On July 22, 1977, Ryan Andrew Vogelsong was born in the United States. Throughout his professional baseball career, he was nicknamed “Vogey”.
He played baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB). In 2007 and 2008 he was a member of the Hanshin Tigers and the Orix Buffaloes (2009).
His move to the Giants in 2011 breathed new life into his career. After being selected to the All-Star team in 2011, he then had a streak of 16 straight quality starts in which he gave up three or fewer earned runs in every game that lasted at least six innings.
He made four starts in the 2012 playoffs, finishing with a record three wins, zero losses and a 1.09 average while helping the Giants avoid elimination twice en route to World Series victory . When Vogelsong started 32 games with the Giants in 2014, he set a new career high. They achieved enough success throughout the season to win another World Series title.
Ryan Vogelsong
Where is Ryan Vogelsong now?
Ryan Vogelsong left the game in 2017, but is still involved.
Vogelsong was hit in the face on May 23, 2016, by a pitch fired by Colorado Rockies pitcher Jordan Lyles. He suffered fractures to the orbital bone of his eye in addition to injuries to the socket of his left eye. He was then placed on the list of invalids for a period of 15 days.
The Minnesota Twins and Vogelsong reached an agreement on a minor league contract on January 10, 2017. A spring training invite was also included. He was fired on March 21, 2017, after just eight rounds of spring training that saw him struggle to achieve a 7.72 earned run average (ERA).
Prior to the game in 2018, the Giants officially retired Vogelsong’s number as a team member in a ceremony at AT&T Park in his honor.
Vogelsong returned to the Giants after retiring to work as a mobile pitching coach for the team’s young pitchers. After learning about the club’s farming system, Vogelsong said he thought he could be more useful with the Double-A affiliate Richmond Flying Squirrels.
Currently, he spends about a week a month working with a San Francisco prospect who is about to be promoted to the major league club.
Ryan Vogelsong son Ryder and wife Nicole Vogelsong
Nicole Vogelsong is married to Ryan Vogelsong.
In 2001, the same year Ryan pitched in the Nashville minor leagues, Nicole Vogelsong, whose birth name was Nicole Holloway, was a bartender there. Before getting married on a beach in the Bahamas, the couple dated for a few years.
The couple married on November 12, 2005 in a ceremony near Pittsburgh. It was the location of Ryan’s baseball diamond during his time with the Pirates. The couple’s only child is Ryder. Additionally, the couple have a 12-year-old dog named Yoda.
Ryan Vogelsong’s wife, Nicole, has been by his side through good times and bad, and she has never wavered in her devotion to him. After having a rough time during his early years in the major leagues, Vogelsong was on the verge of quitting baseball.
What happened to Ryan Vogelsong?
During his early years in the majors, he bounced around the minors.
He briefly lived in Japan before returning to the United States in 2010 to play some minor league games. He signed a contract with the San Francisco Giants before the start of the 2011 campaign. The Giants promoted Barry Zito to the fifth starting position after suffering an injury early in the season, where he remained.
Vogelsong was named an All-Star for his outstanding performance throughout the 2011 season, and he continued to be a tough opponent all five days. Vogelsong finished the year with 14 wins and a 3.37 ERA, continuing his winning streak in 2012.
Once again, Vogelsong’s professional career was coming to an end after 2015. Vogelsong was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001, but they only extended him a one-year contract. Vogelsong, again playing swingman, got off to a much better start. Despite a high FIP, Vogelsong’s ERA was consistently below four in his first starts of the season.
Vogelsong spent time in the Minnesota Twins’ farm system after the 2016 season. Nonetheless, when the spring training season ended, he was eventually fired. To end his career with the Giants, Vogelsong agreed to a one-day contract. He had the privilege of throwing the first pitch before retiring.
Although he spent his most notable seasons as a professional pitcher with the San Francisco Giants, Ryan Vogelsong ended his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gave them his last professional sales pitch.
Without a doubt, Vogelsong’s rise to fame hasn’t been easy. There was no clear navigation. Vogelsong has been through it all. He never received much attention as a prospect and struggled early in his career. Before returning to the United States, he also had to travel abroad and have Tommy John’s surgery.
