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Batting Stance Guy

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Gar Ryness, better known as the Batting Stance Guy, is an American sports entertainer and Youtube phenomenon. He is known for his ability to perform spot-on impressions of the batting stances of Major League Baseball players. He can mimic the batting stances of the starting line-ups of all 30 MLB teams with alarming accuracy.[1]

Publicity

Ryness received fame when his friend, a professional cameraman, posted a video compilation of his batting stance imitations to YouTube and sent a copy to ESPN.com columnist Bill Simmons; Simmons proceeded to name Ryness the "Youtube Star of the Week." Shortly thereafter, Dan Patrick mentioned the YouTube videos on his Sirius XM radio show, catapulting their collective view tallies to over a million views in just a few weeks.[2]

Soon, several regional sports networks hired Ryness to be on their pre- and postgame baseball broadcasts in the fall of 2008, including Dodgers Live, Brewers Live, Twins Live; he was invited to the Red Sox' spring training. Several of these video clips show MLB players laughing over his imitations:[2]

The guy is absolutely hilarious. We huddle around the computer in the clubhouse and fall over laughing. It's a joke how accurate he is, too.[3]

— Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals

During several games, producers asked Ryness to perform his batting stances and have audience members guess the MLB player he was mimicking. The entertainment was such a success that ESPN featured a segment about Ryness' talent on E:60 called "The Art of the Stance" in spring 2009.[4]

Ryness' friend and agent Matt Ricatto, who had originally sent the videos to ESPN, launched the website "BattingStanceGuy.com" to compile all the videos (known as "odes") and to document Ryness' publicity.[1] The tagline for the website is Dan Patrick's original introduction of Ryness on his talk show: "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the least marketable skill in America." On July 6, 2009, Ryness announced on his website that he had signed a deal with Fox Sports Net giving them exclusive rights to air BSG content during and between games for 12 teams across the FSN regions.

Personal life

Ryness grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. As of 2009, he was 35 years old and married with two children. Before landing a deal with Fox Sports Net, he worked for a nonprofit Christian organization as a spiritual advisor to professionals in the entertainment industry.

Ryness stated that he first realized his talent at age 7 when he was playing wiffle ball in his backyard. He said he never stopped imitating the pros and simply loves baseball.[5] Ryness claims that he only has to watch a hitter a few times before he can perfectly imitate their stance: He picks up the tiniest details and exaggerates them so that people notice them more. He said he loves traveling around the country and bringing nostalgia to the fans and players.[3]

TV/Radio Appearances by date

  • May 2008: Dan Patrick mentions BSG and his "unmarketable" skill on his Sirius XM radio show
  • June 2008: Bill Simmons of ESPN.com gives BSG the honor of "Youtube Star of the Week"
  • November 2008: Sony Entertainment records his stance imitations for MLB 2009: The Show

References

  1. ^ a b Greg Hanlon, "Meet Gar Ryness: Batting Stance Guy" in the New York Times, 15 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b BattingStanceGuy.com
  3. ^ a b Rise of the BSG "The Rise of the Batting Stance Guy" from the Associated Press, 19 May 2009.
  4. ^ "The Art of the Stance" on E:60, ESPN, 14 April 2009.
  5. ^ Cameron Smith, "Moment of Levity: Batting Stance Guy" in the Washington Post, 21 October 2008.
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