Ryan Stewart Theriot ( ; born December 7, 1979) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants.
A shortstop in college, Theriot was converted to second base for his major league debut, but played shortstop throughout the 2007–2009 seasons. Theriot then was switched back to second base to make room for rookie Starlin Castro, who took his spot at shortstop on May 7, 2010.
Early life
Theriot graduated from Broadmoor High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1998. While there, he played three seasons on the basketball team as a point guard and four seasons on the baseball team as a shortstop. He was a highly decorated baseball player, so he opted to not play basketball during his senior year of high school to focus on his baseball skills. While at Broadmoor, he played alongside childhood friends, Mike Woods and Trae Duncan, and together they set Louisiana High School Athletic Association history by becoming All American infielders from the same high school. They all later became first-team All State for class 4A at third base, shortstop, and second base, becoming the first trio to earn such awards.
College career
Theriot played college baseball at Louisiana State University and was named to the College World Series all-tournament team in 2000. On June 12, 2000, Theriot broke up a no-hitter that was being thrown by his future teammate, Mark Prior, then pitching for the University of Southern California (USC).
Theriot scored the game-winning run in the 2000 national championship game following a Brad Cresse single. The CWS title was the fifth for LSU in nine seasons. After the 2000 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.
Ryan followed up the 2000 season with a 2001 campaign that resulted in a second-team All-SEC selection, the only all-conference honor of his college career. Prior to the 2001 season, Theriot was voted team captain by his teammates.
Theriot began his career as LSU's starting second baseman in 1999. He moved to shortstop in 2000 to make way for future Cubs teammate and former LSU teammate Mike Fontenot.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
Theriot was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the third round of the 2001 MLB draft.
Chicago Cubs (2005–2010)
Theriot made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on September 13, 2005, as a pinch hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, and gained his first hit the following day against Brian Shackelford. In 2006, he split time between the Iowa Cubs and the MLB team, hitting .328 in 53 games with the Chicago team.
In 2007, Theriot made the opening-day roster as a utility player, but the early-season struggles of César Izturis lead to Theriot getting more starts and quickly became the starter. Izturis was traded in July. Also in 2007, Theriot was reunited with his former collegiate teammate Mike Fontenot. Theriot and Fontenot made up the double-play combination for the 2000 National Champion LSU Tigers.
Theriot was notably versatile throughout the 2007 season, playing multiple positions defensively and hitting all over the batting order. Despite impressive numbers from Theriot in the lead-off spot, albeit a small sample size, the return of Alfonso Soriano resulted in Theriot returning to second in the batting order.
In 2008, Theriot had the sixth-best batting average in the National League.
While not expected to hit for power, Theriot was asked to try to drive in more runs early in 2009 as the Cubs dealt with injuries and poor performance from their power hitters, including Aramis Ramírez, Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto, and Milton Bradley. He quickly went on a relative tear and smacked seven home runs, including his first two ever outside Wrigley Field, as the other players regained their health.
Theriot hit his first career grand slam on May 1, 2009, against the Florida Marlins. The Cubs were down 5–2 when he hit it, and it gave them the lead. The Cubs won 8–6.
On February 19, 2010, the Cubs went to salary arbitration with Theriot, the first time they had done so since 1993. Theriot's figure was one year, $3.4M. The Cubs' figure was also one year, but $2.6M. The Cubs won the case. He appeared in 96 games with the Cubs in 2010, hitting .284.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2010) On July 31, 2010, Theriot and Ted Lilly were traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Blake DeWitt. He was assigned the number 13. He hit .242 in 54 games with the Dodgers. At second base, Theriot had a .996 fielding percentage.