Mike D’Andrea worked with a lot of good ball players as the Deering High School head baseball coach from 1998 to 2008, when he led the Rams to seven Class A state titles, but among them two exceptional talents stand out: pitcher Ryan Reid and shortstop Ryan Flaherty.

“They were great teammates, great players, great students and great citizens in the community,” D’Andrea said of Reid and Flaherty, two of 11 Mainers who will be inducted later this year into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame. “Between the lines, they were great competitors. Both of them were highly skilled and had the mental toughness to compete when games were on the line.”

The Hall of Fame, housed at Hadlock Field in Portland, was started in 1969 to preserve and promote the history of baseball in Maine and to honor those who have made a lasting impact on the sport.

“This is a great honor for them. They will represent the Hall and Maine very well,” said D’Andrea, who was inducted in 2005.

“It is special, to say the least,” Reid said.

A 2004 Deering High School graduate, Reid was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays organization in 2006 and played 10 years of professional baseball, including seven games as a Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher.

Getting called up by the Pittsburgh Pirates in early June 2013 after allowing only two runs over the course of 34.2 innings over 20 games with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians was the highlight of his baseball career, Reid said. He pitched 11 innings, had a 1.64 earned run average and earned a save over a seven-game stretch from June 3 to July 4.

“To get that call and that opportunity, it was amazing. It was an incredible experience,” he said.

He said he might never have cracked the Major Leagues without the support of Herb Andrade, the bench coach for Aguilas del Zulia, the Venezuela Winter League team Reid played on. Andrade spoke highly of Reid to the Pirates, where he works as a coach.

“I spent six or seven weeks up there on a really good team,” Reid said. “It was the first time in 22 years they made the playoffs. It was a really special season to be a part of.”

While he had hoped to return to the Major Leagues after the stint with Pittsburgh, the opportunity never came. Overall, Reid said, he is “really happy” with his career playing a game he loves.

He said he is particularly honored to be a part of a class that not only includes Flaherty, but also a former coach Matt Rogers, a four-year starter at Bowdoin College who has coached youth baseball at all levels for the last 21 years and served as an assistant coach on Deering High School teams.

Reid, who lives in Sarasota, Florida, also said he’s proud to be inducted along with his high school opponents, Charlie Furbush, a 2004 graduate of South Portland High School who pitched for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners from 2011 to 2015, and Mark Rogers, a 2004 graduate of Mt. Ararat High School and first-round draft pick for the Milwaukee Brewers who pitched 10 years in professional baseball, including parts of 2010 and 2012 in the majors.

“I am honored to be going into this with those guys,” said Reid, the father of two boys who works as the director of baseball and regional manager for Act Global, an artificial turf manufacturer.

Flaherty could not be reached for comment before The Forecaster’s deadline.

Both Reid and Flaherty have family in the Hall of Fame. Reid’s great-grandfather Frederick Reid was inducted in 1982 and Flaherty’s father, Ed, the longtime University of Southern Maine baseball coach, was inducted in 1992.

Flaherty was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2008 and became part of the Baltimore Orioles organization in December 2011. He made his Major League debut the following April and spent the next six years as a utility man for the team, logging time at first base, second base, shortstop, third base, right field and left field. He even pitched in a game in 2016. He signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2018 and finished his career with a short stint with the Cleveland Indians in 2019. He now works for the San Diego Padres as an advance scout and development coach.

Reid said Flaherty worked hard throughout his career to be such a versatile member of the teams he played on.

“He was a competitor and was always trying to better himself,” he said.

D’Andrea said he closely followed both players’ careers and kept in touch with them over the years.

“As a former coach, it gives me a great sense of pride to watch them succeed the way they did,” D’Andrea said.

This year’s Maine Baseball Hall of Fame class also includes Stu Lacognata, a University of Maine pitcher who compiled a 24-9 career record and appeared in four College World Series appearances between 1981-84; Aaron Izaryk, a former University of Maine star who works as the head baseball coach and director of athletics at Bridgton Academy and as general manager and director of player personnel for the Sanford Mainers; the late Billy Snow who pitched and played outfield for South Paris High School in the 1950s and went on to play for the Farmington Flyers, a semi-pro team in Maine; and John Kameisha, senior vice president with the Portland Sea Dogs who has been with the organization since 1993.

This year, two longtime coaches will also be inducted: Tom Dexter, of Oakland, who spent 15 years as the head baseball coach at Colby College and helped to establish youth baseball in central Maine; and Jim Graffam, of Newcastle, who was the head coach at Saint Joseph’s College for eight years, leading the team to four championships and earning four coach of the year awards.

The 2021 class will be honored at a banquet at the Holiday Inn By the Bay Nov. 7.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.

« Previous

Tri for a Cure hosts part-virtual fundraising event in South Portland

Next »

Council moves forward with homeless services center plans