Former Bat Cat Ryan Ritter makes history with triple in MLB debut
What an insane month-plus it’s been for Ryan Ritter — a former standout for the Bat Cats under Nick Mingione. The Kentucky product, drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Rockies, was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month after leading the minors in total bases and home runs with 13 multi-hit games and a 17-game hit streak in May. Playing for Colorado’s AAA affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, there was growing buzz a call-up was on the horizon.
Then his moment came.
“Coach handed me a sheet and had me read it out. I was Player of the Month last month. He faked out being like ‘here’s a letter from the PCL. Read it out,'” Ritter said Friday afternoon. “I read it out and it ended up being ‘congrats, you’re going to the big leagues.'”
The story would’ve been impressive left as is — but soared to a different planet when the game actually started. Stepping to the plate in the fifth inning, Ritter smacked one deep toward the fence to become the first player in club history to earn a triple in his first Major League hit. Hours removed from receiving his jersey, the former Wildcat made history, and he did it with 20 family members and friends in the stands.
“I was like, ‘All right, here we go. This is the time to put the ball in play and do some damage,'” he said. “It went to left-center. I didn’t look. I kept running, because I knew Coors is deep in the gaps.”
“That was fantastic,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I’m just happy for him in his first game to get a big knock, a leadoff triple. It’s exciting. You can’t lose sight of how important it is for guys to come up and play in front of their family for their debut.”
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He went 1-4 on the day with a strikeout, but all he needed was that single swing to get the weight off his shoulders in his MLB debut. There was confidence when he wore the uniform for the first time and each time he stepped up to the plate. Nothing compares, though, to getting your first.
“I just think about how I belong, so I don’t try to make it more than it is,“ Ritter said. “But it’s awesome to be out there with guys that are really successful at competing. So it’s awesome to be the center of attention, one on one. It’s fun.”
The 24-year-old is ranked as the Rockies’ No. 11 overall prospect, capable at second and third base. Now, there’s a very real chance he sticks for a team desperate for any kind of help at 12-51 on the year.
He couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.
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