Robert Victor "B. J." Ryan Jr. (born December 28, 1975) is an American baseball coach and former relief pitcher. He played college baseball at Louisiana, where he played for coach Tony Robichaux in 1997 and 1998. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2009. Amateur career Ryan attended Airline High School in Bossier City, Louisiana, where he played for the school's baseball team. After going unselected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft out of high school, Ryan enrolled at the Centenary College of Louisiana and played for the Gentlemen. He was a two-way player while at Centenary. Ryan threw three complete games as a true freshman for the Gentlemen. As a sophomore pitcher, Ryan threw seven complete games while racking up 100.2 innings pitched for the season. As a hitter, he had 209 at bats. When Ryan decided to transfer at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, head coach Tony Robichaux in the fall of 1996, the team used him as a relief pitcher, filling the role of their spot starter, in addition to playing outfield and first base. He quickly became one of UL Lafayette's best hitters, so the team moved Ryan into their starting first base position midway through the season. As a senior in 1998, he made two starts for the Ragin' Cajuns, pitching to a 6–1 win–loss record with a 2.28 earned run average, while earning six saves. Additionally, he made 51 starts at first base, hitting at .370 batting average with 11 home runs and 36 RBI. At the conclusion of the regular season, Ryan was named Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference. He was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1998 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament. Professional career Minor Leagues and Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds selected Ryan in the 17th round as a pitcher, with the 500th overall selection, of the 1998 MLB Draft. The Reds assigned Ryan to the Billings Mustangs of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he made 14 appearances before he was promoted to the Charleston Alley Cats of the low-A South Atlantic League. He earned yet another promotion before the season ended to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League finishing the year with a 2.06 ERA in 33 games with 10 saves. In 1999, he began the season with Chattanooga, but was promoted to the Indianapolis Indians of the Class AAA International