By Bill Burt bburt@eagletribune.com
Our 2015 Eagle-Tribune/Andover Townsman Sportsman of the Year, Ryan Hanigan, has made a career of being under the radar.
Heck, as a high school junior at Andover High he was beat out on the Eagle-Tribune All-Star Baseball team by Robbie Oppenheim, now a pro golfer.
Boston College offered him a scholarship, then waffled, forcing him to attend Division 2 Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. Even at Rollins, he had to work his way into a starting role, sharing duties as a freshman while playing in only half of the games.
He eventually put himself on the map as an All-American catcher his sophomore (.354, 52 RBI) and junior seasons (.384, 48 RBI). He was finally offered a “temp” for the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, turning that into a full-time position with another big summer (.292 average) and being named the league’s top catcher.
Offers started rolling in and he signed a free agent contract with the Cincinnati Reds.
And, for the most part, he’s been a backup or a co-starter, over his nine-year major league career, having played more than 100 games in a season only once.
But 2015 was special. After seven years in Cincinnati and another in Tampa Bay, an off-season trade to San Diego turned into a life-changing trade a few weeks later. Boston Homecoming, Hanigan was coming home!
He understood the importance of returning to Fenway Park, where he watched a few dozen games as a fan, and later playing in a high school all-star game. And he understood the meaning of his return even more after receiving a phone call from the face of the franchise.
“Dustin (Pedroia) called, welcoming me,” said Hanigan. “That meant a lot. It really hit me. I was on the Boston Red Sox.”