Ryan Fitzgerald
Note: This page is for 2020s infielder Ryan Fitzgerald; for others with the same name click here.
Ryan Patrick Fitzgerald
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 186 lb.
- School Creighton University
- High School Fenwick High School
- Debut May 16, 2025
- Born June 17, 1994 in Hinsdale, IL USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Infielder Ryan Fitzgerald was already 30 years old when he made his major league debut at second base for the Minnesota Twins against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 16, 2025. The Twins had an 11-game winning streak on the line in that game, but were without two star players, SS Carlos Correa and CF Byron Buxton, who had been involved in a violent outfield collision the night before and had both suffered a concussion. He entered the game in the 2nd inning after Willi Castro had to leave after fouling a ball off his knee in the 1st inning, and went 0 for 3 in a 3-0 win that extended the winning streak to 12 games.
He had been undrafted coming out of Creighton University and started his career in the independent American Association with the Gary SouthShore RailCats in 2017. He signed with the Boston Red Sox organization in 2018 and played for them until 2023, including parts of three seasons in AAA with the Worcester Red Sox. Following the 2023 season, he was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the minor league portion of the 2023 Rule V Draft and spent 2024 with the Omaha Storm Chasers, hitting .244 with 14 homers and 54 RBIs in 108 games. He moved over to the Twins organization in 2025 and was hitting .328 in 35 games for the St. Paul Saints when he got the call to the majors.
On September 9, 2025, he became the rare pitcher to hit a home run since the advent of the universal DH - other than Shohei Ohtani, of course. He did it while pitching mop-up relief for the Twins against the Los Angeles Angels in the 9th inning of a 12-2 loss and accounting for both of his team's runs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa had homered under similar circumstances in 2023, but the last true pitcher homer had come from Logan Webb at the tail end of the 2021 season, the last one in which National League pitchers had taken a regular turn at bat.
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