(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
When the Rollins College baseball team hosted the Cincinnati Reds for a spring training exhibition in 2001, no one could have anticipated that one of the Tars would some day be living the big-league dream as a key member of the Reds.
But fast-forward ahead eight years and sure enough in 2009 former Rollins standout Ryan Hanigan is making a huge impact behind the plate for the resurgent Reds.
Hanigan’s road to the majors wasn’t typical or easy, but now that he has arrived, the 28-year old doesn’t seem interested in leaving anytime soon.
After a standout career at Andover High School in Andover, Massachusetts, Hanigan traveled 1,300 miles to attend college at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.
A Division II school of 1,700 students known as a favorite destination for college students from New England looking to attend school in a warmer climate, Rollins has a long baseball tradition dating back to 1954 when they became the smallest school ever to compete in the Division I College World Series.
Though recognized primarily for cultivating baseball executives–including current or former major league general managers Jim Bowden, Dan O’Dowd and Dan O’Brien–Rollins has produced a number of former major leaguers including 1979 AL co-Rookie of the Year John Castino and former New York Yankee Clay Bellinger.
Ironically, while Hanigan has earned distinction at the professional level for his great play behind the plate, most of his time at Rollins was spent playing other positions.
When he joined the Tars in 2000, the team already had an All-American caliber catcher in Kevin Davidson. Davidson went on to be selected by the Houston Astros in the 2002 amateur draft and advanced as high as Triple-A during his career.
Even as a freshman, Hanigan was too talented as a hitter to be held out of the lineup and earned playing time at multiple other positions including the outfield, first base and third base.
By his sophomore season, Hanigan had become the leading run producer on the Rollins squad and the starting leftfielder. He hit .354 with 13 doubles, two home runs and 54 RBI. Displaying the same plate protection he now shows at the major league level, Hanigan walked 23 times while striking out only 16 times.
It was during this season that Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Larkin, and the Cincinnati Reds made a preseason stop at Harper-Shepherd Field in Winter Park for an exhibition game with the Tars.
Even though the Reds brought only a handful of the players who were on their major league roster at the time, the game actually ended up including several players who would eventually become big leaguers.
In addition to Griffey, Larkin, and Deion Sanders, the Reds’ lineup for the game also included Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, Rob Bell, Raul Gonzalez, and Jim Brower.
Hanigan batted third for the Tars and went 1-4 while seeing action at both rightfield and leftfield. Cincinnati won the contest by the final score of 3-1.
During the 2002 season, the Tars posted a 41-16 record and reached the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in nine years. Hanigan was a major factor in the
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