By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Ryan McCrystal has been on rosters for baseball games in Burlington probably as often as anybody across the past few years.
Now, he’s a draftee of the Cincinnati Reds.
McCrystal has played four consecutive summers in Burlington, beginning with a high school state championship series and then parts of three seasons with the Burlington Sock Puppets. The catcher from East Carolina was a ninth-round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in this week’s baseball amateur draft.
The left-handed batter said playing in Burlington with the summer collegiate Appalachian League club was an ideal fit.
“I kind of had good relationships with the people who were here,” he said. “This year, I didn’t want to go very far from home and called over here and they were very accepting to it and they actually had a spot open up.”
McCrystal said prior to the draft that there was a chance he would play another season at East Carolina. The Pirates were knocked out of the NCAA regionals in early June, and rather than spending too much time away from baseball, suiting up for the Sock Puppets again made sense.
“I really didn’t need to, but I just love baseball so much that I wanted to play and whatever happens, happens,” he said. “I don’t want to stop playing because I love playing, and I finished the year (with East Carolina) doing pretty well. I want to keep going. I’m not ready to be done yet.”
McCrystal, 21, homered twice in his first three games upon joining the Burlington team on his way to batting .373. He wanted to leave another impact.
“I like to build relationships,” he said. “It’s easy to play well when you’re kind of focused on things outside yourself. I might not be here the longest time (this season), whatever kind of impression I can leave is what’s important to me.”
McCrystal’s three-season batting average with the Sock Puppets was .397 with six home runs in 59 games.
Sock Puppets manager Anthony Essien said McCrystal has traits of a prospect with “a pro arm, that’s how they look.” Yet his offense draws much of the attention.
“He hit for us in ’22 and hit in the abbreviated time we had him in ’23,” Essien said. “He’s a mature hitter. His approach is really good at the plate.”
For East Carolina this year, he batted .346 with seven home runs and 10 doubles. Back ailments reduced his playing time to a total of 51 games across his first two seasons with the Pirates.
“I’m very glad that I chose there. My junior year was the culmination of everything,” McCrystal said. “I kind of learned who I was those three years and it kind of ended up working out in the third year. … It’s not how I probably anticipated it playing out. It’s not something that I really shy away from either. I think the more I can be myself that people will kind of embrace that’s who I am. I’m not going to change who I am.”
McCrystal was the Most Valuable Player for the Class 4-A state championship series in 2021 when Fuquay-Varina prevailed in the best-of-3 series against Reagan at Burlington Athletic Stadium. That was contested in late June as part of the adjusted high school sports calendar for 2020-21 because of the pandemic.
Other former Sock Puppets were also picked in this week’s draft, including Western Alamance alum Austin St. Laurent in the 14th round to the Seattle Mariners. (See separate story in this edition.)
In the eighth round, East Carolina outfielder Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, who played for the 2022 Sock Puppets, was selected by the Miami Marlins. Outfielder Kole Myers, a 2022 Burlington player who played for Troy, went to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth round.
In the 14th round, pitcher Will Gagnon, a 2023 Sock Puppet from Reedley College, was picked by the Dodgers. Then in the 20th round, the Seattle Mariners selected 2021 Sock Puppets outfielder Ryan Picollo (via St. Joseph’s), the son of Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Picollo.
