Ryan Wagner
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Ryan Scott Wagner (born July 15, 1982) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...
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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
. 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 Cincinnati Reds and the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
. Wagner was an All-American closer for the
University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
.


Early life

Wagner played college
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 t ...
with the Houston Cougars in 2002 and 2003. In his second year there, Wagner set a school record by recording 15 saves and he had 148 strikeouts in innings pitched. His ratio of 16.8 strikeouts per nine innings broke an NCAA Division I record that was almost 40 years old. He was named a First-Team All-American by several organizations. Shortly before the 2003 Major League Baseball draft, '' Baseball America'' said that Wagner should be a mid-first-round draft choice, having passed a player named Brad Sullivan as the most in-demand pitcher on the University of Houston staff. The publication said that Wagner had "the most unhittable
slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...
in the draft" as his primary pitch, but it noted that Wagner's delivery made some
scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...
worry about the risk of an arm injury. Wagner was selected in the first round (14th overall) by the Reds in the 2003 draft.


Career

When Wagner debuted with the Cincinnati Reds in 2003, he was the first player from that year's draft to make the major leagues. He appeared in 108 games over the next 2+ seasons. In , Wagner was back in the minors when the Reds included him in an 8-player trade that sent
Austin Kearns Austin Ryan Kearns (born May 20, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 through 2013 for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and ...
and Felipe López to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Gary Majewski,
Royce Clayton Royce Spencer Clayton (born January 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Co ...
, Bill Bray, Brendan Harris, and Daryl Thompson. Wagner appeared in 14 games for Washington in before going on the disabled list. He missed the remainder of the 2007 season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Wagner, along with Pete Orr and Chad Cordero, rejected his assignment to Triple-A, becoming a free agent on October 30, 2008. Shortly thereafter, Wagner re-signed with Washington. Wagner announced his retirement from baseball on May 18, 2009.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Ryan 1982 births Living people People from Yoakum, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Washington Nationals players Houston Cougars baseball players All-American college baseball players Chattanooga Lookouts players Louisville Bats players New Orleans Zephyrs players Potomac Nationals players Columbus Clippers players Syracuse Chiefs players