Ryan Strain enters his 3rd season as an asst. coach at Southern Illinois University. He played in the minors for a couple of seasons for the Giants organization. Thanks for taking some time Ryan. What do you remember most about your time with the Giants?
Probably the thing I remember the most about playing for the Giants was the challenge of playing with and against so many talented players. Every kid dreams of playing professional baseball and I was able to realize that dream. I enjoyed the challenge and the competition that came with professional baseball. I also enjoyed the guys I played with and relationships that you have. I still run into and coach against players I played with and against every year. Plus you have stories from those days that will last a lifetime.
What are your duties at SIU, and how is SIU looking for the season?
At SIU I am in charge of our hitters and I share the recruiting responsibilities with our pitching coach PJ Finigan. We are very excited about our team this year. We return 6 starting position players and two of our starting pitchers from a year ago. We also return several other contributors including our closer. We only lost 5 players that contributed last year. We like the players that we brought into replace them and we expect to have a good year. Our league, the Missouri Valley Conference, was the 5th best RPI league in the country last year so it will be a challenge again this year.
You played for your Dad in 2004 in Salem/Keizer, what was that experience like?
Playing for my dad at the professional level was not always fun. It was a unique challenge for both of us. I had played for my dad at my high school when he was my basketball coach but playing for him at the professional level was completely different. I think we both enjoyed being able to work together and to be able to experience something that hardly anybody gets to experience but it had its challenges. Very few people get to manage professional baseball and very few people get to play professional baseball. Having one family get to experience that together made for some fond memories. I think the pressure that I put on myself because my dad was my manager affected how I played. I don’t think I ever allowed myself to relax and play that whole summer which is something I regret still today. Overall it was a unique and great experience in many ways but its also an experience I wouldn’t want to relive.
Do you have any favorite places you have played at? and least favorite?
I really enjoyed playing in Eugene, Oregon at the old ballpark there and the ballpark in Everett, Washington. When I was in grade school my dad managed for the Giants in Everett, Washington. The Eugene Emeralds were in the league then as well so it was fun to go back to those ballparks 15 years later and play in them. I will admit they were much smaller than I remember when I was 8 years old.
If a player tests positive for PEDS in their career, should they be able for induction into the Hall of Fame?
This is a tough question to answer but I would have to say yes I think players that tested positive for PEDS should be allowed into the Hall of Fame. The reason I say that is that there will eventually be players that will be selected into the Hall of Fame that used PEDs that nobody knows about. I don’t think it is right to punish some players and not others just because we have evidence that they used. That whole era has a shadow over it and baseball people just have to except it.
Thanks for taking some time.