In 2013, Oregon said farewell to one of the best hitters in program history, Ryon Healy. Now, three years later, Healy is an up-and-coming rookie for the Oakland A’s, the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2013 MLB Draft. Throughout in his short stint in the pros, Healy has already hit two home runs — his first was also his first major league hit, while the other was a walkoff against Tampa Bay. He also played in the MLB All-Start Futures Game on July 10.
Healy talked to the Emerald about his experience so far.
The Emerald: “You’ve only been in the bigs a couple weeks, but how has this experience been so far?”
Ryon Healy: “It’s been a blast. Kind of a constant learning experience, to be honest. Being a rookie, there’s a lot of things that you don’t know coming up where you have to rely on some of the more available veterans to help you. I’ve been really fortunate to be close with Josh Reddick for the last couple of years. When I got called up, he was nice enough to take me under his wing and show me the ropes and a lot of other guys have offered advice and helpful things that have made that transition a lot easier.”
E: “As you rose the ranks of the minor league teams, when did you realize that you could actually make it to the pros?”
R: “I don’t think that I really sat down and thought that it was close. Obviously, you dream and have hopes and you think, ‘Oh, it could happen this year,’ but you also have no idea. I would catch myself daydreaming sometimes and snap back to reality and say ‘You know what, focus on this right now; don’t worry about that.’ So when I got the call it made it that much more of a surprise. It made the experience that much more exciting because I wasn’t expecting it. So it was that much more rewarding in a sense.”
E: “Take me through that first day showing up to the ballpark in Oakland.”
R: “I just remember asking a ton of questions the night before I flew out from El Paso to some of the coaching staff and training staff there just for little pieces of advice to help me get through the introduction portion of it. Luckily I knew quite a few guys on the team already and the ones that I didn’t told me just make sure to show respect to the veterans, talk to them, introduce yourself. Put your bags down and go straight to [A’s manager] Bob Melvin’s office and have a conversation with him. Introduce yourself to the coaching staff, training staff, everyone. Once I got done with all that, then I had to go about my daily routine of getting myself ready for the ballgame. It was a lot to handle, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
E: “What was better: your first hit, or your walk-off against the Rays?”
R: “Oof, I think I have to go with the walk-off. I don’t think there’s any better feeling in the world than hitting a walk-off homerun.”
E: “You mentioned that Josh Reddick has taken you under his wing since you arrived in Oakland. Are there any other players who have lent any advice or is the dynamic different with others since you’re the new guy trying to take other guys spots? Basically, how have you been received since your arrival?”
R: “I can name pretty much everyone on that team who has had some kind of impact whether big or small so far. But everyone’s been great helping me with baseball scenarios, what pitchers might do to you, situational defensive schemes. Marcus [Semien] always shifts me. So everyone has been awesome with that, just making me feel comfortable with the game at this level.”
E: “Is there anybody that you’re really looking forward to facing? Do you have any games circled yet on your calendar?”
R: “No. To be honest, I haven’t really looked too far ahead. I’ve been pretty fortunate so far to have seen three of the best third basemen in the league with [Josh] Donaldson, [Evan] Longoria and now [Adrian] Beltre. So definitely watching them, how they go about their business defensively, just trying to learn everything I can from watching from a distance. It’s been a lot of fun watching those guys play and also competing against them and trying to beat them on the field.”
Follow Gus Morris on Twitter @JustGusMorris