Comments on: Gar's revenge

Gar's revenge

ericbop — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:37:09 -0800

Meet batting stance guy. The NY Times has a neat profile on Gar Ryness, who has the most marketable least-marketable skill in America. He does your favorite old-school players, as well as most of the current MLB team lineups, including the (non-Dutch) stars of the WBC. He's made video appearances for several teams (and MLB TV), and has quickly become a fan and player favorite for his uncanny depictions of players' idiosyncratic moves in the batter's box. In terms of virtual baseball, batting stance guy is slightly more awesome than this.

By: diogenes

diogenes — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:53:15 -0800

I have a friend who does the windup of a different obscure pitcher from the 80s for pretty much every pitch he throws during a whiffle ball game. He'll be happy to know that there's may more potential fame for that skill than we thought.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:19:38 -0800

Wow! I've never heard of this guy before; his Red Sox impersonations are spot-on! You almost forget for a second but he's even changing batting hands to correspond with the hitters… it's not just mannerisms and nervous ticks he's got cold.

By: DU

DU — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:19:53 -0800

Rush Limbaugh has the least marketable most-marketable skill in America.

By: DU

DU — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:25:44 -0800

I don't even watch baseball and I recognized a couple of those. That guy really is awesome.

By: Corduroy

Corduroy — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:35:01 -0800

Reminds me of all the baseball video games I've played, as the batting stances got more complicated and accurate every year. Part of it's just kind of creepy.

By: Stylus Happenstance

Stylus Happenstance — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:48:16 -0800

Definitely a Cylon.

By: NoMich

NoMich — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:53:22 -0800

I have a friend who does the windup of a different obscure pitcher from the 80s for pretty much every pitch he throws during a whiffle ball game. Please to describe this windup.

By: Brockles

Brockles — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:54:42 -0800

For normal people, it'd be nice to see a cut shot with the real people alongside. I looked for a while, but couldn't find anything like that and got lost in a sea of "I have no idea if this is good or not with no frame of reference".

By: Stylus Happenstance

Stylus Happenstance — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:59:49 -0800

Not only does he do two of my favorites, Mark Grace and Andre Dawson, but he does two versions of each.

By: AgentRocket

AgentRocket — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:05:44 -0800

I saw his Cardinals ones on YouTube last year and found myself remembering stances for players I had forgotten all about based only on his impressions. He's amazing. It's such a silly hobby but it made me happy watching him.

By: schoolgirl report

schoolgirl report — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:22:55 -0800

The last two of the 2008 Red Sox playoff lineup are priceless.

By: JohnnyGunn

JohnnyGunn — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:45:33 -0800

I spent countless hours trying to perfect my Micky Rivers while playing stickball growing up. This battingstanceguy is awesome. He has an inventory of players that is HUGE. I would love to see him do an imitation of NBA free throw shooters.

By: PhatLobley

PhatLobley — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:04:02 -0800

He even used his tongue to make it look like he had a dip in as Moises Alou! That killed me. This guy is great.

By: ericb

ericb — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:01:35 -0800

Yankees Suck!!!

By: tehloki

tehloki — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:55:15 -0800

what

By: the_very_hungry_caterpillar

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:39:07 -0800

that'll be baseball then.

By: MrBobaFett

MrBobaFett — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:25:22 -0800

LoL that is exactly how Kevin Youkilis bats. Hillarious.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:26:47 -0800

For some weird reason, battingstanceguy.com is a blocked site at work. Is this also some code phrase I don't understand? His technique is interesting, something of a physical caricature: he needed to watch a batter only once or twice to memorize his stance. "I try to think of the first thing I see, the characteristic I notice the most, and then just heighten it," he said.

By: matt755811

matt755811 — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:10:18 -0800

Check out the Orioles. "Cal Ripken Jr. Cal Ripken Jr. Cal Ripken Jr. Cal Ripken Jr. Cal Ripken Jr." As a baseball fan it's almost impossible not to laugh.

By: mostlymartha

mostlymartha — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:53:18 -0800

That is just uncanny and delightful. "Playoff Intensity Youkilis" from the 2008 playoff Red Sox put me in grave danger of a screen ruinous spit take.