Ryan Adrien Bukvich (born May 13, 1978) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. He played in

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) 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 ...

, Texas Rangers,

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 ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Career

Bukvich attended the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. Bukvich was called up to the White Sox in June along with Bret Prinz, replacing the struggling

David Aardsma David Allan Aardsma (; born December 27, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, currently serving in the Toronto Blue Jays front office as a coordinator of player development. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the S ...

and

Mike MacDougal Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal (born March 5, 1977) is a former relief pitcher in professional baseball. He is a switch hitter and throws right-handed. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, Washing ...

. While Prinz remained with the team for only a matter of days, Bukvich stayed on the roster despite the subsequent return of both Aardsma and MacDougal. Bukvich appeared in 45 games with the White Sox in 2007, going 1–0 with a 5.05 ERA. His win on June 30, 2007, against the Royals was his first since 2003. He became a cult hero at

U.S. Cellular Field Guaranteed Rate Field is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and is owned by the state ...

, earning the nickname "Iceman" for his cool demeanor in pressure situations. Bukvich signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles on December 7, 2007. Bukvich spent time during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

recovering from an oblique injury. After several days of extended spring training, he joined the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season. In May 2009, Bukvich signed with the Newark Bears.

References

External links

1978 births Living people Kansas City Royals players Texas Rangers players Baltimore Orioles players Chicago White Sox players Baseball players from Chicago Major League Baseball pitchers Ole Miss Rebels baseball players Sportspeople from Naperville, Illinois Wilmington Blue Rocks players Spokane Indians players Charleston AlleyCats players Wichita Wranglers players Omaha Royals players Arizona League Rangers players Bakersfield Blaze players Oklahoma RedHawks players Charlotte Knights players Norfolk Tides players Newark Bears players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub