Ryan Lavarnway
Encyclopedia
Ryan Cole Lavarnway is an American professional baseball
catcher
with the Boston Red Sox
of Major League Baseball
.
He attended Yale University
, where in 2007 he won the NCAA batting title by hitting .467, and led the NCAA with an .873 slugging percentage. That year, Lavarnway also set the Ivy League
record with a 25-game hitting streak
. In addition, he is the Ivy League all-time career home run leader, with 33.
Lavarnway was drafted by the Red Sox in 2008. In 2009, he set all-time team records in double
s (36) and home run
s (21) for the Greenville Drive
, while leading all Red Sox minor leaguers with a .540 slugging percentage. In 2010, he was named the Red Sox co-Minor League Offensive Player of the Year, after leading the Carolina League
in home runs and leading all Red Sox minor leaguers in RBIs (102) and slugging percentage (.489), while coming in second among Red Sox minor leaguers in home runs (22). By the 2011 All Star break, he was leading all players in the Red Sox organization (including major leaguers) in home runs, with 30.
He was called up to the major leagues by the Red Sox on August 18, 2011.
, where he played outfield
for the "Conquistadors" baseball team.
, where he was a philosophy major and played baseball for the Yale Bulldogs
in the Ivy League
. In 2006, he primarily played right field, and earned Ivy Player and Rookie of the Week honors on March 21.
In 2007 he moved from right field to catcher. Lavarnway led the NCAA in batting average
(.467) and slugging percentage (.873), while setting Yale single-season records in those categories as well as in home runs (14), hit
s (70), doubles (17), RBIs (55), and total bases
(131). He also had an Ivy-League-record 25-game hitting streak. He won the G.H. Walker, Jr. Award as Most Valuable Player. In addition, he was named Second-Team All-American by PingBaseball.com, Third-Team All-American by Baseball America
, First-Team All-American by Jewish Sports Review
, and Second-Team All-New England and Second-Team All-Northeast, while unanimously being elected First-Team All-Ivy.
Lavarnway played for the Manchester Silkworms
in the New England Collegiate Baseball League
in the summer of 2007, where he batted .313 and was honored as a starter on the league All Star team.
In his junior year in 2008, Lavarnway led the Ivy League in home runs (13), RBIs (42), walk
s (29), slugging percentage (.824), and on-base percentage (.541), while batting .398. He missed the last 11 games of the year after breaking his wrist diving into home plate
. He became the Ivy League's all-time leader in career home runs, with 33.
Lavarnway won the Ivy League Player of the Week award three times in the first season's first four weeks (March 11, March 26, and April 1). He was a semi-finalist for the Johnny Bench Award
and the Golden Spikes Award
, was named Third-Team All-American by PingBaseball.com, and was named Second-Team All-Ivy and First Team All-New England. He finished his three-year-career with a .384 batting average, 33 home runs, and 122 RBIs in 120 games.
. He signed for a $325,000 signing bonus
, though he vows to study the extra year he needs to complete his degree. He had been projected to be drafted higher, before he broke his left wrist in April 2008.
In 2009, he played for the Greenville Drive
for the year, in the Class A South Atlantic League
. Lavarnway hit 21 home runs (a team all-time record) with a .540 slugging percentage (both tops for Red Sox minor leaguers) and 36 doubles (a team record), a league-leading 59 extra-base hits, and 87 RBIs (2nd in the league) in 404 at bat
s.
Lavarnway split 2010 between the Salem Red Sox of the Class A+ Carolina League
, and the Portland Sea Dogs
of the Class AA Eastern League, combining for 22 home runs (2nd among Red Sox minor leaguers; his 14 homers in his Carolina League stint led the league), 102 RBIs (first in the Red Sox system, and 11th among all minor leaguers), and a .489 slugging percentage (tops among Red Sox minor leaguers) in 462 at bats. He was a Carolina League Player of the Week (April 19), Mid-Season All Star, and Post-Season All Star, as well as an Eastern League Player of the Week (August 30). For 2010, he was named the Red Sox co-Minor League Offensive Player of the Year, along with first baseman Anthony Rizzo
. He also threw out 33% of attempted base-stealers, and was rated as the top Red Sox catching prospect by Baseball America.
He also played for the Peoria Javelinas
in the Arizona Fall League
after the regular season ended, and was an "AFL Rising Star" in November.
Lavarnway started the 2011 season by splitting it between Portland and the Pawtucket Red Sox
in the Class AAA International League
, for whom he batted third in the lineup. With Portland, he hit 14 home runs with a .510 slugging percentage in 208 at bats, and with Pawtucket he hit 16 home runs with a .608 slugging percentage in 209 at bats. That was good for a combined total in mid-August of 30 home runs (tied for third-most in the minors), 85 RBIs, and a .559 slugging percentage in 478 at bats. By the All Star break, he was leading all players in the Red Sox organization, including major leaguers, in home runs.
He was also voted the International League Player of the Week on July 25, and received Topps Minor League Player of the Month honors for July. Baseball America named him the best power prospect in the International League. Defensively, his "pop times" on his throws from home-to-second-base were consistently 1.95–1.97 seconds, which corresponded to the major league average, and through mid-August he had made only one error behind the plate.
Pawtucket hitting coach Chili Davis
said of Lavarnway: "The discipline he shows up there [at bat] is big-league discipline. The kid can hit." Manager Arnie Beyeler
observed: "The way he's hit the ball, it looks like he's playing tee-ball out there." Former major leaguer Ken Ryan
compared him to Mike Lieberthal
, whose offensive ability was far ahead of his catching ability when he first made it to the major leagues, but who over time established himself as a defensive catcher as well. Baseball America named him the catcher on its 2011 Minor League All-Star Team, noting that he "stands well above the field".
, who went on the disabled list
. Since Lavarnway was born, the only other Yale alumni to have played in the majors have been pitchers Ron Darling (1983–95) and Craig Breslow (2005–present).
On August 19, he collected his first career hit, a single off Kansas City Royals' pitcher Jeff Francis
.
On September 27, with both Jason Varitek
and Jarrod Saltalamacchia
injured, Lavarnway started for the Red Sox and hit his first two major league home runs with 4 RBI in a key 8-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Lavarnway became the first Red Sox player to homer in his first start at catcher since Danny Sheaffer
in 1987, and the youngest to have a multi-home run game since Nomar Garciaparra
did it at precisely the same age (24 years, 51 days) in 1997.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
He attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where in 2007 he won the NCAA batting title by hitting .467, and led the NCAA with an .873 slugging percentage. That year, Lavarnway also set the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
record with a 25-game hitting streak
Hitting streak
In baseball, a hitting streak refers to the number of consecutive official games in which a player gets at least one base hit.According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is ended when a player has at least 1 plate appearance and no hits...
. In addition, he is the Ivy League all-time career home run leader, with 33.
Lavarnway was drafted by the Red Sox in 2008. In 2009, he set all-time team records in double
Double
Double or The Double may refer to:* Multiplication by 2* Look-alike* Body double, someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character* Doppelgänger, ghostly double of a living person* Polish Enigma doubles...
s (36) and home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s (21) for the Greenville Drive
Greenville Drive
The Greenville Drive is a minor league baseball team that plays in Greenville, South Carolina. They are a Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and a member of the South Atlantic League. Prior to the 2005 SAL season, the team played in Columbia, South Carolina, was affiliated with the New York...
, while leading all Red Sox minor leaguers with a .540 slugging percentage. In 2010, he was named the Red Sox co-Minor League Offensive Player of the Year, after leading the Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
in home runs and leading all Red Sox minor leaguers in RBIs (102) and slugging percentage (.489), while coming in second among Red Sox minor leaguers in home runs (22). By the 2011 All Star break, he was leading all players in the Red Sox organization (including major leaguers) in home runs, with 30.
He was called up to the major leagues by the Red Sox on August 18, 2011.
Early life
Lavarnway, who is Jewish, grew up in Woodland Hills, California. He attended El Camino Real High SchoolEl Camino Real High School
El Camino Real Charter High School is a public secondary school located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California...
, where he played outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
for the "Conquistadors" baseball team.
College career
Lavarnway attended Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he was a philosophy major and played baseball for the Yale Bulldogs
Yale Bulldogs
The Yale Bulldogs are the athletic teams of the Yale University. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in men's swimming and diving, and twenty one in men's golf.-Men's baseball:...
in the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
. In 2006, he primarily played right field, and earned Ivy Player and Rookie of the Week honors on March 21.
