Ryan Stewart Theriot (/ˈtɛrioʊ/ TEER-rio; born December 7, 1979) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and second baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants.

[2] Theriot then was switched back to second base to make room for rookie Starlin Castro, who took his spot at shortstop on May 7, 2010.

On June 12, 2000, Theriot broke up a no-hitter that was being thrown by his future teammate, Mark Prior, then pitching for the University of Southern California (USC).

Theriot scored the game-winning run in the 2000 national championship game following a Brad Cresse single.

[3][4][5] Ryan followed up the 2000 season with a 2001 campaign that resulted in a second-team All-SEC selection, the only all-conference honor of his college career.

Theriot made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on September 13, 2005, as a pinch hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, and gained his first hit the following day against Brian Shackelford.

Theriot was notably versatile throughout the 2007 season, playing multiple positions defensively and hitting all over the batting order.

He quickly went on a relative tear and smacked seven home runs, including his first two ever outside Wrigley Field, as the other players regained their health.

[citation needed] On January 27, 2012, Theriot agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million nonguaranteed contract with the San Francisco Giants, providing depth to the team's middle infield.

Theriot shared playing time at second base with Emmanuel Burriss at the beginning of the season, but went on the 15-day disabled list in May.

In the 10th inning, he hit a leadoff single and eventually scored the go-ahead and winning run (coincidentally being driven in by Scutaro, who had taken his spot in the lineup 2 months before), which gave the Giants the clinching victory in a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.

[10][11] Theriot became the sixth player in Major League history to win consecutive World Series championships on different teams.

[2] A new baseball statistic was developed in 2008 called TOOTBLAN - an acronym that stands for Thrown Out on the Bases Like a Nincompoop - in order to account for Theriot's poor baserunning skills.