Ryan Bollinger
Ryan Michael Bollinger is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. In 2018, he was promoted to the major leagues by the New York Yankees, but he did not appear in a game.Career
Born in Apple Valley, California, Bollinger attended Minot High School in Minot, North Dakota, where he played for the baseball team. He committed to attend Iowa Western Community College to play college baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies selected Bollinger in the 47th round, with the 1,247th overall selection, of the 2009 MLB draft as a first baseman, and he signed rather than enroll in college. The Phillies released him, and he played for the Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league, in 2010 as a pitcher. The Chicago White Sox purchased his contract after the 2010 season, and he pitched in the White Sox organization for the 2011 through 2013 seasons.
In 2014, Bollinger pitched for the St. Paul Saints and the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He pitched for the Trois-Rivières Aigles of the independent Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Bollinger played in Bundesliga in Germany for the Haar Disciples. He also pitched for the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League during the 2017–18 season. He returned to the Bandits for the 2018–19 season.
The Yankees signed Bollinger to a minor league contract before the 2018 season. He began the 2018 season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League, where he pitched in two games, and then pitched for the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League. The Yankees promoted Bollinger to the major leagues on May 23, and optioned him back to Trenton the next day, without Bollinger making his major league debut. He was outrighted to Trenton on May 27, removing him from the Yankees' 40-man roster. He was then added to the 25-man roster on July 31. He optioned to Trenton on August 1, and designated for assignment on September 1. He returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Bollinger declared free agency on October 8, 2018.
On November 26, 2018, Bollinger signed a minor-league contract with the San Diego Padres that included an invitation to spring training. He was released on March 27, 2019.
On June 5, 2019, Bollinger signed with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He re-signed with the team for the 2020 season.
