Ed Riley

Edward Anthony Riley

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.
• High School St. Peter-Marian High School

• Born February 10, 1970

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Ed Riley was a pitcher in the minor leagues who later became a coach and manager in the Independent Leagues.

He was the Massachusetts High School Player of the Year in 1988, winning 33 consecutive games while pitching for St. Peter-Marian High School in the Worcester, MA metropolitan area. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 6th round of the 1988 amateur draft, one round after John Valentin and one pick before Blas Minor. He began his career that same year with the AZL Red Sox/Mariners, going 1-4 with a save and a 4.16 ERA but walking 34 in 44 1/3 innings. In 1989, Riley played for the Elmira Pioneers, for whom he was 4-6, 3.13 as a starter. He walked 50 and struck out 102 in 92 innings. He tied Robert Blumberg for third in the New York-Penn League in strikeouts He also got to make one start in AA that year, but not surprisingly was hit hard. 1990 found him with the Winter Haven Red Sox of the Florida State League, where he was 4-9, 3.11 (both his strikeout and walk rates fell - 106 and 64 respectively in 159 innings), and in 1991 he went 8-10, 3.53 for the Lynchburg Red Sox. In game 3 of the Carolina League finals, he got the nod needing a win over the Kinston Indians to avoid elimination. He battled Shawn Bryant in a pitcher's duel which was 1-0 entering the 9th, Riley having allowed just one hit. Things unraveled in the 9th, though, as Miguel Flores singled with one out and Paulino Tena singled with two outs. Tracy Sanders hit into a run-scoring miscue by Lynchburg. After an intentional walk, reliever Tony Mosley forced in the losing run with a hit batsman.

In 1992, he was the Eastern League All-Star left-handed pitcher (Bobby Jones was the right-hander) with the New Britain Red Sox when he went 10-8, 2.45. He was third in the EL in ERA after Jones and John O'Donoghue, just ahead of Sterling Hitchcock. After Jones, the next four ERA leaders were all southpaws. He got his first taste of AAA ball with the Pawtucket Red Sox that same year. He split 1993 between New Britain and Pawtucket, going 8-10, 4.22 overall, then in 1994 he was 2-4, 4.62 as a reliever for New Britain. In his final year in organized baseball in 1995, he had no record but a 2.76 ERA in 16 games for the AA Trenton Thunder. In 1996, having failed to reach the big leagues, he signed with the Albany Diamond Dogs of the Northeast League and dominated the circuit with a record of 11-1, 1.78. He won Pitcher of the Year honors, leading in wins and finishing .06 shy of ERA leader Jerry Hasler. In 1997, he went 7-1 for the same team and in 1998 pitched with the Nashua Pride in the Atlantic League, leading the circuit with 13 wins. He only lost four and had a 2.89 ERA, third in the loop behind Mark Zappelli and Steve Renko III. He lost All-Star LHP honors to Bo Magee. He remained with Nashua for 1999 (1-3, 7.06) and 2000 (12-8, 4.20). He tied Bubba Hardwick for third in the league in wins behind John Roper and Al Sontag in his last season as a full-time player.

Riley then rejoined the Red Sox in 2001 as an assistant to pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and hitting coach Rick Down, helping with batting practice and videotaping. He also operated his own baseball school, and later became pitching coach for the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am Association under manager Rich Gedman. In 2005, he was reactivated for a time and pitched 9 games for Worcester, going 3-3, 6.06. Overall, his career record was 84-72, 3.47, with over half the wins coming in the independent leagues (47-20). He took over as manager of the Tornadoes in 2011.

Notable Achievements

• 1996 Pitcher of the Year Northeast League Albany Diamond Dogs

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2011	Worcester Tornadoes	Can-Am Association	48-44	5th	Independent Leagues
2012	Worcester Tornadoes	Can-Am Association			Independent Leagues

Related Sites

• Biography from the Worcester Tornadoes