In 2007 he moved from right field to catcher. Lavarnway led the NCAA in batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
(.467) and slugging percentage (.873), while setting Yale single-season records in those categories as well as in home runs (14), hit
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
s (70), doubles (17), RBIs (55), and total bases
Total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....
(131). He also had an Ivy-League-record 25-game hitting streak. He won the G.H. Walker, Jr. Award as Most Valuable Player. In addition, he was named Second-Team All-American by PingBaseball.com, Third-Team All-American by Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
, First-Team All-American by Jewish Sports Review
Jewish Sports Review
Jewish Sports Review is a bi-monthly magazine that was established in 1997. Its editors are Ephraim Moxson and Shel Wallman.The magazine identifies which star and professional athletes are Jewish...
, and Second-Team All-New England and Second-Team All-Northeast, while unanimously being elected First-Team All-Ivy.
Lavarnway played for the Manchester Silkworms
Manchester Silkworms
The Manchester Silkworms were a collegiate summer baseball team located in Manchester, Connecticut playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a wood bat collegiate summer baseball league operating in the northeastern United States region of New England. The team, an expansion franchise...
in the New England Collegiate Baseball League
New England Collegiate Baseball League
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a 12-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 42-game schedule during June and July, with a playoff in early August...
in the summer of 2007, where he batted .313 and was honored as a starter on the league All Star team.
In his junior year in 2008, Lavarnway led the Ivy League in home runs (13), RBIs (42), walk
WALK
WALK may refer to:*WALK , a radio station licensed to East Patchogue, New York, United States*WALK-FM, a radio station licensed to Patchogue, New York, United States...
s (29), slugging percentage (.824), and on-base percentage (.541), while batting .398. He missed the last 11 games of the year after breaking his wrist diving into home plate
Home Plate
Home Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
. He became the Ivy League's all-time leader in career home runs, with 33.
Lavarnway won the Ivy League Player of the Week award three times in the first season's first four weeks (March 11, March 26, and April 1). He was a semi-finalist for the Johnny Bench Award
Johnny Bench Award
The Johnny Bench Award was created in 2000 by to honor college baseball's top catcher. The award is the brain child of Wichitan Mike Gehrer who has coached and administrated in the Wichita area at the high school level for many years. He was a college catcher himself and is one of the most forward...
and the Golden Spikes Award
Golden Spikes Award
The Golden Spikes Award is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player. It is awarded by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Though the award can be presented to any amateur player, it has always been given to a college baseball player.-Past...
, was named Third-Team All-American by PingBaseball.com, and was named Second-Team All-Ivy and First Team All-New England. He finished his three-year-career with a .384 batting average, 33 home runs, and 122 RBIs in 120 games.
Minor league career
Lavarnway was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 6th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft2008 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008.-First round selections:* Did not sign...
. He signed for a $325,000 signing bonus
Signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee, e.g., if the annual salary is lower than he or she desires...
, though he vows to study the extra year he needs to complete his degree. He had been projected to be drafted higher, before he broke his left wrist in April 2008.
In 2009, he played for the Greenville Drive
Greenville Drive
The Greenville Drive is a minor league baseball team that plays in Greenville, South Carolina. They are a Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and a member of the South Atlantic League. Prior to the 2005 SAL season, the team played in Columbia, South Carolina, was affiliated with the New York...
for the year, in the Class A South Atlantic League
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League is a minor league baseball league based chiefly in the Southeastern United States, with the exception of three teams in the Mid-Atlantic States...
. Lavarnway hit 21 home runs (a team all-time record) with a .540 slugging percentage (both tops for Red Sox minor leaguers) and 36 doubles (a team record), a league-leading 59 extra-base hits, and 87 RBIs (2nd in the league) in 404 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s.
Lavarnway split 2010 between the Salem Red Sox of the Class A+ Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
, and the Portland Sea Dogs
Portland Sea Dogs
The Portland Sea Dogs are the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Established in 1994 and based in Portland, Maine, the Sea Dogs play in the Northern Division of the Eastern League....
of the Class AA Eastern League, combining for 22 home runs (2nd among Red Sox minor leaguers; his 14 homers in his Carolina League stint led the league), 102 RBIs (first in the Red Sox system, and 11th among all minor leaguers), and a .489 slugging percentage (tops among Red Sox minor leaguers) in 462 at bats. He was a Carolina League Player of the Week (April 19), Mid-Season All Star, and Post-Season All Star, as well as an Eastern League Player of the Week (August 30). For 2010, he was named the Red Sox co-Minor League Offensive Player of the Year, along with first baseman Anthony Rizzo
Anthony Rizzo (baseball)
Anthony Rizzo is an American professional baseball first baseman for the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball...
