Maine Native Flaherty Breaks Camp with Orioles
Published on April 9, 2012 under Cape Cod League (Cape Cod) News Release
During the summer of 2006, Ryan Flaherty impressed scouts and Cape League fans alike by hitting .250 with 18 RBIs and flashing some shortstop leather for the Hyannis Mets.
The rangy infielder has since beaten the odds by making the opening-day roster of the Baltimore Orioles, making his major league debut Saturday night as a 9th-inning defensive replacement for starting third baseman Mark Reynolds, another former Cape Leaguer who played for Y-D ('02) and Harwich ('03). Flaherty made a nice play to record the second out in an 8-2 win over the Twins.
What makes the 6-3, 210-pound Vanderbilt product's baseball odyssey so unusual is that he hails from the cold-weather state of Maine, not exactly a hotbed for positional players vying for major league jobs.
While the Pine Tree State has produced big league pitchers such as Charlie Furbush (Hyannis '05,'06), Tim Stauffer (Chatham '02), Bert Roberge (Y-D '75), Jim Beattie (Harwich '74), Stan Thomas (Yarmouth '69-'70), Bill Swift, Peter Ladd, Bob Stanley, John Cumberland, Danny Coombs and Carlton Willey, positional players have been few and far between.
You have to go way back to the early 1900s to the days of player-managers Rough Bill Carrigan (1906-'16), Harry Lord (1907-'15), Del Bissonette (1928-'33) and Clyde Sukeforth (1926-'45) to find an everyday performer who lasted for more than just a cup of coffee. Carrigan was Babe Ruth's first manager with the Red Sox and Sukeforth was the Dodgers' scout who signed Jackie Robinson.
Former Y-D ('86) and Oakland A's shortstop Mike Bordick grew up and played in Maine, but wasn't born there. Dick Scott, who played briefly for the A's, was born in Ellsworth.
"Flaherty is one of the few (recent) Mainers who've made it to the big leagues as a positional player." said veteran Portland Press Herald sports writer Tom Chard. "Ryan was a good all-around athlete in high school and played quarterback on Deering (High School)'s 2003 Class A state champions (13-0). He was a pocket passer and had a strong arm which the team utilized. His senior year, he played quarterback again. Deering made the playoffs, but had graduated most of its talent from the previous year.
"Obviously, Ryan was outstanding in baseball at Deering as a shortstop and hitter. He also did some relief pitching and threw in the high 80s. It's my sense he really made tremendous strides as a player at Vanderbilt (and) that opened the door for his pro career."
The 25-year-old Flaherty was selected by Baltimore as a Rule 5 Draft pick and had to make the Orioles' opening-day roster or be offered back to the Chicago Cubs.
Ryan was a first-round sandwich pick of the Cubs in the 2008 first-year draft, and batted .280 with 19 homers last year in AA and AAA. The left-handed-hitting Flaherty has baseball in his blood as the oldest son of long-time University of Southern Maine coach Ed Flaherty.
"Ryan was a kid who loved baseball from the time he was 2 and would sit and watch instructional videos I would have as a coach," said the elder Flaherty, a UMaine product who was an outstanding hitter in his own right. "I remember having an instructional tape narrated by Vin Scully on the 'Dodgers Way to Play Baseball.' At age 5 or 6, he would copy what the players would do and this love of baseball continued.
"He originally caught in Little League, then played any position where someone might be missing. Eventually he became a shortstop, (although he) had the knowledge how to play any position on the field. He'd always play with older kids and organize the games. He would do this every day, sometimes all day. I believe his ability to play the game came through this."
Ryan Flaherty batted .280 with 19 homers and 88 RBIs in the Cubs' farm system last year.
Family Fun Day
There will be a free Family Fun Day at the Cape League Hall of Fame & JFK Museums on Tuesday, April 17, from 1-3 p.m.
Military All-Stars to Invade Chatham
The touring U.S. Military All-Stars will play the Chatham Anglers at Veterans Field on June 11 at 6 p.m. This will be the last event in a week-long kickoff to celebrate Chatham's 300th Celebration. The Red Nun will host a cookout for players and will be selling tickets for the public to attend.
Sol Yas a R.I. Hall of Famer
Cape League Deputy Commissioner Sol Yas was recently inducted into the Rhode Island Men's Senior Baseball League Hall of Fame. Yas has been involved in the league since 1990 and last year received its Spirit of the Game Award and was on the league champion Red Sox team.
The RIMSBL was born in 1989 and is affiliated nationally with the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL). Currently, the RIMSBL has 34 teams playing in five age divisions. MSBL began in 1988 and now has 3,200 teams and 45,000 members.
"There really are no official statistics kept in the league, so I could inflate both my pitching and batting numbers, and no one would know the difference," said Yas. "But that's not what the league is all about. Suffice it to say that I've had a great time."
Cape League Pre-season Rosters Available
Cape Cod Baseball League pre-season rosters are available on the league's web site, www.capecodbaseball.org. Go to Teams, click onto that team's web site and go to Roster.
Next CCBL EXCOM Meeting
The next Cape League Executive Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2, at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center, beginning at 6 p.m.
Cape Cod League Stories from April 9, 2012
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
