Ryan Garton

Ryan Garton is an example of a boy who grows up rooting for his hometown big-league team and dreaming of one day playing for it, and then, with the benefit of hard work, talent, and some good fortune, sees that dream come to fruition.

Ryan Patrick Garton was born on December 5, 1989, in Clearwater, Florida to parents Ed and Lori Garton. Ed Garton had played minor-league baseball for one year as a third baseman for the Little Falls Mets in the New York-Pennsylvania League. After Ed’s playing career was over, he continued in baseball as a Little League coach, and coached his own two sons. Lori had played field hockey. Ryan’s aunt, Flo Massero, Lori’s sister, was the women’s tennis and weightlifting coach at Ryan’s high school his freshman year.1 Flo had helped raise Ryan while his mother was working. Eddie, Ryan’s older brother, played baseball in high school.2 When Ryan was little, he always had to come along when his parents took Eddie to the ballpark.3 It came as no surprise that Ryan joined the rest of the family in participating in sports.

Ryan’s baseball playing began at the T-ball stage. As he grew, he became a Little League player. In those days, he was a catcher, though he played several other positions as well, including pitching. One year his team came close to capturing the local championship but was thwarted by a bungled play in the ninth inning. Later he played on numerous teams that took championships.

To aid in his baseball development, Ryan also played in American Athletic Union (AAU) baseball and travel ball. And then it was on to high school, where he began to make his mark.

At J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Florida, Ryan played soccer, football, and baseball. He made the varsity football team as a wide receiver. “I could take a hit,” he said, “but I didn’t particularly like hitting the other guy.”4 So baseball was his destiny, and he was on the Mitchell varsity team all four years. Under coach Phil Bell in his freshman year, he made the all-conference team as a third baseman and pitched as well.5 He was also honorable mention all-county.6 In his sophomore year, he became a steady starting pitcher under coach Scott Williams and pitched to a 3.36 ERA. The team had moved into a more competitive district and its won-lost record worsened. Garton’s batting average dropped off that year. Before his junior year of baseball, he suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder and had arthroscopic surgery. As a consequence, he started only one game that season. Nevertheless, Garton managed to play the infield and batted .289 with 9 doubles and 13 RBIs. In his senior year, a new coach, Scot Wilcox, succeeded Scott Williams. Wilcox was younger than Williams and seemed to mesh well with the players. The team came together well and had a winning season. Garton pitched to a sensational 1.55 ERA and set the stage for his advancement to the college level.7 He had a teammate, Patrick Schuster, who also eventually became a major-league pitcher. Ryan met up with Patrick again in the minor leagues and remained friends with him back home, joining him on outings in the offseason.8

An interview with a Mitchell High School teammate revealed some of Garton’s characteristics as a high-school player. Scott Lane, who had also been a pitcher, indicated that Ryan was probably the most competitive person he had ever encountered. No matter what the sport or game, Garton was always determined to win. If he noticed that a teammate was not giving his full effort, he would get on the player and insist that he do his best.9

In considering where he wanted to attend college, Garton had set his sights on a Division I school in Florida. He attended a college showcase where he met Brad Frick, the assistant baseball coach at Florida Atlantic University. Frick urged Ryan to attend a second showcase, hosted by FAU. There Garton met the FAU head coach, John “Mac” McCormick. By the end of the showcase, McCormick had indicated that a pitching slot would be available on the FAU baseball team for Garton.10 However, Garton still had thoughts of becoming a position player. McCormick said, “We liked him as a pitcher, not as a position player. He was good.” With some stubbornness, Garton became a walk-on as a position player without a baseball scholarship. “We kept telling him he has to pitch,” McCormick emphasized.11

Garton’s freshman year of baseball with FAU was a struggle. His record was 0-1 with a 6.95 ERA. He attributed it to the huge transition of being away from home and adjusting to college life. After that 2009 season, he played summer college ball with the Maryland Redbirds of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. The tug-of-war between position playing and pitching continued that summer. Coach Mac was in communication with the Redbirds and insisted that Garton be given more mound experience, and he did well at it.12 As a position player, Garton hit .273 (3-for-11). As a hurler, he went 2-2 with a 1.95 ERA and one save in 10 games, two as a starter.13 Back at FAU as a sophomore in 2010, he went 7-3 with a 4.87 ERA.14 By the end of the season, he had become the ace of the staff. How did he get to that level? Coach Mac explained: “He had an above-average breaking ball and a certain toughness. He had a good relationship with his pitching coach.”15 Clearly, Garton was learning and improving.

