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The Twins outfield appears set. In reality, it’s been set for about two years. Ryan LaMarre knew that when he signed. But after a conversation with Twins minor league director Jeremy Zoll, he felt that this was the right place for him to sign.
“I talked to Jeremy Zoll. He had some great things to say in terms of where he saw me fitting in, what he thought I could bring to the table. Obviously we’ve got Buck (Byron Buxton), Eddie (Rosario) and (Max) Kepler, so that’s pretty much set. Then Robbie (Grossman) and (Zack) Granite behind them, but behind them there wasn’t as much. So it was an opportunity to come in here and show what you can do.” LaMarre continued, “Also as you know, they use a lot of players throughout the year. There’s always going to be that opportunity. But I just really liked what he said about where I fit in, especially coming off of the injury I had last year, so it seemed like a good opportunity.”
Ryan LaMarre is not a star. The 29-year-old knows that. He understands that if he were to make the Twins roster, be it for Opening Day or later in the season, it will be as a backup. That’s just fine with him. By definition, Ryan LaMarre is a journeyman. He has played for three MLB clubs (and four organizations) in the last three years. In 2018, he joins his fifth organization, the Twins.
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LaMarre was the second-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds in 2010 out of the University of Michigan. He worked his way up the ladder. He never hit over .300, but he always showed a good approach at the plate and a little bit of pop. He also plays strong defense. In August of 2015, he finally received the call he’d be waiting for his whole life.
The story of his first big league call up is pretty entertaining. LaMarre explains:
“I was with Cincinnati. I was in AAA. We were in Gwinnett, the Braves AAA team. I was having a decent year, but they were losing a lot of games. I was hot for about the last three weeks leading up to the series. Billy Hamilton was injured. They ended up calling up someone else on the team.”
Lamarre was disappointed, but got a motivational chat from his manager, “I was pretty close to the manager. I had played for him for two or three years. He called me in and said ‘Don’t worry. Just keep playing hard. September’s right around the corner. I know they didn’t call you up right here, but just keep playing.’
LaMarre went out onto the field to stretch, and as he tells it, “Within an hour, he (the manager) came running out to the field and said, ‘You’re going up! It’s four o'clock. I don’t have time to explain. You’ve got to pack your bag. You’ve got to go. You have a six o'clock flight out of Atlanta.’”
Imagine the excitement of getting that news, but now needing to leave the AAA ballpark, pack up your belonging from the hotel and rush to the airport to catch a flight that is less than two hours away.
“It was rush hour. I packed my bag and grabbed a bat boy who drove me to the airport. I didn’t even get there until an hour after it left, So I missed my flight. I remember calling the guy from the Reds and I was like, if this is it, I’ll rent a car. I’ll be there by the 8th or 9th inning somehow. They said ‘No, no, no. Just take it easy. It was so last minute, we understand. We’ll just get you a flight tomorrow morning. If you miss that, don’t even bother showing up.’
A positive message, yet also pretty direct. LaMarre heard it, “So I stayed that night at the airport, and then I got on a flight the next day.”
It was an exciting time Ryan LaMarre and those close to him. “My family was super excited. My wife was my girlfriend at the time. She was very excited. They were all excited. They came into Cincinnati for the weekend. It was fun.”
LaMarre played in 21 games over the season’s final six weeks. He was used primarily as a defensive replacement and got just 25 at-bats.
Following the season, he was DFAd and signed a minor league free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox. In late June of 2016, he was called up and got five at-bats (no hits) in five games played. He actually played in one more game, on July 2nd. The Red Sox were losing 21-3 to the Angels, and LaMarre threw a scoreless ninth inning. He gave up two hits, but the final out of the inning came off the bat of Gregorio Petit who also remains on the Twins spring training roster.
Following the 2016 season, LaMarre was let go by the Red Sox and signed a minor league deal with the Angels. In late April, he was traded to Oakland. He was immediately called up to the A’s and played in three games (0-7) before being sent down. He remained in AAA until a mid-June injury cost him the rest of his season.
The Twins signed LaMarre in late November, 2017. He began to rehab last July and was cleared in October. About that same time, he was getting married to his wife Whitney who is a Minnesota native. Because of his injury and rehab, they spent the majority of their offseason in Florida, but he says he could see himself living in the Twin Cities.
He noted with a smile, “That wouldn’t be a bad place to play for awhile.”
It might be even more cool for his wife and her family for LaMarre to make the Twins roster in 2018. “It would be amazing. She obviously represents her family. Her parents are from Minneapolis. Her dad was down here and he got to meet Rod (Carew) and Tony (Oliva), and for him, those were the guys he looked up to as a kid. So it would be special. It’d be a fun time.”
LaMarre’s big league track record hasn’t been strong, but it’s also been a very small sample size. Paul Molitor was asked how he takes past history into account with spring success.
“You try to know these guys’ history, but you hear about swing changes and other things he’s been doing. He’s had a nice camp. He can play around the outfield. I think he plays the outfield well. He’s been taking good at-bats all spring. He’ll swing and miss some, but he’s got that opposite field power that we’ve seen more than once. He’s got a little bit of that hockey player mentality.”
Makes sense since LaMarre played hockey in his younger years. Another reason it makes sense for Ryan LaMarre to make the Twins roster in 2018, is to be part of the State of Hockey. And, with the hopes and expectations of the Twins and their fans for 2018, maybe he can help make it more of a State of Baseball again.
For LaMarre, he’s happy to be a part of this year’s Twins organization and sees it as a special place. “It’s been fun. It’s an awesome group of guys. The coaches are amazing. The manager. The hitting coach. Everyone’s pulling in the right direction. This is a good place to be right now.”
And on Thursday, Baltimore would be a great place for Ryan LaMarre to be for his first Opening Day. The odds were long six weeks ago (even two weeks ago), but it just might happen.
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