C’s Chat – 2023 Vancouver Canadians INF #22 Ryan McCarty – C's Plus Baseball

The latest C’s Chat is with 2023 Vancouver Canadians infielder Ryan McCarty.

The pride of Yardley, Pennsylvania signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays on July 26, 2022. McCarty put together an impressive body of work at Division III Penn State Abington beginning in 2018 by winning the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Rookie of the Year award. That was after slashing .427/.508/.653 with 23 extra-base hits, 47 runs batted in and 17 stole bases and winning five of nine decisions on the mound with a 3.92 earned run average.

In his sophomore campaign, McCarty continued to excel in the batter’s box and on the bump with a .956 on-base percentage and a record of 8-3 with a 4.17 ERA, earning him the NEAC Pitcher of the Year for 2019. He continued to put up impressive numbers throughout the COVID-shortended season of 2020 with a 1.052 OPS in 14 games. His OPS was even higher in 2021 at 1.294 but the 2022 campaign was out of this world. McCarty was on base over half of the time with a batting line of .529/.591/1.164 to give him a video game-like OPS of 1.755. He belted 22 home runs with 27 doubles and his sharp batting eye at the plate only led to 13 strikeouts against 36 walks. To put the cherry on top of his super season, McCarty slugged four home runs and drove in nine against Gallaudet University in his final regular season game on April 30. That earned McCarty a plethora of plaudits, including the ABCA/Rawlings Division III Position Player of the Year award and a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award as the best amateur baseball player in the United States.

McCarty played a total of 162 games in his five-year career with the Nittany Lions, the same number of games in a single season of Major League Baseball. Imagine putting up stats like this for a full MLB season—a .437/.514/.785 batting line for a 1.299 OPS, 77 doubles, 11 triples, 42 homers, 258 RBI and 60 stolen bases. He was not too shabby as a pitcher either with a 21-12 mark and a 3.85 ERA over 203-1/3 innings, striking out 136 batters and walking only 34.

On the summer college circuit, McCarty continued his two-way play with the Alpharetta Aviators of the Sunbelt League in Georgia in 2018 and Staunton of the Valley Baseball League in 2019 and 2021. He saw time with two summer clubs in 2022 by playing for the Harwich Mariners and Morehead City Marlins of the Coast Plain League before joining the Blue Jays organization.

With the Dunedin Blue Jays, McCarty got his first professional hit out of the way in his pro debut against Tampa on August 10 and his first home run also came against the Tarpons on August 12. He also delivered a 10th-inning walk-off single against Jupiter as part of a 3-for-5 performance at the plate on August 17.

In the playoffs, McCarty contributed a .429 batting average by getting three hits and scoring the first run in Dunedin’s Game 3 semi-final series victory at Fort Myers on September 17. That helped Dunedin reach the Florida State League final against St. Lucie.

The 2023 season saw McCarty rejoin the D-Jays and after beginning the year with a three-game hitting streak with four hits in 10 at-bats, he encountered his first prolonged slump by batting just .167. He rebounded in May with a .296 batting average and a .500 slugging percentage before tapping into more power in June with a .275 AVG and .575 SLG. McCarty had a stretch of four multi-hit games that included three home runs over back-to-back games against Bradenton with one homer on June 10 and two dingers on June 11.

A five-game hitting streak and hits in six of his final seven games with Dunedin in July that boosted his OPS to .788 led to a promotion to Vancouver for McCarty on July 17. He joined the club in Spokane and recorded a double in his first Northwest League at-bat on July 18. That was the start of three consecutive two-hit games. McCarty also had a three-game hit streak against Everett at Nat Bailey Stadium from July 26-29. His first home run as a member of Monty’s Mounties came at Hillsboro on August 5 as part of a two-hit night.

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C’s Plus Baseball spoke with the 24-year-old McCarty during the Canadians homestand against Everett in late July. This interview has been edited for clarity.

C’s Plus Baseball – Let’s talk about you getting picked up by the Blue Jays, a free agent signing out of Penn State Abington. How did that all come about?

