Ryan Luzinski

Ryan Michael Luzinski

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6'1" Weight 215 lbs.
• High School Holy Cross High School

• Born August 22, 1973 in Medford, NJ USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

The son of former big league slugger Greg Luzinski and nephew of Richard Luzinski, catcher Ryan Luzinski was the first pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1992 amateur draft, taken 32nd overall as compensation for the loss of Eddie Murray. Luzinski had hit .310 and slugged .517 for Team USA when they won Bronze in the 1991 World Junior Championship; he split catching duties with A.J. Hinch. He had hit .478 as a high school senior, with 33 RBI in 69 AB. He signed for a $500,000 bonus. Assigned to the Great Falls Dodgers that year, he hit .251/~.317/.400. He split the 1993 season between the Yakima Bears (.257/~.367/.376) and Bakersfield Dodgers (.279/~.338/.422).

In 1994, Ryan hit .261/.325/.412 for the Vero Beach Dodgers, continuing to post relatively mediocre numbers in the minors. '95 marked an improvement at Vero Beach (.336/~.378/.537) and a move to AA, where he split catching duties for the San Antonio Missions with Paul Lo Duca. Luzinski hit .229/~.291/.285 only for San Antonio. Ryan did not play much in 1996 and put up a line of .291/~.360/.350 in San Antonio (32 games, backing up Henry Blanco) and going 2 for 14 for the Albuquerque Dukes.

1997 saw Luzinski move to the Baltimore Orioles system. He was 2 for 3 for the Frederick Keys, hit .284/~.363/.519 with the Bowie Baysox and put up a .208/~.313/.328 line with the Rochester Red Wings. In 1998, the 24/25-year-old went 0 for 12 for Rochester and hit .240/~.300/.343 for Bowie, serving as the primary backstop among four they used. His last year was split between the Chattanooga Lookouts (.246/~.333/.339) and the Mobile BayBears (.371/~.480/.532) and a composite .279/~.378/.391 season.

Sources: 1992-2000 Baseball Almanacs, 1995 Baseball Guide