, but spent most of his career as an Outfielder.
How many home runs did Jimmy Ryan hit?
Jimmy Ryan hit 118 career home runs with 2513 hits.
What was Jimmy Ryan's career batting average?
Jimmy Ryan batted .308 over his career, with 2,513 hits in 8,172 at bats.
How many RBI did Jimmy Ryan have?
Jimmy Ryan drove in 1,093 runs in his career.
What was Jimmy Ryan's career ERA?
Jimmy Ryan finished with a 3.62 career ERA, going 6-1 with 43 strikeouts.