Last Wednesday just after 6 p.m., one tweet sent a Barrie family into elation as the Major League Baseball Draft Tracker sent out that the Philadelphia Phillies had selected New Mexico Junior College first basemen Ryan Rijo – or as we know him, the Barrie Baycats hometown boy.
Twenty-year-old Rijo was sitting at home playing video games hoping to take his mind off of the draft and if his name would be called. His mom was at work despite being anxious herself about the draft and Rijo’s grandpa was also at home just being calm about it all.
“I got a call from my adviser who told me to watch Twitter for next 30 seconds,” said Rijo. “It was like a dream, I couldn’t believe it. I had been confident about what I had done and all that was needed to put myself in a position to be drafted, but to see it was just a great feeling of relief. My grandpa is kind of a cool, collected guy so he was just upstairs chilling but was happy to hear the news; mom was over the moon and said she was leaving work to come home which was funny because she had been so excited leading up to it.”
Rijo’s grandpa Rafael had been his hitting coach for many years and even came down to his college in New Mexico to help out when he could. Family is important to Rijo as is evident to anyone who watches the games as no one is as big a fan of the Baycats number 32 then mom Sheri Wellington.
“My mom has always been there as a fan and supporter and yeah she can get a little loud,” said Rijo. “It's awesome though because she actually convinced me to stay in baseball when I was younger and wanted to leave it because I wanted to try hockey; she saw that I was pretty good at playing ball and was having fun with it.”
Rijo lived in Innisfil from the age of one to five and played in the system there until moving to Barrie and spending his ball-playing and development years in the local school system and the Barrie Minor Baseball Association. Sports is full of stories of the players who almost didn’t make it and Rijo is not different as he recalls being cut from a team early on and playing house that year instead of rep. It was all motivation for him as Rijo would go on to be a star for his St. Joseph’s Jaguars ball team where they were a force at OFSAA as well as him playing baseball with the Ontario Blue Jays. His tenure at NMJC has been good to him and while being drafted by the Phillies, the slugger now has an option as well to go to Texas’ Abilene Christian University.
“We do have a lot to look at it as a family and will take the next few days to do so,” said Rijo. “If we officially sign with the Phillies, I would likely be playing pro ball within the month and be assigned to Clearwater. I also am committed to Abilene University but they just changed coaches and have given me the option to opt out if I feel the need to. But the Phillies are such an amazing organization and I have been a fan for a while so there are lots to think about.”
Rijo also has a connection to the Phillies as one of their starters is Nick Pivetta, a pitcher who played with the Baycats player in New Mexico before heading to MLB himself. Rijo also cites former Phillies fan favourite Ryan Howard as a hitter he has enjoyed watching over the years as well as respecting all the young talent that is currently on the roster there.
Rijo will now continue his playing with the Baycats who play again at home on Thursday June 14 at 7:30 p.m. as they host their rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Rijo loves playing for his hometown team and enjoys the success they have had over the years; he also in typical Ryan Rijo fashion credits everything and everyone around him for the life he’s having and the fun he has playing the game.
“Playing and winning with the Baycats has been so amazing and something I’ll never forget. But just like my teammates and coaches said over the years and currently, it’s really about how happy and tight-knit we all are,” said Rijo. “All the coaches I’ve had who invested in me to make me better, my mom and dad who believed in me enough to keep at me to stay in ball to all the teammates who picked me up when I was down and even there to keep me grounded when things got really good; that’s what I will take with me in whatever decision I make. I could talk all day about my teammates and what they mean to me as well as this game; this is the best and most unpredictable game in the world and I love it.
Heading into Thursday’s game Baycats president David Mills is thrilled, as is the club, on the news of Rijo being drafted and spoke of his work ethic on making it happen.
“The Baycats’ organization is thrilled for Ryan after being drafted by the Phillies,” said Mills. “We know he has worked extremely hard to make this happen and it has been a dream come true.”
While talk of the Phillies and MLB and getting to The Show are the buzz words for Rijo right now, mom Wellington is a bit more nostalgic and the self-admitted Baseball Mom is reflective of how it all started and also how when she sees her 6’3 foot tall and 275 lb son, she sees not baseball but the man who plays it.
“My parents and I were just talking about how this all started with him swinging a crutch and hitting a roll up sock,” said Wellington. “All the travelling to the ball parks in small farm communities and big tournaments around the province was worth it no matter what happened because we watched him grow and have fun. Ryan has said to me before how many people just see him as the guy who plays baseball, but that’s not how I see him; I see him as a respectful, happy and polite young man who would give you the shirt off his back. We as a family are so proud of the man he has become.”
