Exclusive: Reds Catching Prospect Opens Up About Family’s Role in His Rise

He had a really good season.

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Elly De La Cruz (44) wears an MLB Debut patch on his jersey in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the LA Dodgers at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. The Reds won 9-8 on a walk-off, bases loaded, single off the bat of shortstop Matt McLain (9) in the bottom of the ninth. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

I had the pleasure of interviewing Cincinnati Reds catching prospect Ryan McCrystal. We discussed his baseball career from high school through getting drafted and playing in Dayton. Below are a few quotes from the interview about the importance of his family:

Question: “What was high school like for you"

Ryan: “Yeah. My parents did a great job, just all of growing up. My mom is a teacher, and you can say school came first. Obviously, I didn't love school. I love baseball, but I also knew that I wouldn't get to do what I wanted to do if I didn't get grades that she was happy with. I was always lucky enough I didn't have to study too much in high school. I was smart enough to get by with pretty good grades. That was definitely the most important thing from a family side of things: (school). And then the way that I acted on the baseball field, and then I committed to ECU when I was a sophomore in high school. I kind of developed one summer, kind of not randomly, but everything kind of pieced together, and I began throwing hard.”

Question: "You committed to East Carolina University. What was it like playing in your home state for college?"

Ryan: “Yeah. So it was really, really cool. Both my parents went to school there, so it was really, really cool to be able to feel like I was representing my family too, and going to a school that had a really good program. I have a brother who means the world to me. He's got special needs, and so one of his fixations is my baseball career and just watching me play. It was really cool to be an hour and a half away from him. And so he was always there, rallying up the crowd. I mean, he was more famous than me in the town of Greenville for my first two years of school before my junior year. So it was really, really cool being able to play close to home and just play at a great program like that.”

Question: “And I'm guessing, is he still following your career today?"

Ryan: “Yeah, so our last series in Dayton, I got a concussion that week right before that, like the Friday or Saturday of that last week in Fort Wayne. They drove up on Monday to see me, and he hadn't gotten to go all year because he had work here and couldn't take off. And he was pissed at me when I got a concussion, as if I had any say. But yeah, he tries to keep up as much as he can.”

You can listen to the entirety of the interview on Apple Podcasts or below on YouTube

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