Mark Dwayne Ryal (born April 28, 1960) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player who played six seasons for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

of the

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), ...

(MLB). He also played two seasons in the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

. He is the father of

Rusty Ryal Rusty Allen Ryal (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball utility man. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 14th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, out of Oklahoma State University. He is the son of the former ma ...

, an infielder for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Baseball career

Ryal attended Dewar High School and was selected in the third round (77th overall) by the

in the June 1978 amateur Baseball draft. As of 2021, Ryal is notable for, on September 4, 1987, being the most recent instance of a left-handed throwing fielder playing the position of shortstop in a Major League Baseball game. Ryal’s California Angels lost to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

by a score of 8-4. Including Ryal, only five left-handed individuals have appeared at the position of shortstop in a Major League Baseball game since 1934, the feat occurring in a total of only 10 games, six of which by the same individual,

Royle Stillman Royle Eldon Stillman (born January 2, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player whose career lasted for 3 seasons (1975–1977). Beginnings An outfielder, he appeared in 75 Major League Baseball games, and played all or part of thr ...

, in 1975.

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1960 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Oklahoma Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players California Angels players Chicago White Sox players Chunichi Dragons players Edmonton Trappers players Fort Myers Royals players Gulf Coast Royals players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Royals players Kansas City Royals scouts Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball outfielders Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Oklahoma City 89ers players Omaha Royals players People from Henryetta, Oklahoma Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1960s-stub

Baseball career

See also

External links