Michael James Ryan (November 25, 1941July 7, 2020) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

who played 11 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, before becoming a longtime coach as well as a minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

from 1964 to 1974. He batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He was a native of

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

, where he graduated from St. James High School. Ryan was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox in 1960 and played for four of their minor league affiliates until September , when he was promoted from Double-A to the major leagues. After spending 2 full seasons with Boston, he was traded to the Phillies after the Red Sox'

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

pennant-winning campaign. He appeared in 392 games for the Phils over the next six years before he was dealt to the Pirates in . He played only 15 games as a Buc—his last on September 10 of that year—but returned to the Phillies as a bullpen coach for 16 seasons, beginning in their world championship 1980 season.

Playing career

After a one-game, late-season trial in 1964 and an extended audition in , Ryan's major league career began in earnest in . Although an excellent defensive catcher, he struggled as a hitter during his major league tenure. In 636

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

, he collected 370

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

in 1,920

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

for a .193

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. Of all non-pitchers since 1930 with at least 1,000 at-bats, only one, Ray Oyler, at .175, has a lower average. During Ryan's nine full seasons in the majors, he batted over .200 only three times. As Boston's most-used catcher in 1966, Ryan hit .214 in 116 games. Three years later, again as a first-string receiver who appeared in 133 games with the 1969 Phillies, he hit a career-high 12

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and batted .204. Then, in , in limited service backing up regular Bob Boone, Ryan hit .232 in 69

. Ryan's solid defensive credentials were reflected by his .991

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. In 1967, appearing in a team-high 79 games as a catcher, Ryan helped the "Impossible Dream" Red Sox win the

pennant. He was the roommate of

Tony Conigliaro Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and C ...

, before Conigliaro sustained a season-ending injury after being

hit by a pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

on August 18. Ryan appeared in Game 4 of the

1967 World Series The 1967 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1967 season. The 64th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...

as a late-inning replacement for starting catcher

Elston Howard Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues and Major Leag ...

, going hitless in two at bats against

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competi ...

. Then in 1974, Ryan was a reserve on the Pirates team that won the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

Eastern Division. On May 2, , Ryan and

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (October 16, 1941 – February 16, 2023) was an American professional baseball catcher, television sports commentator, and singer. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1959 to 1980 for four teams, spending almost ...

both broke their hands in a game between the Phillies and the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. With their catching corps depleted, the Phils were forced to use Jim Hutto as a defensive substitute, even though he was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. Ryan was able to return two months later on July 6, but landed on the disabled list again on August 15. Consequently, he played only 46 games that season.

Longtime coach

After his playing career, Ryan managed and coached in the Pirates' and Phillies'

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

organizations from 1975 to 1979, then coached at the big-league level for the Phillies for 16 seasons, from until . He had surgery following the season on his right shoulder, the cumulative result of his years of throwing batting practice and warming-up pitchers. He worked two more seasons with ongoing pain and retired after the 1995 season. He was on the staff of three National League champions in Philadelphia, and the

1980 World Series The 1980 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 77th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Philadelphia Phillies and the Amer ...

champion, and worked for seven managers. Ryan's coaching tenure with the Phillies was the longest in franchise history until it was surpassed by

John Vukovich John Christopher Vukovich (July 31, 1947 – March 8, 2007), nicknamed "Vuk" or "Johnny Vuk", was an American professional baseball utility infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball,

in 2004. It remains the second-longest coaching stint in franchise history . Ryan died in his sleep on July 7, 2020, in

Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Wolfeboro is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,416 at the 2020 census. A resort area situated beside Lake Winnipesaukee, Wolfeboro includes the village of Wolfeboro Falls. History The town was grant ...

, at the age of 78.

References

External links

Mike Ryan
st SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Mike Ryan
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Mike 1941 births 2020 deaths Baseball coaches from Massachusetts Baseball players from New Hampshire Boston Red Sox players Charleston Patriots players Charleston Pirates players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Olean Red Sox players People from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Philadelphia Phillies coaches Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Reading Red Sox players Sportspeople from Carroll County, New Hampshire Baseball players from Haverhill, Massachusetts Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Waterloo Hawks (baseball) players 20th-century American sportsmen