Ryan is a founding Regent of Tapey Beercone although unlike many of the other regents Ryan had almost no history in the pre-Tapey Beercone, Piney Pinecone days. In fact, Ryan can be thought of as the forgotten Regent, for of the six he has played the least, particularly in the early seasons. While Ryan played in the original games at The Ranch and in the subsequent game at Deadwood Downs, he wouldn’t play in another game again until over two years later at Big Apple Field in New York. Since then Ryan had made many more appearances, and his quality of play has continued to improve with each passing season.
Ryan’s improvement is evident in his batting ability. In the game’s early days Ryan was not a major threat as a batter, lacking game-changing power and striking out often. He took a major step forward during the Christmas game in New York at the end of season two, finding his swing with a new “Club” bat, and learning to hit with much more force. Since then he’s developed his approach, learning to take really heavy swings with the heavier bats. Ryan is still susceptible to striking out, but when he makes contact he has shown that he can get big hits. He is one of few players who poses a consistent threat at making doubles and triples, yet not because of his legs, but because of his bat alone and that’s a rarity in the sport.
Ryan’s power with The Club was on no greater display than during an epic last inning encounter at Syncline Shelf against Kevin “The Professor”. Ryan had already had an excellent game up to that point, having made only two outs, both on well struck balls, and had already hitting a bases clearing double in the second inning. Now stepping into the box for his second at bat of the inning, Ryan’s instinctive mind was still spinning, ruminated over the epic eight pitch battle he had with Kevin during the first at bat of the inning. Now down by one with one out and the bases loaded, Ryan could end the game on one good swing. He made multiple big cuts during the at bat, a couple big swings and misses, and a few other foul tips, but on the final pitch of the at bat, on a full-full count, Ryan got the contact he was looking for. His deep fly ball into left field sailed well into the trees, and allowed time for two runners to score, and gave Ryan the sport’s first walk of hit!
In addition to his improvements as a batter, Ryan has made even greater steps on defense as a pitcher. Having rarely pitched prior to season 3, Ryan is now by far one of the best in the game. Ryan shows somewhat unique, very deliberate and quick almost robotic motions to his pitches. He will hold his form with the beercone raised to his chin, as he contemplates the perfect pitch result in his mind, then quickly he will make an abbreviated delivery and fire a pitch in to the plate. This is a part of what led to his nickname “The Mechanic”. He first showed glimpses of his skill during season 2, proved to be well above average in season 3, then took it to another level in season 4.
It was during a season 4 game when Ryan accomplished one of the game’s most unique pitching achievements. At Brown’s Downs II, Ryan paired up with Brian and combined to pitch the sport’s first six inning shutout, but Ryan would take things even further than that. At first warming himself up with a quick shutout inning in the third, he raised himself to a new level of dominance in the fourth. First, by dispatching seasoned players Eric and Richard both by strike out. He then ended the inning by mercilessly mowing down the helpless newcomer James to become the first pitcher to thrown a perfect inning by way of three straight strike outs. These accomplishments played no small part in Ryan being named the Season 4 Pitcher of the Season.