TOLEDO, Ohio — Ryan Lavarnway is the definition of a journeyman. He’s been playing professional baseball for 15 seasons and has been part of 13 different organizations.
His resume includes a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox and a trip to the Olympics with Team Israel. The last two offseasons he worked a desk job, but the game of baseball just keeps calling him back.
"Every day is different," said Lavarnway. "No game has been the same. Every at-bat is a new challenge, every day that you come to the field, yesterday's gone. You can't rest in your success, you can't fall into your failure. You have to go out there and do it all over again."
Here’s the list of major league franchises that he’s been part of:
Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers.
Here’s the list of minor league franchise he’s been part of:
Lowell Spinners, Greenville Drive, Salem Red Sox, Portland Sea Dogs, Peoria Javelinas, Pawtucket Red Sox, Bravos de Margarita (Venezuelan Winter League), Gulf Coast League Red Sox, Gwinnett Braves, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Nashville Sounds, Indianapolis Indians, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Louisville Bats, Columbus Clippers and Toledo Mud Hens.
He couldn’t name all of those without some help from Google, but his passion for this game has never changed.
"I don't feel the grind anymore. I feel like it's an opportunity," said Lavarnway. "This is such a privilege and I'm so grateful to get the opportunity to keep playing baseball that I can't imagine choosing to do something else."