Ryan Hanigan

Ryan Michael Hanigan

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
• School Rollins College
• High School Andover (MA) High School
• Debut September 9, 2007
• Final Game October 1, 2017
• Born August 16, 1980 in Washington, DC USA

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Biographical Information

Catcher Ryan Hanigan was signed by scout John Brickley for the Cincinnati Reds in 2002 as an undrafted free agent. He made his pro debut that summer, appearing in 6 games for the Dayton Dragons. He hit .277 with the Dragons the next year, was a Midwest League All-Star, and appeared in 1 game for the AAA Louisville Bats. With the Potomac Cannons in 2004, he hit .296 with 5 home runs and 56 RBIs in 119 games.

Hanigan spent the entire 2005 campaign with the AA Chattanooga Lookouts, hitting .321 and putting up an 11-game and a 12-game hitting streak during the season. He split the next summer between AA Chattanooga and AAA Louisville, hitting .237 in 64 games between the two clubs. He began 2007 with the Lookouts and batted .299 in 60 games for them, earning a spot on the Southern League All-Star team. In late June, he was promoted to Louisville and hit .252 in 41 games for the Bats. In September, he was called up to the majors and on September 9th hit a double off Ben Sheets in his first big league at-bat. He also started behind the plate in two late-season contests for the Reds and went 3 for 10.

Hanigan had a career day for the Tampa Bay Rays against the New York Yankees on April 19, 2014. Batting 9th, he hit a solo homer off Ivan Nova in the 3rd, and repeated, this time with a man on, in the 4th. He later added another hit and a walk, finishing the day with 6 RBI as the Rays won, 16-1. In spite of his good start with the bat, however, he was not able to grab the starting job entirely away from veteran Jose Molina, who although possessed with an anemic bat by this point of his career, was still one of the best in the business at the defensive side of the game. The two thus shared playing time almost equally, with Ryan hitting .218 with 5 homers 34 RBIs in 84 games. The Rays were clearly disappointed and on December 17th, they sent Hanigan to the San Diego Padres in a blockbuster trade that also saw OF Wil Myers head to the west coast in return for a bevy of young players, and another veteran catcher, Rene Rivera, quietly coming off a very solid season. With the Padres, the catching job was Hanigan's to lose, as the team's other catcher, Yasmani Grandal had also been traded and his main competition was Tim Federowicz, who had never been a big league starter. The next day, however, the Padres acquired another catcher, Derek Norris, in a trade with the Oakland A's, bringing Ryan down one rung on the depth chart. In fact, he went right out of the Padres' plans, since on December 19th, he was traded again, this time to the Boston Red Sox in return for Will Middlebrooks.

He started the 2015 season as Boston's regular catcher, hitting .216 in 18 games in April. On May 1st, however, he broke a knuckle in his throwing hand, requiring surgery. Tommy Layne threw a pitch that hit the New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira on the wrist and then ricocheted off Ryan's hand. Both players were in pain, but only Hanigan had to leave the game. He was immediately placed on the disabled list. He returned with Boston in 2016, then played one final season with the Colorado Rockies in 2017.

Related Sites

• Ryan Hanigan on mlb.com