Ryan Byrne

Ryan Olivier Byrne

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

• School University of Houston - Downtown, Lone Star College, San Jacinto College

• Born December 26, 1989 in Houston, TX USA

Biographical Information

Ryan Byrne has won multiple MVP awards in Switzerland.

He played with the Bern Cardinals in 2012-2013, going 8-1 with a 2.35 ERA and hitting .366 the latter year. He hit .455/.455/.636 in the 2013 European Cup but had a 10.50 ERA and fielded .750. He would've led Bern in average had he qualified but tied for second in the Cup in errors. Playing for the Swiss national team in the 2013 B-Level European Championship, he hit .364/.455/.364 with four steals in four tries as a semiregular leadoff option. In the outfield and on the mound, he had 7 putouts, one assist and no errors. His lone start on the hill was a loss to Greg Hendrix and Great Britain in which he allowed 7 runs (5 earned) in 7 1/3 IP. He finished 4th in steals.

Moving to the Zürich Challengers, he broke Severin Fries's Ligue Nationale A record of 180 K (finishing at 182) and hit .417/.470/.592 with 18 steals in 21 tries and 27 runs in 29 games while going 8-6 with a 2.47 ERA and four saves. He won MVP honors. It is unclear where and/or if he was playing from 2015-2019. Returning to the Challengers in 2020, he batted .458/.529/.695 but barely pitched.

Next with the Hünenberg Unicorns, he won another MVP in 2021. He was back with the Challengers by '22, going 1-1 with 3 saves and a 2.48 ERA while batting .470/.570/.602 with 30 steals in 33 tries and 37 runs in 22 games. He had the most steals in the league since Anubis Benitez swiped 34 in 1999. He won both Best Pitcher and another MVP.

In the 2023 Federations Cup, he was 5-for-16 but was 0-1 with a 27.00 ERA, losing to the Dornbirn Indians. He was 5th in earned runs allowed (7) and walked the most (9). He had a 1-0, 2.30 record in the Swiss season, while producing at a .474/.508/.789 clip with 15 stolen bases in 17 attempts and 18 runs in 12 games. When Switzerland made their first European Championship in 2023, Byrne made their roster. He debuted against Belgium, replacing Nicholas Fischer in right during a 7-2 win, their first Euros win. He singled off Mauro Van Mook his first time up. He finished the event 2-for-6 with two walks, two runs and a RBI. He also pitched twice, allowing four walks, four hits and two runs (one earned) in two innings. He struck out one, Germany's David Dinski.