HOLLAND – Ryan Dorow looks like he could still play.
The first-year Hope College baseball coach has only been retired from playing for two years, but now he’s in the coach’s box on the third base line instead of in the batter’s box.
“Hope’s been unbelievable,” Dorow said. “I’m super fortunate to coach these kids and I’m learning just as much from them as they are learning from me.”
Dorow, a native of South Haven, spent four years playing at Adrian College, where he was the MIAA Player of the Year three times. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers and played parts of five years in the minor leagues. Dorow, who was a 6-foot, 195-pound middle infielder, even played in the majors for three games.
Did Dorow think a kid from the MIAA could get drafted?
“Maybe I was faking it,” he said with a laugh. “I always thought there was going to be a shot. I was fortunate to get the right eyes on me at the right time and was able to make a career out of it.”
Dorow made his major league debut on Aug. 26, 2021, for the Texas Rangers against Cleveland.
What does he recall from that game?
“My first game was against Emanuel Clase, who is the closer for the Guardians now,” Dorow said. “You’re talkin’ 100 mph cutters; he’s got good stuff. He was my teammate with the Rangers (system) a little bit, so we knew each other. So it was fun to compete against him. Other than that, it was kind of surreal.”
After he retired, he coached a little bit back home in South Haven.
“It was a good time to step away and do something else,” he said of retiring from pro ball. “I was fortunate that I could coach here at Hope.”
He got a shot being on the coaching staff at Hope under legendary coach Stu Fritz. And when Fritz retired last year, Dorow was hired to replace him. Dorow, his wife Macy and son live in Paw Paw.
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