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DUNEDIN, Fla. -- B.J. Ryan has always been in a hurry.
The Blue Jays' new closer's routine of coming to the mound from the bullpen is much like his ascent through the minor leagues -- a quick sprint.
Ryan's rise up the ladder went like this: He was quick to sign out of college after leaving the Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin' Cajuns.
He sped through the Cincinnati Reds organization so fast that it's hard to believe his change of address notices had any affect.
He disposed of hitters toute suite closing for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005, his first year as a closer.
And in November he was the first of five key additions to join the Jays when he signed a five-year, $47 million US deal.
In 2005, Ryan chalked up some impressive numbers:
l A total of 22 appearances where he faced the minimum three batters.
l He struck out the side eight times.
l Ryan picked up a win against New York Yankees June 28, working two innings and facing the minimum six hitters without allowing a hit or a walk.
l In 69 games, covering 701/3 innings, Ryan walked 26 and struck out 100, averaging 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
Like most good closers, Ryan grew into the role. First, though, he had to grow into a pitcher. He was a position player and pitched for the Centenary College Gents before transferring to the University of Louisiana.
And his discovery was not one a scout a MoneyBall number cruncher would have made -- there were not any numbers to crunch.
"A good coaching friend of mine who had been at Centenary told me how live his arm was," Reds scout Johnny Almaraz said. "I watched him taking infield at first and asked his coach if the game got one sided either way, if he could (let Ryan) pitch."
Sure enough the game turned lopsided and coach Tony Robichaux brought Ryan on in relief.
"He had arm strength, he was rolling out fastballs at 91-to-93 m.p.h.," Almaraz said of his first sighting of Ryan. "I knew what type of pick he was, I never asked again to see him pitch."
Almaraz drafted Ryan in the 17th round of the 1998 round. However, the scout was a tad busy on draft day and for the next five days.
"B.J. kept calling me, almost every day asking 'when are you coming to Shreveport to sign me, when are you coming?' " Almaraz recalled.
<center><p><a href="http://torontosun.com/Sports/Baseball/2006/04/02/1516500-sun.html" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
BOB ELLIOTT
TORONTO SUN
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The scout had selected dual sport star Adam Dunn of New Caney, Tex., near Houston in the second round and another Texan, Greg Porter, in the third.
Dunn signed and is with the Reds, Porter did not.
"B.J. lived out in the country, near Benton (La.), I remember walking into his kitchen, a couple of dogs lying down sleeping," Almaraz said. "His mom was so proud -- her son was going to sign a pro contract."
Ryan did not have prolonged negotiations. The only dithering was "why didn't you get here earlier." Ryan became exhibit A for the sky is the limit after the draft. Accepting a signing bonus of $2,000 he was off to rookie-class ball in Billings.
The good folks of Montana thought they were getting a football team when the first-round pick Austin Kearns (6-foot-3, 230 pounds), Dunn (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) and Ryan (6-foot-6, 230 pounds) arrived.
Ryan pitched in 14 games at Billings, then worked in three at single-A Charleston and finished the season at double-A Chattanooga, collecting 10 saves along the way.
He began the 1999 season at Chattanooga, where he appeared in 35 games, then triple-A Indianapolis for 11 outings and on July 28 made his big-league debut at Dodger Stadium, working two innings for the Reds.
"I was so happy for him," Almaraz said, "here was a guy drafted in June of 1998 and he was in the majors by July of the next year. He took the bull by the horns, I mean, he just sailed."
Days later, Reds general manager Jim Bowden sent Ryan to the Orioles for righty Juan Guzman, the former Blue Jay. The Orioles sent Ryan to triple-A Rochester.
Almaraz called Ryan, wished him well, and told him to "keep doing what he has been doing" and he would back in the majors soon.
"Scouts and front office people didn't want to trade B.J.," said Gene Bennett, Reds special assistant and scout, "but (Bowden) thought we needed a horse pitcher to win the division. Guzman darn near helped us get there."
Guzman went 6-3 in 12 starts with the Reds and the final weekend Bowden was planning the parade route through downtown Cincy. But a funny thing happened on the weekend, the Reds lost and then dropped a one-game playoff to the New York Mets for the NL wild card.
Ryan credits Mark Wiley, the Orioles pitching coach, with his development, as well as Robichaux.
"(Wiley) got all my body parts going in the same direction at the same time," Ryan said. "I used to have a high leg kick."
The secret was making Ryan's larger frame as small as possible. He learned to keep his lead shoulder tucked in.
"I still don't land right," Ryan admitted.
Imagine if he did.
Besides providing Ryan with the chance to pitch, Robichaux also mentored him along the way.
"You'll be a lot better when you just worry about one thing," Robichaux told Ryan.
"He showed me how to pitch, I could have gone either way, but Tony spent time with me," Ryan said. "I had a bit of a temper. I was a high school kid. I played hard and Tony pulled in the reins. I really needed direction and he gave it to me."
Now, the Jays will look to Ryan for direction. They hope to get it as quick as 1-2-3
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