Surprising news: The Oregon State Baseball team traded their most talented player to the New York Yankees.
It wasn’t something Ryan Brown anticipated happening so quickly in his baseball career, but it happened.
During a game at Oregon, as Brown jogged from the visitor bullpen into the dugout, he was taken aback when a small boy wearing Oregon State’s orange and black asked if he would sign his bat.
It was the first time in his college career that Brown had been approached for an autograph. Brown walked down the third base line and into the dugout, saying “after the game” to the child standing at the wall with his glove in one hand and his bat in the other.
Later in the game, while Brown was in the bullpen, the same boy with the brown hair would make a comeback with a fresh proposal.
Brown used to go to Oregon State baseball games and beg for the signatures of his favorite players. A few years later, he would have a dramatic rise to prominence as a player with the Beavers.
“The first Oregon State player that I remember getting an autograph from was during my freshman year of high school,” Brown stated. “I asked him for one because I had never seen him before at a game. Indeed, it’s Cadyn Grenier, the starting shortstop.”
As he developed his skills as a baseball and basketball player with the South Salem Saxons, from which he graduated in 2019, Brown dreamed of playing baseball at Oregon State.
Years of dedication are finally paying off for him as the closer for the Beavers, 40-10 overall, and at the top of the Pac-12, which has significantly increased his profile.
“I would literally have visions of me pitching against Oregon,” Brown stated. “There isn’t a better venue for me to be than a packed PK Park during a two-run baseball game between Oregon and Oregon State. I’ve always desired that. Being able to accomplish it twice has been a blessing because I wanted that high production and that vitality.”
To understand how Brown arrived at that point, you have to go back to his adolescent years, when he paid $20 every Thursday to attend OSU minor baseball camps.
He had the opportunity to speak with renowned head baseball coach Pat Casey and practice with prominent players like infielder Kavin Keyes and outfielder Kyle Nobach when he was there.
“Pat Casey was like ‘you know, one day, you should come be a Beaver and play baseball,'” Brown recalled. I thought, ‘That’s the dream,'” believing it to be impractical.”
lead to the victory of the Saxons
After moving from Stayton, Brown played JV basketball for the Saxons until he was promoted to the varsity as the starting forward halfway through the season. Brown first wore the Saxons Columbia blue and scarlet outfit as a sophomore.
However, in South Salem, he excelled as a starter pitcher and power hitter. Brown was selected to the second team all-state and the Mountain Valley Conference first team in four varsity seasons (one at Stayton).
Brown finished his senior year with a 7-0 record, 2.22 ERA, 69 strikeouts, and seven walks. He had an on-base percentage of.430, eight doubles, six home runs, 24 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in his.354 at-bat performance.
In both his junior and senior seasons, he contributed to the Saxons’ trip to the OSAA 6A state semifinals.
