Philadelphia Phillies (2003–2011) The
Philadelphia Phillies selected Madson in the ninth round (254th overall) of the
1998 Major League Baseball draft. He made his major league debut in 2003. In 2005, he finished with a 4.14
earned run average in 87 innings. The Phillies converted him back to a
starting pitcher, the role he held throughout his minor league career in 2006. By 2008 Madson had become part of the "bridge to Lidge (
closer Brad Lidge)", developing into an outstanding set-up man. With a devastating
changeup, Madson found increased velocity, hitting as high as 97 miles per hour in the
NLCS. Madson earned his first playoff
victory when the Phillies defeated the
Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS. He pitched innings,
striking out one while allowing one
hit and one
walk. When
Brad Lidge was placed on the
disabled list on June 9, 2009, Ryan Madson was the Phillies' choice for interim closer. Madson got his first save in his new role on June 10, 2009, against the
New York Mets. In Game 6 of the
2010 National League Championship Series, Madson was the losing pitcher when he gave up a solo home run to
Juan Uribe in the eighth inning of a 3–2 loss to the
San Francisco Giants. Madson began the 2011 season once again as the Phillies' main set-up reliever. However, with Lidge and
José Contreras on the disabled list in May 2011, Madson was chosen to close for the Phillies. , Madson converted 23 saves in 25 opportunities and retained the closer role even after Lidge returned from the DL in July. Madson finished the season with 32 saves, 62 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.37. A free agent, Madson was close to negotiating a four-year, $44 million contract to remain with the Phillies, but Phillies general manager
Rubén Amaro, Jr. reneged on the verbal agreement and instead signed
Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year $50 million deal to replace Madson as the team's closer.
Injuries and initial retirement During the 2011–12 offseason, Madson agreed to a one-year $8.5 million contract with the
Cincinnati Reds. Before the end of spring training, Madson had a torn ligament in his right elbow, requiring
Tommy John surgery, and missed the entire 2012 season. He never pitched for the Reds, as he declined his option on October 31 and became a free agent. On November 28, 2012, Madson agreed to a one-year deal with the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He began the 2013 season on the 15-day disabled list as he attempted to recover from the Tommy John surgery. Later in the season, the Angels transferred Madson to the 60-day disabled list. He was released on August 5 without appearing in a game. Madson tried out with several teams in January 2014 but received no minor league deals from them, so he retired.
Kansas City Royals (2015) Madson had become a youth baseball coach in California after his retirement, and in 2014, he received a call from
Kansas City Royals executive Jim Fregosi Jr., asking Madson to tutor a high school pitcher. Working with the student inspired Madson to return to MLB, and he contacted Fregosi again that winter. On January 4, 2015, the Royals signed Madson to a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training. Madson was the last player added to the Royals' 25-man roster, beating out
Brian Flynn for the final bullpen position in a decision that manager
Ned Yost called "the hardest ... I think I've ever had to make". He made his first major league appearance in over three years on April 6, 2015, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in the Royals' 10-1 Opening Day defeat of the
Chicago White Sox. By the end of May, Madson had become a staple of Kansas City's strong bullpen, with a 1.74 ERA and 21 strikeouts in innings over 18 appearances. With
Wade Davis and
Greg Holland unavailable, Madson earned the first save of this new stage of his career on August 9, holding the White Sox scoreless in the ninth inning for a 5-4 victory. By the end of the month, Madson began to experience fatigue and "dead arm", and he was put on rest in order to be ready for a postseason push. In Game 4 of the
2015 ALDS against the
Houston Astros, Madson gave up two home runs which put the Royals behind 6–2 with six outs until elimination, however, the Royals rallied to win the game and eventually the series. In Game 6 of the
2015 ALCS against the
Toronto Blue Jays, Madson surrendered a game-tying two run homer to
José Bautista, but the Royals scored the game winning run in the bottom of the same inning to win the game and the series. In his first season, Madson was given the closer job while lefty
Sean Doolittle recovered from injury. Madson saved 30 games, and despite blowing 7 saves, he finished with a 3.62 ERA in 63 games. In 2017, Madson was relieved of the closer role and was placed as the setup man. Through 40 games, he had a 2.06 ERA while improving his K/9 from 2016.
Washington Nationals (2017–2018) On July 16, 2017, Madson and Doolittle were traded to the
Washington Nationals for
Blake Treinen,
Sheldon Neuse, and
Jesús Luzardo. Madson drew criticism from some when on August 4, 2018, he hit Reds star first baseman
Joey Votto on the knee with a 96 mph fastball on the first pitch, possibly in retaliation for an accidental hit by pitch of Nationals star
Bryce Harper. Votto, who yelled at Madson in anger over the pitch, ended up going on the DL.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2018) On August 31, 2018, Madson was traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league pitcher Andrew Istler. In 9 games for the Dodgers, he struggled to a 6.48 ERA with 13 strikeouts across innings pitched. Madson was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the
2018 NLCS. Despite this; Madson's pitching was widely attributed to the Dodgers' collapse against the
Boston Red Sox during the
World Series. In Game 2, the Dodgers pulled ahead to a 2-1 lead following the fourth inning. Madson would later surrender 3 runs to cost the Dodgers the game. Madson was later subject to further criticism during Game 4 when Dodgers' manager
Dave Roberts controversially pulled pitcher
Rich Hill during the top of the 7th inning with one runner on base as the Dodgers led 4-0. The decision which was criticized by several (including then-current President
Donald Trump) particularly when Red Sox' batter
Mitch Moreland hit a three-run pinch-hit home run off of Madson to make it a one-run game. Madson later set a new World Series record by allowing seven inherited runners to score in the series.. The Dodgers declined to renew Madson's contract following the 2018 postseason; culminating in his retirement shortly afterwards. ==Personal life==