Ryan McCarty – Yeah, that was that was quite a crazy process. I remember how stressful it was those couple of days, you know, everything you’ve worked for. I started when I was about four or five years old. So it had been about 17 years, 18 years of my life just doing it. And so I was very lucky enough to be around a lot of the right people at the time with the help of Coach (David) Miller at Abington, Coach (Josh) Copskey at Abington, (Jeff) Manto, (Joe) DiMento. All these guys were coaches I had in college that really helped me progress my game. And of course, all the teams growing up as well through high school, it all helped, you know, coming along the way. And then I was able to get in contact with Chris Colabello and I met his agent. That’s how I met my agent too now. And without that guidance, I don’t know where I would have been. It was just a great understanding and as stressful as it was, it helps calm that sort of process. And then I ended up getting picked up by the Blue Jays. It was like a bunch of calls between me and my agent reaching out to somebody in the front office or a scout. He was just helping me information-wise, giving me updates constantly.

CPB – Who was it that got ahold of you?

RM – My scout for the Blue Jays was Tom Burns. I was able to have phone calls with him towards the end of my college year. And then throughout the summer, we had called a couple times. Awesome guy, a really nice guy. A couple of other guys, Conor Larkin and Matt Svanson. He was their scout as well and everybody just has great things to say about Tom, he’s awesome.

CPB – I’m sure you got to like the fact you got a lot of Pennsylvania connections here on this year’s team.

RM – Absolutely. It’s unbelievable. You know, we always make jokes about it. And now Jeff Wehler just joined us too. Me and Turc (Michael Turconi) so we got the PA boys up here in Vancouver, quite a ways from home but it’s pretty awesome being out here with them.

CPB – You’re from Yardley, Pennsylvania. Is that where you began your baseball career? Take us through the teams you played for before getting to Penn State, Abington.

RM – Yeah, wow. I played for Morrisville Little League. And then I went to middle school at Charles Boehm. That was my first year on the big field and that was quite a jump. I remember me and my dad always talked like,’ Yeah, try not to get down on yourself.’ Because I was definitely below average for my size a lot of the time so no home runs in Little League. I had zero juice and then you’re going to a bigger field so it’s like, even less juice now. So I was like, ‘Don’t get too down on yourself. If you’re not enjoying it, it’s fine. Just help me through the process for what’s possible, easing my mind as a player.’ I just kind of stuck with it. I remember in seventh grade, I didn’t get to play that spring. I didn’t make that team. But me and (my Dad) just hit still every day just for fun. And then I finally got to play in eighth-grade year. And then after that, I ended up going to Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey for a little bit. It was a private high school there. I think it really helped grow my faith in Christ and it kind of helped me very much off the field, which in baseball and maybe every sport, is just always more important. But with baseball being so mental, you know, off the field is super important. So that helped me a lot. I spent my first freshman and sophomore year there. I took my junior and senior year at Pennsbury High School with Joe Pesci (Editor’s Note – not the actor). I finally got to play varsity ball there. It was my first two years on varsity ball. And there were some AAU travel teams in there as well where my dad coached. We didn’t have a coach, so he’s like, ‘I’ll do it. I’ll step in.’ One of the most recent ones that I was on towards the end of high school was the Blue Rocks. That was out of Reading, Pennsylvania. So then after high school, I committed about right before my senior year to Penn State Abington. So there was a lot of help from my legion coach there as well, too. And I think he first got me in contact with the one coach there. And then from there, I talked to those coaches myself at Abington. And Pesci had a huge deal with that, too.

CPB – So a five-year stint with Penn State Abington, with COVID factored in the mix as well, but it all leads to 2022 and you had a season for the ages. What was the key to your success that year?

RM – I think a lot of things happened to come together there in order to make that happen. Just a lot of things aligned really well. And I was very blessed that year. I think I worked a lot on myself mentally off the field. What kept me most sane off the field? I picked up a couple new hobbies. I started playing guitar, so I could sort of separate myself from the game. So definitely the mental approach was really a huge key there. And I spent a lot of the season working on mechanical things, hitting-wise, sort of adjusting my mechanics to something different, actually. I found something that I wanted to buy into. It’s all about launch quickness and it helped me shorten my swing while also being able to play with high exit (velocity) on liners and in the air. So I put those two together really well, and I think it just happened to click for m, and I just let that happen.

CPB – I guess the Player Development Complex (in Dunedin) probably showed you some tricks of the trade when it comes to your mechanics. How beneficial was that to have that state-of-the-art complex for you?

