Gar Ryness, also known by his stage name Batting Stance Guy, is an American sports entertainer and

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personality. Ryness mimics the batting stances of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

players, both active and retired. Ryness, a baseball fan, began practicing his talent at seven years old while playing

wiffle ball Wiffle ball, a team sport developed in 1953 in Fairfield, Connecticut, is a scaled back variation of baseball designed for playing in a confined space. The sport is played using a perforated light-weight plastic ball and a long hollow plastic ...

in his backyard. Ryness claims that he only has to watch a hitter a few times before he can imitate their stance. He picks up on the intricacies of each stance and exaggerates them so that people notice and recognize them. Despite having what Ryness jokingly refers to as the "least marketable skill in the United States," he said he loves traveling around the country and bringing nostalgia to the fans and players.

Personal life

Ryness grew up in the

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and graduated from Monte Vista High School in Danville in 1991. He is a graduate of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. Before landing a deal with

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, he worked for a nonprofit Christian organization as a spiritual advisor to professionals in the entertainment industry. He has since made a career in the finance and pharmaceutical industries. He is married with two children.

TV appearances and radio broadcasts

* May 23, 2008: First blog mention on ''BallHype.com''
Q&A with the Batting Stance Guy
* May 2008:

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mentions BSG and his "unmarketable" skill on his Sirius XM radio show * June 2008:

Bill Simmons William John Simmons III (born September 25, 1969) is an American sports analyst, author, podcaster, and former sports writer who is the founder and CEO of the sports and pop culture website '' The Ringer''. Simmons first gained attention with ...

of ''ESPN.com'' gives BSG the honor of "YouTube Star of the Week" * August 2008: ''Brewers Live'' (FSN North WI)
BSG on Brewers Live
* August 2008: ''Twins Live'' (FSN North MN)
BSG on Twins Live
* September 10, 2008: ''Padres Pregame Show'' (Cox Media SD)
BSG on Padres Pregame show
* September 2008: ''Angels Live'' (FSN West)
BSG on Angels Live
* September 2008: ''Dodgers Live'' (FSN Prime Ticket)
BSG on Dodgers Live
* November 2008: Sony Entertainment records his stance imitations for ''MLB 2009: The Show'' * April 15, 2009: ESPN's ''E:60:'
"Art of the Stance"
* May 6, 2009: The ''Associated Press:'
"BSG and Manny Ramirez"
* May 19, 2009: The ''Associated Press:'
"Rise of the BSG"
* June 17, 2009: ESPN's ''Baseball Tonight'
BSG on Baseball tonight
* July 13, 2009: CBS's
Late Show with David Letterman
'

Books and publications

On April 30, 2010, Ryness, in collaboration with Caleb Dewart, released the book ''Batting Stance Guy: A Love Letter to Baseball''. The book was published by Scribner.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Batting Stance Guy Living people 1973 births Major League Baseball on television Monte Vista High School (Danville, California) alumni Syracuse University alumni Baseball people from California