Ryan Gallagher Had a lot of proving wrong to do growing up. (Photo Courtesy: Nathan Minese).
The toughest part about trying to go far with a baseball career is getting noticed when getting thrown into competition with players that are just as good as you or even better. That is what happened to Dean College senior catcher Ryan Gallagher.
Dean College’s Gallagher, a catcher, has been playing baseball ever since he was five years old. He credits his love for baseball to Johnny Damon when he played for the Boston Red Sox in the World Series in 2004. Gallagher started playing Tee-ball and then worked his way up through peewee, minors and majors in little league, the Babe Ruth League and high school.
Gallagher had a lot of challenges as a young player as he was cut at both the 9U and 10U local travel team. He did not make an all-star team until he was 11 years old, and even then, it was the second team of the 11U level. It was not until 12U when he made the first team, which he considers a true first team all-star team. He also played travel baseball, where he was also on the second team all the way until 17U, when he made first team and played with two guys that wound up going to play college baseball at the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University.
“I always have had the ‘dog mentality’ where everyone has overlooked me, so I just have to keep working harder,” Gallagher said. “At that age, all my friends were still playing baseball, so I did not want to be the one left out sitting home in the summer when all my friends are going all over the state to play baseball. I also love baseball and I cannot live without it,” Gallagher continued.
Gallagher did not always play as a catcher when playing baseball growing up. He started as both a catcher and relief pitcher at 12U and would switch positions when he played double headers. He also played as a utility man playing positions like third base and right field.
When Gallagher had to decide where he was going to play baseball in college, Dean was a no brainer to him. “I thought Dean had a great program and Coach Ernie May talked up about how we would make this a great program. I think we have turned it around from where it had been my freshman year.”
While Gallagher has played different positions besides catcher, he has always caught in travel baseball, and it was always his favorite position. “I like being in the action of the game every second. You get lots of bruises and bumps but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t want to play any other position at Dean.” Even though Gallagher admits that squatting for an entire game in extreme heat is uncomfortable, he still enjoys the reward. “It is uncomfortable squatting as a catcher. People will look at you and say you are psycho for doing that, but I have that psycho mentality.”
Gallagher experienced seeing his baseball season at Dean get cancelled and cut short the past two years, and he was devastated in the middle of last season when, while playing video games in his room, he was told by a friend to check his email about the early end to the season. “It hurt a lot and I was heartbroken. It was two years in a row where I had seen me and so many of my friends put in so much hard work and hours to get it stripped away yet again. It was like a punch straight to the gut. I called my mom first and then went to one of my teammate’s rooms, and we sat there in complete shock. It just shows you can’t take any second for granted, and it feels like it was just last week where I finished my freshman year and now looking ahead to my sophomore year. You have to enjoy every moment, and even if you don’t want to practice as hard you still have to because the season could get canceled again and you never know.”
Looking ahead to this season, Gallagher likes what he is seeing and is really excited to get started. “I think we look good. We look lined up to start strong March 2. Between our defense, pitching and hitting, we are looking like we have a legitimate shot at winning the championship. I don’t think there is one GNAC team that can stop us from getting there. I think this will finally be our year where we can be right up there with Anna Maria, Johnson and Wales and St Joseph’s of Maine.”
Gallagher explained that the team goal for this season is to win the conference championship but also take everything one day at a time. On a personal level, Gallagher still has a team-first mindset. “I just want to help the team win in any way I can. It would be nice to get all-conference team, but I would rather be remembered for helping Dean win a conference championship.”
Gallagher would describe his style of play as a contact hitter at the plate who may not be able hit a home run but can be counted on to get a single or double to get a runner across home plate for an RBI. He also sees himself behind the plate with a strong arm to throw runners out on the bases.
Gallagher went on to mention that the team’s strength this season is their offense, as he believes they will have one of the top lineups in the GNAC by far. While he also said that he could not think of a team weakness off the top of his head, he did acknowledge that there is always room for improvement for himself and his teammates.
Gallagher was flattered to find out that senior team captain Josh Cerettani mentioned him specifically as a player that continues to give 100% as someone that the younger players can look up to even if he has not been named as a team captain. “Shout out to Josh Cerretani. I want to be the vocal leader and motivate the team anyway I can. Other guys like Matt Troy and Kyle Obst are also big voices on this team that are not captains that the younger kids look up to as well,” Gallagher explained. “I don’t take the word captain to another world, and I don’t think anyone puts themselves above others as we are all one team and will meet each other at the middle of the bridge.”
Comments