Ryan Church (baseball)
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| New York Mets — No. 19 | |
| Right Fielder | |
| Born: October 14, 1978 | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| August 21, 2004 for the Montreal Expos | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through May 3, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .276 |
| Home runs | 39 |
| Runs batted in | 175 |
| Teams | |
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Ryan Matthew Church (born October 14, 1978 in Lompoc, California) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the New York Mets.
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[edit] Career
Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 14th round of the 2000 amateur draft. Church signed June 7, 2000 after graduation from the University of Nevada, Reno. By January 2004, he was traded by the Indians with Maicer Izturis to the Montreal Expos for Scott Stewart.
Church made his major league debut for the Expos in August 2004, struggling in the 30 games he played in the last two months of the season. He ended the season with a .187 batting average.
After struggling in the first month of the 2005 season Church was considered a candidate for the Rookie of the Year Award, until he injured himself running into the outfield wall at PNC Park on June 22, 2005. At the time of the incident, Church was batting .325 with a .544 slugging percentage. After the incident, Church made two trips to the disabled list and was unable to match his hitting performance from the first half of the season.
In 2006, Church was demoted to Class AAA New Orleans after struggling early in the year. However, Church was sent back to the majors on July 23, and ended up hitting .276 with a career best 10 home runs and .892 OPS. His 10 home runs in just 196 at bats in 2006 projects to around 30 home runs for an entire season.
In 2007, Church had career highs in games (144), at bats (470), runs (57), hits (128), doubles (43), home runs (15), and RBI (70). He finished the year batting .272, slugging .464 and a .813 OPS.
His batting song is Korn's "Hold On" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train".
After the 2007 season, Church was heavily mentioned in trade talks, with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Minnesota Twins all reportedly very interested in his services. However, on November 30, 2007, Church was traded along with Brian Schneider to the New York Mets for Lastings Milledge.[1]
In spring training 2008, Church was involved in a collision with 1B Marlon Anderson that resulted in a Grade 2 concussion for Ryan Church. He recovered without any serious injuries. On May 20, 2008, Church suffered a minor concussion while sliding into Atlanta Braves shortstop Yunel Escobar. It appeared as though when Church initially slid, his head made contact with Escobar's right knee. Following Church hitting his head, he slid about 8 feet past 2nd base with his forehead dragging on the dirt. Church made his return to the starting lineup on June 1, 2008 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, collecting three hits including a home run and a double. He was however placed on the disabled list with aftereffects of the concussion he suffered.
[edit] Controversy
In 2005, the Nationals suspended Jon Moeller, a volunteer chaplain, and issued an apology after Church, a devout Christian, revealed conversations he had with him about a Jewish former girlfriend. Church told the Washington Post that the chaplain nodded when he asked whether Jews were "doomed" because they "don't believe in Jesus." After Jewish community leaders complained, Church issued a statement saying, "I am not the type of person who would call into question the religious beliefs of others." [2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Official Site of The New York Mets: News: Mets land Church, Schneider from Nats. mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
- ^ "Baseball's Rockies seek revival on two levels". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- 2007 spring training highlight video at The Washington Post
- Gallery photos of Ryan Church
| Preceded by Clint Barmes |
National League Rookie of the Month May 2005 |
Succeeded by Garrett Atkins |