. He also threw out 33% of attempted base-stealers, and was rated as the top Red Sox catching prospect by Baseball America.
He also played for the Peoria Javelinas
Peoria Javelinas
The Peoria Javelinas, established in 1992, are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is a spring training site for both the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners.For...
in the Arizona Fall League
Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League is an off-season league owned and operated by Major League Baseball which operates during the fall in Arizona, United States at five spring training complexes...
after the regular season ended, and was an "AFL Rising Star" in November.
Lavarnway started the 2011 season by splitting it between Portland and the Pawtucket Red Sox
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox are the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox and belong to the International League...
in the Class AAA International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
, for whom he batted third in the lineup. With Portland, he hit 14 home runs with a .510 slugging percentage in 208 at bats, and with Pawtucket he hit 16 home runs with a .608 slugging percentage in 209 at bats. That was good for a combined total in mid-August of 30 home runs (tied for third-most in the minors), 85 RBIs, and a .559 slugging percentage in 478 at bats. By the All Star break, he was leading all players in the Red Sox organization, including major leaguers, in home runs.
He was also voted the International League Player of the Week on July 25, and received Topps Minor League Player of the Month honors for July. Baseball America named him the best power prospect in the International League. Defensively, his "pop times" on his throws from home-to-second-base were consistently 1.95–1.97 seconds, which corresponded to the major league average, and through mid-August he had made only one error behind the plate.
Pawtucket hitting coach Chili Davis
Chili Davis
Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis is the hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics. Davis is a former outfielder/designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants , California Angels , Minnesota Twins , Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees...
said of Lavarnway: "The discipline he shows up there [at bat] is big-league discipline. The kid can hit." Manager Arnie Beyeler
Arnie Beyeler
Arnold H. Beyeler is an American minor league baseball manager. In , Beyeler will manage the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League, top-level affiliate of the Boston Red Sox...
observed: "The way he's hit the ball, it looks like he's playing tee-ball out there." Former major leaguer Ken Ryan
Ken Ryan
Kenneth Frederick Ryan, Jr. , is a retired professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1992-1999. He is currently working for NESN as a baseball analyst....
compared him to Mike Lieberthal
Mike Lieberthal
Michael Scott "Mike" Lieberthal , nicknamed Lieby, is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He batted and threw right-handed....
, whose offensive ability was far ahead of his catching ability when he first made it to the major leagues, but who over time established himself as a defensive catcher as well. Baseball America named him the catcher on its 2011 Minor League All-Star Team, noting that he "stands well above the field".
Boston Red Sox (2011–present)
On August 18, 2011, Lavarnway was called up to the Red Sox. He filled the roster spot of Kevin YoukilisKevin Youkilis
Kevin Edmund Youkilis , also known as "Youk" , is an American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball...
, who went on the disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
. Since Lavarnway was born, the only other Yale alumni to have played in the majors have been pitchers Ron Darling (1983–95) and Craig Breslow (2005–present).
On August 19, he collected his first career hit, a single off Kansas City Royals' pitcher Jeff Francis
Jeff Francis
Jeffrey William Francis is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.-Early life:...
.
On September 27, with both Jason Varitek
Jason Varitek
Jason Andrew Varitek is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. After being traded as a minor league prospect by the Seattle Mariners, Varitek has played his entire major league career for the Boston Red Sox...
and Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Jarrod Scott Saltalamacchia , nicknamed "Salty" is an American professional baseball catcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.His last name is the longest in Major League Baseball history...
injured, Lavarnway started for the Red Sox and hit his first two major league home runs with 4 RBI in a key 8-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Lavarnway became the first Red Sox player to homer in his first start at catcher since Danny Sheaffer
Danny Sheaffer
Danny Todd Sheaffer is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and third baseman, and is currently a minor league baseball coach within the Houston Astros organization. In 2009 and 2010, he is the minor league catching instructor...
in 1987, and the youngest to have a multi-home run game since Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...
did it at precisely the same age (24 years, 51 days) in 1997.