WORCESTER—The last couple of weeks have been big ones for the citizens of Chicago and its surrounding cities and towns.
First, one of their own gets elected Pope. Next, Ryan Fitzgerald, born in suburban Hinsdale, gets called up to the major leagues by the Minnesota Twins.
It took both a while to reach those destinations.
Only one is directly connected to here, though. Fitzgerald spent parts of three seasons with the Worcester Red Sox and remains the team’s most popular player ever. He is among the franchise leaders in many categories, joining Nick Sogard near the top of most WooSox offensive lists.
Fitzgerald’s first major league game was last Friday night in Milwaukee. He played again on Monday as a pinch runner.
“I don’t know if it feels like it’s even happened yet,” Fitzgerald said in a phone call shortly after he found out he was being optioned back to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. “It happened so quickly, and I knew with how the injuries were (with the Twins) that it would be a short stint.
“I never expected it, not at my age, not being on the 40-man roster. A lot had to happen and a lot did happen for better or for worse. Fortunately I was able to get into a game.”
As prescribed in baseball tradition, Fitzgerald swung at the first big-league pitch he saw.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I waited nine years to get my hack. If it had been a 50-footer into the dirt, I think I would have swung anyway.”
The result was a foul ball.
Fitzgerald made his debut as a replacement for Willi Castro, who fouled a ball off his knee in the first inning. Fitzgerald wound up with an 0 for 3 log that included a pair of long fly balls. Monday, he pinch ran in the bottom of the ninth and scored the walk-off winning run on Kody Clemens’ double.
It gave the Twins a 6-5 victory over Cleveland.
The debut came with Fitzgerald merely a month shy of his 31st birthday and came as a complete surprise, even though he was having a great season at St. Paul with a batting average well above .300.
He got the call to the majors with the Saints playing in Des Moines. Fitzgerald could not get a flight to Milwaukee where the Twins were playing the Brewers so made the six-hour drive along with his girlfriend and their dog.
It was easier for his immediate family, especially his parents, Tom and Linda. They live a couple of hours from Milwaukee depending on traffic.
“It was just as much their moment as mine,” Fitzgerald said. “They have been with me every step of the way. They deserved it as much as me.”
One of the first people he contacted was WooSox manager Chad Tracy. His response was, “I hope this is because you’re getting called up. You can’t be looking for a job, not with a batting average way up over .300.”
Tracy added, “I’m really happy for him, especially because of all he’s meant to the WooSox and even beyond that, all he’s meant to the city of Worcester.”
This is Fitzgerald’s second season removed from Polar Park and he has played for several other pro teams in his career. This city, though, is at the top of the list.
“I’ve told this to a lot of people,” he said, “that it would have been something out of a storybook to get called up from there, and it is still my favorite place to have played. The Dominican Republic was great, too, because of the intensity there, but it’s a different sort of thing.
“Worcester takes the cake. It has a great ballpark, it has great fans, it’s a great city. It has it all; definitely the best place I’ve played in my career.”
Fitzgerald played in Omaha last season where one of his favorite teammates was current WooSox third baseman Nate Eaton. He was ready to play this year in Mexico City, then the Twins called. When he was assigned to St. Paul, it was a homecoming of sorts.
His pro debut came in St. Paul in 2017 when he was playing for Gary, Ind. of the American Association. The Saints had a team in that league before moving up to Affiliated Baseball in 2021.
Fitzgerald is the most recent of several WooSox players to reach the majors after long hauls in the minor leagues. Cam Booser was older than Fitzgerald when he got his first callup. Last year, both Mickey Gasper and Jamie Westbrook made their debuts in their late 20s.
“Those guys are a little special,” Tracy said. “They’ve made it through the grind of the minor leagues, probably thinking that they’ll never get that phone call. I hope that somewhere along the way, when they were here, I might have being able to do something — even just a little — to help them make it.”
Fitzgerald has achieved his ultimate goal and has no idea what comes next. This is professional baseball, after all, and almost nothing happens as hoped or planned.
He is certain of one thing — his career is far from over.
“I don’t have kids,” he said, “and I don’t have a wife. My girlfriend is really supportive, so I think I’ll just keep playing until they tear the shirt off my back.”
If it’s a major league shirt, then that’s the perfect ending.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