RM – At first it actually is a little overwhelming but in all good ways it is overwhelming. So it’s sort of things you got to break down for yourself, and that’s where all those coaches come in handy who are at the complex. They’re explaining what each part of that does, all different kinds of videos you can see, all different metrics of your body, doing what at certain points, and breaking it down. Once you start to get that assistance from these guys, that’s when it starts to benefit you in your favour, and it really helps your game in any way possible. Every inch of this game matters, especially at this point in my career. You’re playing every day, and trying to be… I mean, you’re already in the top 1%. How can you get that extra 0.5% better? We always talk about getting 1% better every day, so it’s all about being the best version of yourself.

CPB – So you start off with the Dunedin Blue Jays, and you joined the team in time for a terrific run all the way to the (Florida State League) final. Talk about what you remember from season one.

RM – It is a whole different ball game coming into pro ball. I think that amount of games is quite a shock to anybody, maybe. I mean, of course, you have college season and summer ball, but that’s still, if you’re lucky, half of what a pro season is. So the amount of things I’ve learned from all of the coaches so far, we went through a lot of work every single day and adjustments, and now more than ever, you really have to focus on that mental approach. I’ll be the first to say I’ve definitely let it eat me up a couple of days. It’s going to happen. You just have to find the quickest way to get out of that. So, I mean, the amount of baseball I’ve learned from a defensive standpoint to an offensive standpoint has been tremendous and I’m just looking to improve myself any way possible and just play some winning baseball.

CPB – You begin 2023 with Dunedin again. A bit of a tough start, but you really started heating up as the season went along. You talk about your mental game but do you find you’re getting more and more in tune with your swing and your game overall?

RM – Yeah, absolutely. So just finding out that’s where it comes into adjustments every day, like what drills are going to help you down the road, what type of mental visions will help you down the road. Sometimes, you know, maybe envisioning a home run isn’t the best thing to do because then you start to miss under the ball. It changes every day, of course, whatever my body’s telling me to do that day. You just got to believe in yourself every day, how good you are and how good you can be.

CPB – Speaking of homers, you had three homers in two games in Bradenton. What was going well for you in those two days?

RM – Yeah, I think confidence was high that day. It’s just like no matter what you do before the game, it’s just to prep you for the game. You got to sometimes certain days you’re going to take about only like three rounds (of batting practice) before a game because your body may need that rest. So I think it’s just knowing that and starting to learn about that side of the game too. I think it’s great we have these things called Catapults (Editor’s Note – players wear a vest that measures analytics related to pitching, swinging and throwing motions). But it’s all about listening to your body so what I was doing then and what I started to do throughout the season s kind of listening to my body. I used to always think it was hard work every single day, and it’s hard work, but how smart are you with your body too? Because if you just keep going with max effort, you’re going to run out of steam really fast. So during those days in Bradenton, I was just listening to what my body had to tell me before the game. I was just staying in with my approach, of course mentally, and just trying to hit the ball low and then let the ball play up on its own.

CPB – You get the call to Vancouver. How did you find out about it? I know (Dunedin manager) Donnie Murphy likes to sometimes play jokes on players before their call-up. Did that happen to you?

DM – He’s got good comedy, those guys down there, that’s for sure. It was actually during the time we had just a rough couple games coming back from the (All-Star) break, so we were all locked in on the next series already. We know those past three games. We were like, ‘Alright, that was not our best in Dunedin.’ So me and the guys were just like, ‘We’re coming out to kick ass this next series. So Donnie had called me into the room and had a serious face on, so I thought we were about to talk maybe some defensive things, trying to adjust. The last time we were in Bradenton, we had talked about certain things defensively. So I was like, ‘Alright, it’s going to be a talk about that.’ And he just came in and almost got right to the point with it. And I was just like, ‘Whoa!’ It was one of those things, real off guard, getting ready for the next series. He told me everything that was going on, and it was just super crazy. It was nice and hopefully it got the boys going for the next series, a little high spirits on that note.

CPB – So you joined the team in Spokane, two hits each in your first three games. Did you find it was a huge adjustment? I know you just go here but it seems like you’ve made a pretty nice adjustment so far to High-A ball here.