In the summer after his sophomore year, Garton played for the Columbia Blowfish of the collegiate Coastal Plain League. He was 0-2 with a 1.85 ERA in six games, all as a starter.16 Shortly before Garton’s junior season (2011) began, his aunt Flo died from a heart attack. This left him shaken and distracted. He was still the leading FAU hurler, but his record took a downturn to 5-4 with a 5.17 ERA.17

After that season, Garton pitched summer ball once again, this time with the Bethesda Big Train (named after Walter Johnson) of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. He was housed with his college roommate, Hugh Adams, and Hugh’s parents, Bruce Adams and Peggy Engel. Ryan credited Bruce and Peggy with putting him at ease and helping him to have a fine summer of baseball, restoring his prowess on the mound. His Big Train manager, Sal Colangelo, said Garton was blessed with a power arm and came in with great potential, but that his pitching wasn’t as polished as it could be. Garton worked with Big Train pitching coach Bill Sizemore, but Colangelo gave great credit to Garton himself.18 He pitched in five games, all as a starter, and posted a 1.90 ERA. He struck out 20 in 19 innings pitched while walking only five.19 Big Train team founder Bruce Adams remarked: “Ryan isn’t your prototype 6-foot-5, 230-pound major-league pitcher. He got there with grit and hard work.”20

The Big Train team was ranked number one in the nation among summer collegiate baseball teams by Perfect Game USA.21 Among Garton’s Big Train teammates were future major leaguers Hunter Renfroe and Matt Bowman. In discussing Ryan’s summer with Big Train, Coach Mac commented: “It was an important step and really good atmosphere for him. He was surrounded by good players. The more he was on the mound, the more confidence he gained as a pitcher.”22

In his senior year at FAU, Garton caught fire. He became the dominant ace of the staff and registered a 9-3 mark with a 3.09 ERA.23 He helped lead the Owls to the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title.24 He was named the league’s pitcher of the year.25

The three days of the major-league draft were agonizing for Garton. He had spent a lifetime working toward a career in baseball and began wondering, “What do I do if it doesn’t happen and I don’t get drafted?” When the phone call finally came after he was selected by his favorite team, Tampa Bay Rays, in the 34th round, it was a feeling of absolute relief. Garton was signed by scout Evan Brannon, another Florida Atlantic alumnus.26

Garton said at the time, “It’s still kind of crazy to me. For the past 22 years, it seemed like all I’ve done is play baseball for AAU or Little League or high school or college. Now I’m going to play baseball as a job. It’s crazy to think that, and it’s still sinking in a bit, but I can’t wait.” Of his selection by the Rays, he said, “I definitely wished upon it. I grew up watching the Rays and going to games and it’s always been my favorite team to watch. It’s a dream come true.”27 

Garton’s high-school coach Scot Wilcox commented on his selection by the Rays, “He deserves it. He had a live arm and worked harder than anyone else on the team.”28

Garton had been a starting pitcher throughout his high-school and college careers. As soon as he entered the Rays’ minor-league system, he was transformed into a reliever, because he was now facing a new level of competition and the Rays had an ample supply of starters. “As a 34th-round draft pick, I’m behind a lot of good arms,” he noted. “I came to realize that I was a roster filler.”29

Garton made the most of his opportunity. He started with the Hudson Valley Renegades in the Low Class-A New York-Pennsylvania League. His record that year was 4-0 with seven saves and a 2.00 ERA. He pitched in the playoffs that year, hurling 2⅓ innings with a 0.00 ERA. His team won the playoffs. His record earned him a promotion to the next level.

In 2013, Garton pitched for the Bowling Green Hot Rods in the Class-A Midwest League. He racked up another impressive record. This time it was 4-3 with eight saves and a 2.44 ERA.

In 2014 he was with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class-A Florida State League. Here he pitched to a 6-2 record with four saves and a 3.07 ERA.

