'It's such a tremendous honor': Ryan Minor becomes first Shorebird to have number retired

Retired jersey numbers aren't typically the norm when it comes to Minor League Baseball. For a lot of the players and managers who fill out the minor league ranks, the goal is to move up and keep progressing throughout their respective organizations.

But in some cases, people stay awhile and end up leaving a mark on the minor league teams that they were part of. When it comes to the Delmarva Shorebirds, Ryan Minor fits that description.

Minor, who played for the Shorebirds and came back and coached as a manager in two separate stints, had his number 44 jersey retired before Friday night's home game against the Lynchburg Hillcats. He became the first Shorebird to receive that honor.

"It means a lot. It's an accumulation of time put in and being around the game and being around this area for so long," Minor said in an interview before the ceremony. "Getting the opportunity to be able to manage here and coach here and play here as long as I have. Being able to stay in the community. It means a lot to be honored."

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There is a rarity that comes with having your number retired in sports. And in minor league baseball, someone leaving a mark on one team in that way stands out as a unique achievement.

"Usually, whenever you start managing with an organization like when I was with the Orioles, typically you want to move up," Minor said. "For me, it was one of the instances where I was able to stay in one spot for a long time. There wasn't a whole lot of movement within our organization, so I was able to stay in Salisbury and in Delmarva. Being able to live here and manage at the same time has been a blessing for me. It's not something that you plan on doing, but when it does happen, it's very special."

In his lone season as a player for the Shorebirds in 1997, Minor helped lead the team to its first South Atlantic League championship and set multiple Shorebirds hitting records. He would then come back to be the manager from 2010-12 and 2014-17. Minor's fingerprints were on one of the biggest moments in the franchise's history, and he's seen many great players put on the Shorebirds jersey throughout the years.

"One of the biggest things for me as a player was the year that I was here, being able to win the championship that year. Haven't had that opportunity that many times since then with the Shorebirds, it's been a tough league." Minor said. "Being able to do that with a lot of the guys on that team that went to the big leagues. And as a manager, to be around a lot of the players that have gotten to the big leagues, and at some point you had an influence on their career. Those are some of the memories I have."

The jersey retirement also served as an opportunity to rally around Minor and his family to support them and advocate for a cause. Minor was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in October, and Friday's game coincided with "Flock for a Cure Night" at Perdue Stadium, with funds being raised for local charities in the search for a cure for cancer.

For Minor, going through the fight against cancer personally over the last year allowed the opportunity for him to use his platform to promote the causes around cancer research.

"If you do have a platform, if you're able to do it, I think it's important for everybody to kind of go out and advise and use your avenue to get the word out about either colon cancer or getting screened, or just put that to the forefront of what you can do. And if you have that opportunity and that avenue, you can reach so many more people. That's something that, now that I've gone through it, I'd like to be a part of as much as I can."

Minor hopes that there will be more jersey retirements down the line, even with how rare it is due to the nature of the minor leagues. But the honor of being the first meant a lot to him as he made his way back to Perdue Stadium.

"You don't see it too many times in the minor leagues, just because you start running out of jersey numbers for the players," Minor said with a laugh. "It's an honor that I'll always remember and I'm really appreciative of it. And to be the first one, I think goes just to the longevity of me being around here and being a part of the community. This community embraced me ever since I moved here in 1997. You can always say you were the first one: Hopefully, there will be more. Hopefully I'm not the only one, but again, it's such a tremendous honor for me and my family."

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Ryan Minor reflects on Shorebirds career as he has his number retired