Stephen Thomas Ridings (born August 14, 1995) is an American former 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played 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 ...

(MLB) for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in 2021.

Career

Amateur career

Ridings attended St. Anthony's High School in

South Huntington, New York South Huntington is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 9,422 at the 2010 census. Residents have a Huntington Stati ...

, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

Chicago Cubs

Ridings was drafted by the

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

in the eighth round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. Ridings made his professional debut in 2017 with the rookie-level

Arizona League Cubs The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of playe ...

, logging a 4.09 ERA in 12 appearances. In 2018, Ridings played for the Low-A

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

, pitching to a 4.15 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 34.2 innings across 22 games.

Kansas City Royals

On March 9, 2019, the Cubs traded Ridings to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

for Donnie Dewees. Ridings spent the 2019 season with the rookie-level

Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleu ...

, but struggled to a 4-3 record and 5.91 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 13 games (11 of them starts). Ridings did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On November 4, 2020, Ridings was released by the Royals organization.

New York Yankees

On January 18, 2021, Ridings signed a minor league contract with the

. Ridings began the year with the Double-A

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

, posting a 0.47 ERA in 14 appearances with the team before being promoted to Triple-A. On July 21, while pitching for the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, he combined with Luis Gil and Reggie McClain to throw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

. Ridings made his major league debut on August 3, 2021, in which he struck out three batters and allowed one hit. Luis Gil started the game and Brody Koerner also pitched. It was only the second time that three pitchers debuted in the same game for the Yankees, previously occurring on September 26, 1950. Ridings pitched to a 1.80 ERA in five appearances with the big league club before being returned to Triple-A Scranton on August 17. The Yankees added Ridings to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the 2021 season on November 19, 2021. Ridings began the 2022 season with a right shoulder impingement. He began throwing bullpen sessions in August, but never appeared in a game having spent the entire season on the injured list.

New York Mets

On November 15, 2022, the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

claimed Ridings from the Yankees off of waivers. On May 1, 2023, Ridings was placed on the 60-day injured list with a right lat strain that he had suffered in Spring Training. On June 15, he was activated from the injured list and optioned to the Triple–A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

. After posting a 6.75 ERA in 10 minor league games, on July 19, Ridings was removed from the

and sent outright to Syracuse. He was released by the Mets organization on July 30.

High Point Rockers

On July 7, 2024, Ridings signed with the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional minor-league baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 9 games (7 starts) for the Rockers, he posted a 1–0 record and 3.06 ERA with 41 strikeouts across innings pitched. He became a free agent following the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 25, 2025, Ridings signed a minor league contract with the

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

. He appeared in one game for the AAA

Oklahoma City Comets The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

, allowing five runs on three hits and three walks, without recording an out. On May 6, he was placed on the voluntarily retired list.

Personal life

After the 2020 minor league season was canceled, Ridings worked out on his own, paying the bills by selling sports equipment and teaching chemistry as a substitute teacher at the Palm Beach Maritime Academy in

Lantana, Florida Lantana is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is north from Fort Lauderdale and north of Miami. This town is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Its population was 11,504 at the 2020 United States censu ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridings, Stephen 1995 births Living people Arizona League Cubs players Baseball players from Suffolk County, New York Eugene Emeralds players Haverford Fords baseball players High Point Rockers players Idaho Falls Chukars players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Oklahoma City Comets players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Huntington, New York St. Anthony's High School (South Huntington, New York) alumni St. Lucie Mets players Syracuse Mets players