In 2015, Garton joined the Montgomery Biscuits of the Triple-A Southern League, and was 6-1 with a 2.95 ERA. His strikeout rate increased, with 70 K’s in 61 innings pitched. There was no accident to this improvement. When he was at Charlotte, his velocity had dropped off into the high 80s. The Rays placed him in their arm-strength program. The program involved throwing weighted balls at varying distances. “That turned around my career,” he said.30 After he finished the program, his velocity was back in the 90s. He was promoted again for the following season, to the Durham Bulls of the Triple-A International League. His full-year record for the Bulls was 4-0 with two saves and a 3.09 ERA in 22 appearances. He struck out 39 batters in 32 innings pitched. In late May Garton got the call to the majors. He was in Toledo when he received the news from Durham manager Jared Sandberg. “It was crazy,” he said. “I was feeling well. And then it was a dream come true. I was just a guy that did my job.”31 His opportunity had come because Steve Pearce needed to go onto the disabled list and the Rays wanted another arm in an overtaxed bullpen.32 Garton joined the Rays on May 25 and made his major-league debut the following day, May 26.33 At Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg against the Miami Marlins, the Rays had fallen behind 5-1 over the first six innings, tossed by Drew Smyly. Garton’s debut was not stellar. He gave up six hits and three earned runs, but he hung on for two innings and could now identify as being a major leaguer. His family and friends rejoiced along with him. About 20 to 30 had attended the game and gathered afterward with Ryan to celebrate.34

Tyler Clippard, the first Mitchell High graduate to make the big leagues, posted on the Twitter page of Coach Scot Wilcox that he was happy to see that Garton had made it to the major leagues. Garton’s brother Eddie was Clippard’s classmate. (Garton and Clippard became major-league teammates in the Minnesota Twins’ training camp in 2020.)

For the remainder of 2016, Garton shuttled between the Rays and Durham. When he was called back to the Rays in September, it was his fourth stint of the year with them.35 His record with Tampa Bay for the year was 1-2 with one save and a 4.35 ERA in 37 appearances. He pitched in 39⅓ innings, which proved the season high for his major-league career.

The jitters of his debut on May 26 had left Garton with an ERA of 13.50. With resolve, he returned to the mound on May 30 against the Kansas City Royals, allowed no earned runs, and began to drive his ERA on a steadily downward path until it reached a season’s low of 2.53 on June 27 against the Boston Red Sox. The ERA blew up a bit once again on June 30 when he faced the Detroit Tigers, but he had it under reasonable control for the remainder of the season.

On June 14 Garton earned his one major-league win. The game was at Tropicana Field against Seattle. The Mariners led 5-4 after six innings. Dana Eveland started the seventh hurling for the Rays. The Mariners padded their lead in the top of the seventh. Robinson Canó and Nelson Cruz led off with singles. Kyle Seager walked, loading the bases. The Mariners got a run when first baseman Adam Lind hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Canó and advancing Cruz to third. Manager Kevin Cash brought in Garton to relieve Eveland. Seager stole second and Chris Iannetta walked, and the bases were loaded again. Nori Aoki grounded to shortstop and Cruz scored. (The run was charged to Eveland.) Ketel Marte’s groundout ended the inning. The Rays were behind 7-4.

In the bottom of the inning, Rays center fielder Desmond Jennings led off against Nick Vincent and flied out to right. Catcher Curt Casali singled to left. Second baseman Logan Forsythe struck out for the second out. The situation still didn’t look promising for the Rays. Shortstop Brad Miller walked, and with two runners on base, Evan Longoria drove a pitch from Vincent out of the park, tying the game. Mike Montgomery replaced Vincent on the mound and walked Logan Morrison and Steve Pearce. Corey Dickerson drove in a run with a single but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. The inning ended with the Rays leading 8-7.

From there on the bullpens traded scoreless innings and Garton had his first and only major-league win. He looks back at it with mixed emotions: “I was hard on myself. It had been my job to go in there and get a groundball double play, and that didn’t happen. When I got out of the inning, I wasn’t happy. But afterward it was cool. Longo bailed us out. I got a beer shower. It’s crazy what the game can do to you.”36

Two days later, Garton made the second longest appearance of his major-league career. Still facing Seattle, he pitched 2⅔ innings, striking out five batters. He gave up two hits, a single and a double. He had entered in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and one out. He struck out the first batter, Nelson Cruz. Dae-ho Lee doubled, driving in two inherited runners. Kyle Seager was given an intentional walk. Garton finished off the inning by striking out Chris Iannetta with the bases loaded. He had a little trouble in the fifth inning, committing a fielding error, but he induced a double play to end the inning. He yielded a single to Cano to start the sixth inning but knuckled down and retired three straight batters after that.

