Former Whaler Ryan Fitzgerald Makes His MLB Debut with the Twins
Photo Credit: Major League Baseball
Injuries to the Minnesota Twins roster led to former HCBLer Ryan Fitzgerald getting the call from AAA-St. Paul to the big league roster. Fitzgerald, a former 2014 Sag Harbor Whaler, made his MLB debut on Friday, May 16th, playing second base in a 3-0 Twins victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on the road. Fitzgerald is now the 35th former HCBL player to get the call-up to the big leagues.
Fitzgerald played all four seasons of his collegiate career at Creighton University from 2013-2016. During the 2014 season, he played in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League with the Sag Harbor Whalers. In 11 games with the Whalers, Fitzgerald hit .425 with 17 hits in 40 at-bats. In his first game as a Whaler on July 14th, 2014 against the Westhampton Aviators, Fitzgerald went 2-for-5 with a home run in a 4-3 Whalers victory.
After playing a season in independent baseball with the Gary SouthShore Railcats of the American Association in 2017 following his graduation at Creighton, Fitzgerald signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Red Sox.
In his first season in affiliated ball with the Single-A Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League in 2018, Fitzgerald hit .274 with eight home runs and 38 RBI. In the 2021 season, combining time with AA-Portland and AAA-Worcester, Fitzgerald hit .270 with 16 home runs and 58 RBI. Fitzgerald would hit 16 home runs again the following season in 2022 with Worcester while driving in 72 RBI.
After being released by the Red Sox after the 2023 season, Fitzgerald signed a free-agent contract with the Kansas City Royals for the 2024 season. Fitzgerald was assigned to the AAA-Omaha Storm Chasers, where he batted .244 and hit 14 home runs with 54 RBI.
The former Whaler would be a key contributor on an Omaha team that finished with 89 wins, which would be the most wins in a season in franchise history, as the Storm Chasers won the International League championship, falling short to the Sugar Land Space Cowboys in the Triple-A Championship Game.
Fitzgerald would sign a free agent contract with Minnesota before the start of the 2025 season, where he was assigned to the St. Paul Saints, hitting .328 in 35 games with four home runs and 21 RBI before he was called up for this past weekend’s series with Milwaukee.
