Rays sign Ryan Shealy to minor league deal

Posted on December 18, 2009

Ryan Shealy poses for a portrait before a Chicago White Sox vs Colorado Rockies spring training game at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, AZ on March 15, 2006. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

I know what you are thinking. Who cares? Who is Ryan Shealy? Let me tell you. He is a 30-year-old former big-time prospect of the Colorado Rockies who just signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. He will be invited to spring training in a few months to try and revive a career that has seen him accumulate only 591 career plate appearances with the Rockies and Royals. He is also a nice guy.

I will always be a fan of Shealy and root for him because of a few minutes we spent together during spring training four years ago. I was assigned to shoot a portrait of Shealy before a Rockies game at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona for the Sports Illustrated baseball preview issue. I am not a big portrait guy but with the expert help of great friend and amazing assistant Bob Binder I was able to get some good stuff of Ryan early in the morning. He was a quiet dude who was HUGE. He had tremendous size and looked like a can’t-miss prospect as a big right-handed bat who would do well at Coors Field.

Unfortunately, Shealy never got off the ground in Colorado and was sent to Kansas City later in 2006 where he never got much playing time. I had forgotten about Shealy until I saw this morning’s headline about him going to Tampa Bay. Because Shealy was nice enough to give me some time in Tucson and pose for me I will always root for him. I always root for the nice guys- unfortunately sometimes being nice doesn’t translate into a great career. Good luck Ryan!