“Ryan Garton, closer.”37 That’s the way a Tampa reporter introduced his account of the game on July 4 when Garton recorded his only major-league save. Garton said that game remained the most memorable for him. He retains the game ball, lineup card, and jersey from it.38 It was on the Fourth of July holiday at Tropicana Field against the Los Angeles Angels. He entered the game with one out in the ninth, none on, and the Rays ahead 4-2. He walked Yunel Escobar but struck out Mike Trout looking for the second out. Albert Pujols smacked the ball hard and got a single, but it could have been worse. It hit third-base umpire Mike Estabrook. That prevented it from rolling down the left-field line and possibly driving in a run. The next batter, Chris Cron, popped up to first baseman Logan Morrison. The game was over, and the save was in the books.

Kevin Cash commented: “Hopefully, Ryan Garton has a smile ear to ear and doesn’t wipe it off all night.” Garton’s comment at the time: “I was super-excited I did my job. As long as we’re getting the win. That it happened to be a save, too, is awesome.”39 It was a great day, and he went out with his family afterward to celebrate in his hometown.40

On August 3 Garton set down six batters in a row at Tropicana Field against the Kansas City Royals. On August 12, he played a part in the closing of the noteworthy career of Álex Rodríguez. The game was at Yankee Stadium. A-Rod’s retirement had been announced a few days in advance and 46,500 fans turned out for the occasion. The star responded by hitting a double in the first inning. Ryan had been brought in to pitch the seventh and eighth innings for the Rays. When A-Rod came to bat, there were two out in the seventh and none on. The Rays trailed 6-3. “I didn’t know it was his last at-bat,” Garton said. “I threw a cutter and it hit the bottom of the barrel. If I had thrown a fastball, he would have hit it a mile.”41 The cutter led to a groundout from deep short in the final at-bat of A-Rod’s career.

For the first time in Garton’s career, he was placed on a major-league spring roster for 2017.42 Once the regular season began, however, it was another back-and-forth between the Rays and Durham. He started the season with Durham but was recalled by the Rays on April 22.43 He made only three appearances and was returned to Durham around May 2.44 He came back to the Rays around May 25,45 pitched on May 28, yielding three runs, and was returned to Durham the next day.46 He bounced back quickly to the Rays, pitched in three games, and it was back to Durham on approximately June 11.47 There was one notable game while he was with the Rays that season.

On June 2, Garton pitched in the longest outing of his career with the Rays – 3⅔ innings. Against the Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle, Jake Odorizzi had started the game for the Rays and had fallen behind 8-0. Garton entered the game in the third inning with one out and none on. He got two groundouts to end the inning. In the fourth, he hurled a one-two-three inning, and then pitched two more scoreless innings. In reflecting on the game, he commented: “You almost don’t want to be part of [that kind of blow-out game]. I had been struggling, which is probably why I was assigned that day. But I came to realize that I saved other pitchers on the team by doing what I did. After the game, Logan Morrison came up to me and said some things that made me feel better.”48

Then, on August 6, came a big surprise. The Rays traded Garton and Mike Marjama to the Mariners for two minor-league prospects and a player to be named later. He had no hint that this trade was coming, saying, “I was doing a good job, but just not at the right time. I thought of trades happening with the big players, so yes, I was surprised.”49 It meant picking up and relocating to a major-league city that couldn’t be any farther away from Florida than Seattle is. It also meant starting all over again in building the kinds of relationships he had established throughout the Rays’ system. But there was no choice other than to continue working hard and demonstrate that he could do the job.

With the Rays’ AAA team, Durham, Ryan had posted a 2-0 mark with four saves and a 1.64 ERA for the 2017 season. Garton reported to Seattle’s Triple-A team, the Tacoma Rainiers, in the Pacific Coast League. The PCL is known as a hitter’s haven and it’s usually tough on pitchers. That proved to be the case with Garton in 2017. He went 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in seven appearances with Tacoma. Nevertheless, when rosters expanded in September, he got the call to join the Mariners. He responded well, appearing in 13 games and pitching to a 1.54 ERA at the major-league level.

