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Porter finally finds fun in following Dad’s legacy

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Sports
Written by Charlie Redfield   
Wednesday, 22 April 2009 09:29
Rockhurst University freshman Ryan Porter almost quit baseball back in 2002.
“After he (his father, former major league player Darrell Porter) passed away, I went into a time where I hated the game because I wasn’t able to share it with him,” Porter remembered.
“It was something that was special to me and him and my brother (older brother Jeff, who has graduated from Rockhurst University and is finishing up his nursing degree at Rockhurst) so that was definitely very hard.”
Dad Darrell played 17 years in the majors and enjoyed a run as one of the top catchers in the game. He played for the Royals for four years, including playing in the 1980 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1981 and played against the Royals in the 1985 World Series. He retired following the 1987 season.
Ryan got his urge to play baseball again in his sophomore year at Lee’s Summit Christian.
“Something clicked and it became fun again,” Ryan said. “My high school teams were successful and my high school coach, Jeff Terrell, was a good friend of mine. My dad coached him when he was in high school, so he really helped me out through the times when I would struggle with not having my dad around to share baseball with.”
Ryan Porter lettered four years in baseball and basketball and three in golf at Lee’s Summit Christian. He was first team all-state in baseball three times and first team all-state in basketball in 2007.
Ryan decided to attend Pima Community College in Tucson because that is where his mother, Deanne Porter, lives.
“It was nice to have a home,” he said, “but it just didn’t feel right and I missed my friends.”
It did not help that he was injured and had to sit out the baseball season.
“It was terrible sitting out last season,” he said. “It made being away from Kansas City and my friends even worse because I would go to the three-hour practices and have to sit there and do nothing. I never had a chance to prove myself as a player to the guys at Pima so it made it incredibly difficult to make friends.”
He decided he wanted to come back to Kansas City and play baseball.
“My brother played baseball at Rockhurst (University) and he always told me that it was a great school. I got in contact with Coach (Gary) Burns and everything ended up working out.”
And he ended with up his buddy, Kirk Huismann (whose father, Mark, pitched with the Royals in the middle 1980s) as a roommate.
Porter has enjoyed an excellent season with the Hawks. The 6-4, 230-pound first baseman is a cleanup hitter for Rockhurst. In games through April 19, he was hitting .361 with 15 doubles and eight home runs and 38 RBIs. He leads the team in doubles, home runs and RBIs.
The Hawks are ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division II.
Hawks coach Gary Burns said, “Ryan has made a dramatic impact on our team hitting with power and a high average. He has exceeded our expectations in his first year, both offensively and defensively. We felt he would be a starter, but didn’t think he would hit cleanup for us.”
Not surprisingly, it was father Darrell who got his two sons interested in the game.
“I started playing baseball because of my dad,” Ryan said. “It was something that he loved and he always told my brother and me that we should play baseball. He never forced us to play, but we both chose to play.”
Neither brother ever played as catchers as Dad did.
“My dad taught my brother and me to be left-handed so that we couldn’t become catchers,” he said. “Being a left-handed catcher was not really an option.”
Ryan has some goals for himself in school and baseball.
“My goals at Rockhurst are to get a psychology degree and move on and hopefully be some kind of family therapist,” he said. “My baseball goal is to improve my game in every aspect, and hopefully if I’m good enough, move on to the next level.”
Porter believes his strength in baseball is hitting, saying, “If my swing feels good, I can hit for power to all fields and also hit gap-to-gap doubles.”
Meanwhile, he feels he has some aspects of his game left to improve.
“This summer I am going to be working on cutting body fat and gaining more muscle,” he said. “Also, I will be trying to improve my foot speed, core strength, agility and flexibility. On the field, I want to keep on improving as a hitter because I still have spots where I struggle. Also, I want to improve my arm strength and fielding.”
And yes, he does wish to play baseball past college.
“I would love to play ball after college, if I’m good enough,” he said. “It’s been a dream of mine since baseball became important to me again.”

Contact Charles Redfield at (913) 385-6081 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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