RM – Thank you. Yeah, of course, with every level going up now, there’s going to be a little increase in skill level and skill gap with pitchers and hitters. I think the thing is, people always say like, ‘Sometimes they could ease your mind mentally going up levels because pitchers start to have a little better command.’ So at each level, they’re going to be throwing hard, they’re going to be throwing gas all the time. But now there’s better control involved. So you know, it may help hitters a little bit sometimes. I’ve definitely seen better pitches and better splits with pitches. Maybe they’ll start throwing two off-speeds and a fastball rather than just a fastball and a slider, you know? So that adjustment, again, you got to play with confidence and you got to go out there with a plan. And if you have a plan, it makes failure a little bit more acceptable. If you go up there with a plan, you win with it or you lose with it. It helps your mind easily.

CPB – I know the mental approach is a big thing with you. In one story about you, there’s one analogy about how going to the batter’s box is like playing blackjack?

RM – I guess when somebody plays blackjack, you know, you got to have a plan. I’m happy to do counts like 1-0, like it’s at 16 or 17, but it was kind of an interesting analogy. I could totally see it. My take from it, I guess, would be like, when you have a 16 and the dealer has a 10, you’re supposed to hit on the 16. I would say that’s winning or winning and failing with your plan. And that way, you just take it as is. So, you know, sometimes you win and it’s awesome and you don’t expect it, but then sometimes you lose. You had a plan going into it. That’s how I would take it.

CPB – I just want to ask you about your work defensively. You played first, you played second, you played third. Are you comfortable with all of them? Do you have a preference?

RM – Yeah, growing up my whole life, I used to play second base actually, and then shortstop in college. But I know that in my role as a free agent, I want to be the best version of myself and the best version of myself would be getting to be giving myself an opportunity anywhere in the field, whatever the team needs me at the time. If they’re lacking outfielders, I’ve got to be ready to play outfield. And then here, if they need me to play first, second, third, I’m going to be ready to play all of them. I think that’s where the key in Dunedin came where I was learning a lot defensively. It was because of all the different positions that I had to play there and it’s going to be going the same way forward in my career, I’m sure. So I just got to be able to be the best utility (player) I can be and help the team win as much as possible.

CPB – With Vancouver, you’re joining a team that’s got a playoff spot clinched. What are your early thoughts about playing here in Canada so far?

RM – It’s been an absolute electric experience so far. The crowds, I mean, I’ve never played with a crowd. I think some of these D-1 (Division I) guys that go to playoffs may get to experience that. But we’re at Abington, we’re at a public park, so this is all brand new to me. All the facilities, all of it, and it’s just made this time even more enjoyable and more appreciative of what I have right now. It’s kept me more in the moment. And yeah, hearing these fans here is the greatest experience I’ve had. I mean, all the guys talk about how it can really only get better if you’re in the big leagues maybe. So this is right under that, I guess, is what everybody’s alluding to. It’s like how incredible this city is and how beautiful it is too. But yeah, this has been absolutely amazing. Absolutely speechless too, honestly.

CPB – Final question, did you have a favourite major league team growing up or a favourite player?

RM – I grew up right outside of Philadelphia. So growing up, I was always a Phillies fan, just really a Philly fan for every sport in general because everybody that grows up there is pretty serious about sports as many outside fans would know. So growing up, it was always the Phillies. And may favourite player jumped around a little bit. I picked pieces from Chase Utley, he was a hard-nosed player. He always played the right way. And I really loved Andrew McCutchen as well because of who he was as a person and off the field. I knew more about him off the field than I did some of the Phillies guys because I always looked at YouTube and stuff like that. And I think he helped me go to Notre Dame as well. That’s where I wanted to grow my faith in Jesus and stuff like that. And of course, Bryce Harper too, but he was still like the high school kid on Sports Illustrated, man. I got to be like him. So it’s about those three right there.

Ryan McCarty File

Born – April 22, 1999 in Yardley, Pennsylvania
Height/Weight – 5-foot-9, 182 pounds
Bats/Throws – Right/Right
Uniform Numbers – Wore number 22 with Penn State Abbington from 2018-2022. Wore number 11 with Dunedin in 2022 and number 22 at Dunedin in 2023.
Twitter – @Ryan_McCarty22
Instagram – @ryan_mccarty22
Walkup Music – “Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crūe.
Fun Fact – McCarty is the first Canadians player to go with “Kickstart Start My Heart” as his walkup music since Chaz Frank used it in 2013.