On September 21 Garton had a particularly fine outing for the Mariners. He hurled two innings and retired six straight batters. He had had an impressive September with the Mariners, but pitched in pain. Not long after the season ended, he underwent hip surgery. There was a period when he wasn’t throwing at all, and then he had to go through rehab. So instead of being back with the big-league club in 2018, he was returned to Tacoma, where he went 1-0 with four saves and a 3.16 ERA in 35 appearances.

Garton began 2019 as a nonroster invitee to the Mariners’ spring camp.50 It didn’t take him long to see that he was destined for another summer at Tacoma. About March 10, he was reassigned to minor-league camp.51 He was called back to the Mariners on May 17.52 He had outings on May 18 and 20 against the Twins and Rangers respectively, both of which proved to be difficult. The May 20 game turned out to be his final major-league game, and he finished the year with a 12.00 ERA for three innings pitched.

Garton had made 59 appearances in the big leagues using an arsenal consisting of a fastball, curve, and cutter. He completed the season at Tacoma.53 His record with the Rainiers for 2019 was 4-2 with one save and a 3.99 ERA. On October 8, the Mariners cut him loose and he was a free agent. On November 27, he signed with the Minnesota Twins.

Heading into 2020, Garton was facing a period of uncertainty. The country had begun to lock down because of the onset of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Soon the major-league baseball season was postponed, and there was no minor-league season at all. So the major-league teams would have a stock of available players to bring up if needed, a number of alternate training sites were established. 

Garton was a nonroster invitee to the Twins’ July training camp, which substituted for what otherwise would have been spring training. He was given a reasonable opportunity to make the big-league club, but he kept issuing too many walks.54 When the season began later in July, Garton was sent to the alternate training site. The Twins released him on September 4.

In 2021 Garton had pain in his right forearm, his pitching hand. He wasn’t sure that he could pitch adequately, but he was still practicing – and coaching – at the Heisler Heat Baseball Academy in Mobile, Alabama. In July an opportunity arose in the Mexican League with the Monclova club. A couple of their players were going to be away for two weeks to play in the Olympics, so some roster spots needed to be filled temporarily. This enabled Garton to test his arm at the Triple-A level. He pitched in nine innings over eight appearances and registered an ERA of 7.00. He satisfied himself that the arm problem was too severe and it was time to make the difficult decision to call it a career.55

It takes more than one player to spur a team to a championship, but it is worthwhile to note the number of Garton’s teams that earned pennants.

• His 2010 FAU team won the Sun Belt Conference championship.
• His 2011 Big Train team won the Ripken Collegiate League championship and was ranked number-one summer team in the nation.
• His 2012 FAU team again won the Sun Belt Conference championship.
• His 2012 Hudson Valley Renegades won the New York-Pennsylvania League playoff.
• His 2013 Bowling Green Hot Rods won the Eastern Division championship of the Midwest League.
• His 2015 Montgomery Biscuits won the second-half title for the Northern Division of the Southern League.
• His 2017 Durham Bulls won the South Division of the International League and the Triple-A championship.

Sal Colangelo, Garton’s Big Train coach, said of him, “He was a quiet, hard-working guy who was fun to be around.”56 John “Mac” McCormick, his FAU coach, said: “Ryan was extremely loyal to his teammates. He believes in himself, yet he is extremely grateful for everything he has gotten.”57

As of 2022, Garton lived in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife, Christina, a strength and conditioning coach at Ole Miss. He works at the Southern Performance Institute, where he gives pitching lessons to youngsters.58

What he had said about his experience in football has been true in his baseball career and life. He could take a hit, rise up, and get back into the game. Resilient, hard-working, and determined. That’s Ryan Garton.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retroshseet.org.

Photo credit: Ryan Garton, courtesy of the Seattle Mariners.

