Cleveland Indians Hero Ryan Merritt Has Wedding Gifts Pouring In
A couple of nights ago, Cleveland Indians pitcher Ryan Merritt lived the dream of millions of kids in America. With just 11 innings and a cup of coffee in the majors, his manager named him to start a game against the powerful Blue Jays that could bring his team to their first World Series appearance since 1997. The rest, as they say, is history.
For 4 1/3 innings, Ryan Merritt looked as though he hadn’t a care in the world. Throwing strike after strike with good location, he held the Blue Jays to just two hits and struck out seven. And when his manager, Terry Francona, came out to turn the game over to his lights out bullpen, you could almost see the twinkle in his eyes saying, “Wow, you just did something pretty special, kid.”
But as it turns out, this feel good story has legs that extend far beyond baseball. Because it seems that in addition to suddenly becoming Cleveland’s Favorite Son, Ryan Merritt has captured the attention of fans nationwide.
Oddly, it’s been driven by the efforts of a Canadian journalist who apparently held no ill will towards the pitcher who had sent the Blue Jays home. Jonah Keri happened to notice that Ryan Merritt is scheduled to be married in a few months. So, he did a little digging on the internet and lo and behold he uncovered the wedding registry of the future Merritts.
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Then Fox News caught hold of Keri’s catch and suddenly many of the items in the registry began to disappear. Presumably, what is happening is that fans are sending in their “thanks” by sending in wedding presents to Ryan Merritt and his fiancé Sarah.
And by the way, he wants everyone to know that it’s Sarah “With an ‘h,’ yeah,” Merritt said, cracking a smile. “Don’t mess that up. She won’t like that.” (Sporting News).
There’s not much left on the registry, but if you want to get in on the fun, you can here.
Meanwhile though, it’s back to reality and baseball. At this point, it’s not even known if Ryan Merritt will be on the 25 man roster that will be submitted by the Indians for the World Series. Judging by his cool effort in Game 5 of the ALCS, you would think he’d be a lock. But this is the time of the year when cold hard decisions are made.
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One thing would seem to be a surety though. Cleveland Indians fans, and baseball fans in general, will never forget how this 24 year old Texan stepped up to spur the Indians to the World Series. And every once in a while, it seems that baseball has a way of renewing itself with a reminder that it really is a kid’s game. And Sarah Brushbaber and Ryan Merritt will have stories to tell their kids about the night in October when Daddy………………