Ryan Spilborghs
| Ryan Spilborghs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Spilborghs with the Colorado Rockies | |||
| Outfielder | |||
|
Born: September 5, 1979 Santa Barbara, California | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| July 16, 2005, for the Colorado Rockies | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 5, 2011, for the Colorado Rockies | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .272 | ||
| Home runs | 42 | ||
| Runs batted in | 218 | ||
| Teams | |||
Ryan Adam Rene Jean Spilborghs (born September 5, 1979) is an American baseball broadcaster for Root Sports Rocky Mountain, and a former professional baseball outfielder.
Baseball career
College
He played college ball at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was all Big West Conference in 2001. He also played for the Madison Mallards during the summer of 2001.
Colorado Rockies
Spilborghs was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 7th round of the 2002 MLB Draft. Between 2002 and 2005, he played for the Tri-City Dust Devils, Asheville Tourists, Visalia Oaks, and Tulsa Drillers.
He made his Major League debut for the Rockies on July 16, 2005 against the Cincinnati Reds and recorded his first hit in that game, a single to right field off of Todd Coffey.[1] That was the only game he played in for the Rockies that year, spending the rest of the year in AAA with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, where he hit .338 in 68 games. He rejoined the Rockies in 2006 and hit his first home run on May 29 off of Jim Brower of the San Diego Padres.[2]
He began the 2007 season at Triple-A with the Sky Sox, after being beaten out for a roster spot by veteran Steve Finley. After Finley was released by the Rockies, Spilborghs returned to the team. In 2008, he made the team from spring training, serving as the fourth outfielder.
On August 24, 2009, in the 14th inning against the San Francisco Giants with the Rockies down 4-2, Spilborghs homered off pitcher Merkin Valdéz for the first walk-off grand slam in Rockies history.
On December 12, 2011, Spilborghs was non-tendered by the Rockies and became a free agent.[3]
Cleveland Indians
Spilborghs signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on January 20, 2012. He also received an invitation to spring training.[4] He failed to make the team and was assigned to the AAA Columbus Clippers,[5] where he hit .250 in 21 games.
Texas Rangers
On May 4, 2012, Spilborghs was traded to the Texas Rangers organization for cash considerations and played for the Triple-A Round Rock Express.[6] In 103 games with Round Rock, he hit .295.
Saitama Seibu Lions
On December 6, 2012 he agreed to a one-year contract with the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Japanese Pacific League.[7]
Broadcasting
On February 6, 2014, it was announced that Spilborghs had joined the Root Sports Rocky Mountain broadcasting team. He is an analyst for Rockies pregame and postgame shows, as well as for other programs on the network.[8]
Personal
Spilborghs is of mixed descent, as his father is Belgian, and his mother is Guatemalan. On July 20, 2009, Ryan's wife gave birth to their daughter and first child, Kiera. Her middle name, Esperanza, was chosen after his mother, who died during spring training earlier in the year.[9]
References
- ↑ July 16, 2005 Rockies vs. Reds box score
- ↑ May 29, 2006 Rockies vs. Padres box score
- ↑ Ryan Spilborghs a free agent, but could still return to Rockies
- ↑ Ryan Spilborghs agrees to minor-league deal with Indians
- ↑ Indians send Ryan Spilborghs to Triple-A, release Felix Pie
- ↑ Cleveland Indians trade OF Ryan Spilborghs to Texas Rangers
- ↑ Ryan Spilborghs signs with Seibu Lions
- ↑ Harding, Thomas (February 6, 2014). "Spilborghs joins Rockies' broadcast team". MLB.com. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
- ↑ When Essie Spells Hope
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)