Notes

1 Frank Pastor, “Hudson Hires Massaro,” Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida), August 4, 2005: 4.

2 Author interview with Ryan Garton, December 7, 2021, hereafter Ryan Garton interview.

3 Author interview with Lori Garton, Ryan’s mother, December 12, 2021.

4 Ryan Garton interview.

5 Joey Knight, “Not First – But Best,” Tampa Tribune, May 4, 2005: 12.

6 “2005 Times Pasco All-County Baseball Team,” Tampa Bay Times, June 12, 2005: Pasco 4.

7 www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/mitchell-mustangs-(new-port-richey,fl)/baseball/previous_seasons.htm.

8 Ryan Garton interview. Schuster had one season in the major leagues, 2016, when he pitched for the Oakland Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies.

9 Author interview with Scott Lane (fishing boat captain), January 20, 2022.

10 Ryan Garton interview.

11 Author interview with John “Mac” McCormack, FAU baseball coach, December 10, 2021.

12 “Mac” McCormack interview.

13 Email to author on December 10, 2021, from Alex Thompson, independent director, Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League.

14 https://www.fausports.com/sports/baseball/stats; https://fausports.com/sports/baseball/stats/2010

15 “Mac” McCormack interview.

16 https://www.thebaseballcube.com/college/summer/stats.asp?Y=2010&T=Columbia_Blowfish.

17  https://fausports.com/sports/baseball/stats/2010.

18 Author interview with Sal Colangelo, Bethesda Big Train manager, December 11, 2021.

19 Author’s records as Big Train team historian.

20 Email from Bruce Adams, president and co-founder of Bethesda Big Train, to author on November 29, 2021.

21 Bethesda Big Train 2012 Souvenir Program: 3.

22 “Mac” McCormack interview.

23 https://fausports.com/sports/baseball/stats/2012.

24 Chad Bishop, “Hilltoppers Meet Owls in Round 1 Tonight,” Park City Daily News (Bowling Green, Kentucky), May 23, 2012: C1.

25 Chad Bishop, “Error Costs WKU in Tournament,” Park City Daily News, May 24, 2012: C3.

26 http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=150535&View=Awards.

27 Mike Camunas, “Baseball Dream Comes True,” Tampa Tribune, June 8, 2012: Pasco 6.

28 “Baseball Dream Comes True.”

29 Ryan Garton interview.

30 Mark Topkin, “Garton Poster Child for Unusual Program,” Tampa Bay Times, May 29, 2016: C8.

31 Ryan Garton interview.

32 Marc Topkin, “Slumping Rays Need Some Help,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 24, 2016: C4.

33 Roger Mooney, “Mitchell’s Garton Joins Hometown Club,” Tampa Bay Times, May 26, 2016: C4.

34 Lori Garton interview.

35 Marc Topkin, “Gamboa, Specialty Pitch Ready to Debut,” Tampa Bay Times, September 2, 2016: C4.

36 Ryan Garton interview.

37 Martin Fennelly, “When Your Commute to Work Is a Dream Come True,” Tampa Bay Times, July 5, 2016: 31.

38 Ryan Garton interview.

39 Fennelly, “When Your Commute to Work Is a Dream Come True.”

40 Ryan Garton interview. 

41 Ryan Garton interview.

42 Athlon Sports Baseball 2017: 83.

43 Roger Mooney, “Cedeno Looking at Long Absence,” Tampa Bay Times. April 23, 2017: C7.

44 “Slide Continues,” Palm Beach Post, May 2, 2017: C2.

45 Dick Scanlon, “Angels Fall Against Rays, Souza,” Palm Springs (California) Desert Sun, May 25, 2017: C6.

46 ‘DeLeon Bolsters Pen,” Tampa Bay Times, May 30, 2017: T22.

47 “Transactions,” Indianapolis Star, June 12, 2017: C7.

48 Ryan Garton interview.

49 Ryan Garton interview.

50 Who’s in Camp?,” Tacoma News Tribune, February 11, 2019: B3.

51 “King Felix Won’t Be Opening Day Starter,” Helena (Montana) Independent Record, March 11, 2019: B2.

52 “Perez Silences M’s to Join Two Twins with Six Wins,” Spokane Spokesman Review, May 18, 2019: B2.

53 “Transactions,” Salem (Oregon) Statesman Journal, May 22, 2019: B3.

54 Ryan Garton interview.

55 Ryan Garton interview.

56 Sal Colangelo interview.

57 “Mac” McCormack interview.

58 Ryan Garton interview.