St. Paul – When Ryan Fitzgerald signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins this offseason, he was searching for a place where he could be comfortable with himself at the plate.
The soon-to-be 31-year-old knows there isn’t much he can do to change his swing or bat speed to perform well. Fitzgerald’s most important goal was to be with an organization that would let him swing how he likes. He’s found that comfortability with the Saints quickly this year, being one of their best hitters on the team.
“I’ve said it before, not much is going to change,” Fitzgerald said about his swing. “I’m turning 31 next month. I’m not this young kid anymore who can do a bunch of bat speed training or a bunch of different training that can mold the guy.”
Accepting he’s not the young kid who needs to constantly change his swing anymore has made Fitzgerald one of the Saints’ best all-around hitters this season. He leads the team with a .440 on-base percentage as part of a .337/.440/.548 slash line, second only to Carson McCusker’s .352/.424/.686 slash line. Fitzgerald also has four home runs, 18 RBI, a 13.6% walk rate, and an 18.4% strikeout rate.
Although he’s played seven years in the minors, he spent most of his time in the Red Sox farm system after signing with them as an undrafted free agent on May 8, 2018. Fitzgerald’s first season out of the organization was with Kansas City’s Triple-A squad in Omaha last season. It felt as though they tried to overcorrect changes with his swing. That hasn’t been the case in St. Paul, which has made him more comfortable at the plate.
“There’s good vibes going on here, and they help me out a lot,” said Fitzgerald. “I’ve had a process for a long time. Obviously, I’m an older guy, I’ve been around for a while, and they haven’t really tried to change me. They’ve just, whatever I need, they help me with, so I’ve been super appreciative of that.”
“It’s really good and healthy for the nature of our clubhouse,” said Saints hitting coach Shawn Schlechter on Fitzgerald’s contagious success. “And it helps spark other guys to show up, get the work in, and show up and execute night in and night out.”
Saints manager Toby Gardenhire has appreciated Fitzgerald’s performance at the plate and on defense. Fitzgerald has come up clutch with his gloves countless times.
Not on Fitzy’s watch
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“You’ve got to have a shortstop that can really play defense, and he’s been one of those guys,” said Gardenhire. “And then offensively, he’s been great for us. He’s been extremely consistent.”
Fitzgerald is tearing the cover off the ball in a ballpark that has become meaningful to him. He’s part of a dying breed of ballplayers who have played in CHS Field in affiliated and independent ball. CHS Field is special for Fitzgerald because it’s the place he made his pro ball debut with the Gary SouthShore RailCats in 2017.
“If you told me back in 2017 that I would be back here playing for the Saints, I would have told you you’re crazy,” he said. “When I first played here in 2017, I think we had 14,000 strong in the stands. I was like, ‘This is indy ball, this is crazy.’ Playing back here has been awesome, obviously, you know the facilities are incredible. And like I said, the staff is just phenomenal.”
Fitzgerald was one of several veteran minor leaguers the Twins brought in to help lead the next generation of Twins hitters. Still, the Saints’ lineup has been fairly older compared to the average ages of Triple-A players this year. Diego Cartaya, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Patrick Winkel are the only hitters on the team born in the new millennium, and their maturity has made it easy for established guys like Fitzgerald and Mike Ford to lead them by example at the plate.
“I definitely think it’s a good collection of older guys and younger guys, I think that’s important at this level,” said Ford. “So it’s nice to help the younger guys out at this point in my career. I’ve been everywhere, I’ve seen everything, so I do enjoy doing that at this point.
“Honestly, most of the young guys here are pretty mature,” Fitzgerald said. “If I didn’t know they were young, I wouldn’t know they were young. Having guys like Mike Ford in there and Tyler Beede, obviously, they know what they’re talking about. Anthony Prato just walked by there, and he’s been around too. There’s a lot of level-headed guys in there, so it’s a really good mix.”