Ryan Spilborghs

Ryan Adam Spilborghs

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School University of California, Santa Barbara
• High School Santa Barbara High School
• Debut July 16, 2005
• Final Game September 5, 2011
• Born September 5, 1979 in Santa Barbara, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Ryan Spilborghs is an outfielder who played all of his major league career with the Colorado Rockies. He played all three outfield positions.

Spilborghs was born in Santa Barbara, CA, attended Santa Barbara High School where he was a hitting star, and went to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he slugged .616 in 2002 before being drafted in the 7th round of the 2002 amateur draft by the Rockies. He was signed by scout Billy Eppler and made his pro debut that summer. Spilborghs moved steadily up Colorado's organization, blossoming in 2005 when he hit .341 in half a season with the Double A Tulsa Drillers and .339 in half a season with the Triple A Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He then went 2 for 4 in his first game in the Show, on July 16th, which turned out to be his only major league game that season.

While Spilborghs played in the majors in each of 2006 and 2007, he also spent part of each season in the minors, hitting comfortably above .300 each time with Colorado Springs. He hit .299 with 11 homers in 264 at bats in 2007 and replaced the injured Willy Taveras as the Rockies' center fielder down the stretch as the team made a superhuman effort to claim the National League Wild Card. He was the starter in the Rockies' three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, but gave his spot back to Taveras in the NLCS. He was the Rockies' designated hitter in the first two games of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, but failed to get a hit in 10 at bats in the Series as the Rockies went down in four games. The Rockies could not use a designated hitter in the last two games, played at Coors Field, and Ryan was benched as a result.

Spilborghs continued as the Rockies' fourth outfielder over the following seasons. He played 89 games in 2008, hitting a solid .313 with 14 doubles and 6 homers. In 2009, he played 132 games, had a career-high 352 at-bats, but hit only .241/.310/.395. His 55 runs and 24 doubles were career bests. In the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, he went 2 for 9 with a double, playing in all 4 games. 2010 saw him back in the same role, with 134 games played, 341 at-bats, and a batting line of .279/.360/.437. However, he fell down significantly in 2011, his batting average lowered all the way to .210 in 200 at-bats. The Rockies declined to re-sign him after the season and he instead latched on to the Cleveland Indians on a minor league contract, where he faced a crowded field to obtain a spot as a back-up outfielder for 2012. He never made it back to the majors. Going to Japan, he hit just .234/.317/.308 for the Seibu Lions in 2013.

Spilborghs became an analyst for the Rockies television broadcast team in 2014. He also became an an assistant coach at Colorado School of Mines in 2020.

Related Sites

• Ryan Spilborghs on mlb.com