Ryan Rowland-Smith

Ryan Rowland-Smith
Rowland-Smith with the Seattle Mariners
Pitcher
Born: (1983-01-26) 26 January 1983 (age 41)
Sydney, Australia
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: 22 June, 2007, for the Seattle Mariners
CPBL: 26 March, 2015, for the EDA Rhinos
Last appearance
MLB: 14 April, 2014, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
CPBL: 15 May, 2015, for the EDA Rhinos
MLB statistics
Win–loss record12–17
Earned run average4.57
Strikeouts229
CPBL statistics
Win–loss record1–4
Earned run average4.70
Strikeouts45
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Australia
Olympics
Silver medal – second place Athens 2004 Team Competition

Ryan Benjamin Rowland-Smith (born 26 January 1983) is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. Rowland-Smith also represented Australia in the World Baseball Classic three times and in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Born in Sydney, Rowland-Smith grew up watching MLB games on videocassette. Signed out of high school by the Seattle Mariners, he spent the next several years pitching for their minor league teams. Promoted to Seattle for the first time in June 2007, he struck out the first batter he faced, former Mariners' star Ken Griffey Jr. Rowland-Smith began 2008 as a relief pitcher for the Mariners but was sent to the minor leagues briefly in July to work on becoming a starting pitcher. He rejoined the team in August and remained in their starting rotation the rest of the year. In 2009, he made one start for the Mariners at the beginning of the year before going on the disabled list with triceps tendinitis. Rejoining the team in July, he completed the eighth inning in three of his remaining starts for Seattle. In 2010, he made a career-high 20 starts for the Mariners but posted a 1–10 record and a 6.75 earned run average (ERA). Seattle allowed him to become a free agent after the year.

Over the next three seasons, Rowland-Smith pitched in the minor leagues for several teams. In 2014, he began the season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, much to his excitement as the Diamondbacks were opening the 2014 season in Australia. His time with the Diamondbacks did not last long, as the team designated him for assignment on 18 April. Rowland-Smith pitched for some minor league teams the remainder of the year, then joined the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2015. He pitched for the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League in January 2017, then retired after the 2017 World Baseball Classic.