#31 Ryan Minor
Here is a cool minor league card that I won in a contest last year. The contest was held by the Paul, of Paul's Random Stuff, and all I had to do was answer a simple question. I had name all of the professional teams that drafted Ryan. The trick to the question was the Ryan was also drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. He obviously chose the baseball route instead.
His playing career lasted ten seasons. During that time, he got into 142 Major League games in a four year span with the Orioles and Expos. He only hit .177 in those games with 5 home runs. The Dodgers even experimented with using him as a pitcher, but that plan was short-lived. After a few seasons of playing and coaching in the Atlantic League, Ryan is now the batting coach for the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Ultimately, Ryan will probably be remembered as the guy that replaced Cal Ripken Jr. when Cal decided to end the streak.
I thought that it was kind of neat that he is now coaching the same team that he is playing for on this card. Obviously, the Shorebirds are still around and they are still affilated with the O's.
I had forgotten about doing those contests... I'm not a huge basketball fan, but I do have one of Ryan Minor's college basketball cards (signed, of course.)
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda sorry that he'll mainly be remembered as the guy who replaced Cal Ripken. But at least he will be remembered -- and I think that most people who get to meet him will also remember him for being a great guy.