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Michael James Ryan
Philadelphia Phillies
Catcher
Born: November 25, 1941, Haverhill, MA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, October 15, 1960
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1964-1967; Philadelphia Phillies 1968-1973; Pittsburgh Pirates 1974
World Series Appearances: Boston Red Sox 1967
Died: July 7, 2020, Wolfeboro, NH (age 78)
Mike Ryan was primarily a back-up catcher during his 11 seasons with the Red Sox, Phillies and Pirates. He had his best season in 1969 as the Phillies' regular catcher, hitting .204 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. He made his mark as a long-time and popular Phillies coach following his playing days. Ryan was a coach for the club between 1980 and 1995, and that tenure is second only in length to his long-time friend and teammate John Vukovich. Ryan is the only coach in Phillies franchise history to coach for the club in three World Series appearances - 1980, 1983 and 1993.
Died: July 7, 2020, Wolfeboro, NH (age 78)
Mike Ryan was primarily a back-up catcher during his 11 seasons with the Red Sox, Phillies and Pirates. He had his best season in 1969 as the Phillies' regular catcher, hitting .204 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs. He made his mark as a long-time and popular Phillies coach following his playing days. Ryan was a coach for the club between 1980 and 1995, and that tenure is second only in length to his long-time friend and teammate John Vukovich. Ryan is the only coach in Phillies franchise history to coach for the club in three World Series appearances - 1980, 1983 and 1993.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #9
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY)
I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room, and this was one of six cards from the 1969 Topps set I added to our stack of 1965 Topps commons, almost as an afterthought. In total, I added 94 cards to our 1965 Topps set from Uncle Dick's and his neon green binders, six cards from the 1969 Topps set and two more from the 1959 Topps set for a future set build. After a dealer discount, this Ryan card was $1. Composing posts for these six cards will take much less time than it took to compose posts for the 94 cards added to our 1965 Topps set.
The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Ryan's career year and he appeared in a career-high 133 games as the Phillies' regular catcher. Ryan batted just .204 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs, but received praise from manager Bob Skinner for his handling of the pitching staff.
Phillies Career
Ryan was traded by the Red Sox to the Phillies with cash on December 15, 1967 for Dick Ellsworth (#605) and Gene Oliver (#247). He split catching duties with Dalrymple in 1968 but assumed more work as the regular backstop in 1969. With the arrival of Tim McCarver (#475) in 1970, Ryan was once again relegated to back-up duties and he'd serve in that role through the 1973 season. On January 31, 1974, he was traded to the Pirates for Jackie Hernandez (#258).
Ryan was brought back to the Phillies organization in 1977, serving as the team's minor league catching instructor. Mid-way through the 1977 season, he filled in as manager of their Triple-A team in Oklahoma City. Ryan joined the big club in 1980 as their bullpen coach and he'd serve in that position for the next 15 seasons. One of the most popular coaches of that era, Ryan retired following the 1995 season.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #573
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-1974, 1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1988 Topps #669
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 51 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY)
I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room, and this was one of six cards from the 1969 Topps set I added to our stack of 1965 Topps commons, almost as an afterthought. In total, I added 94 cards to our 1965 Topps set from Uncle Dick's and his neon green binders, six cards from the 1969 Topps set and two more from the 1959 Topps set for a future set build. After a dealer discount, this Ryan card was $1. Composing posts for these six cards will take much less time than it took to compose posts for the 94 cards added to our 1965 Topps set.
The Card / Phillies Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Despite playing all of 1968 with the Phillies, Topps still didn't have a picture of Ryan in his new team's uniform. He's shown here in a Red Sox jersey in a shot taken at Yankee Stadium, and I think it's similar to the photo used for his 1968 Topps card. The back of the card mentions his ability to handle a pitching staff and his trade from the Red Sox following their pennant-winning season. Topps' prediction that Ryan would share time with Clay Dalrymple (#151) in 1969 wasn't accurate, as Dalrymple was dealt to the Orioles in January. Back-up catching duties fell to Dave Watkins, who made 33 starts.
Accuracy Index: Ryan is the third -8 in a row due to his appearing in a Red Sox jersey (-5) and being hatless (-3).
1969 Season
As mentioned above, this was Ryan's career year and he appeared in a career-high 133 games as the Phillies' regular catcher. Ryan batted just .204 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs, but received praise from manager Bob Skinner for his handling of the pitching staff.
Ryan was traded by the Red Sox to the Phillies with cash on December 15, 1967 for Dick Ellsworth (#605) and Gene Oliver (#247). He split catching duties with Dalrymple in 1968 but assumed more work as the regular backstop in 1969. With the arrival of Tim McCarver (#475) in 1970, Ryan was once again relegated to back-up duties and he'd serve in that role through the 1973 season. On January 31, 1974, he was traded to the Pirates for Jackie Hernandez (#258).
Ryan was brought back to the Phillies organization in 1977, serving as the team's minor league catching instructor. Mid-way through the 1977 season, he filled in as manager of their Triple-A team in Oklahoma City. Ryan joined the big club in 1980 as their bullpen coach and he'd serve in that position for the next 15 seasons. One of the most popular coaches of that era, Ryan retired following the 1995 season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1965 Topps #573
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1965-1974, 1988
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1988 Topps #669
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 51 in the Beckett online database as of 12/28/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR
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