Richard James Wrona (born December 10, 1963) is a former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
player. He played parts of six seasons in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, between 1988 and 1994, for the
Chicago Cubs,
Cincinnati Reds,
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
, and
Milwaukee Brewers, primarily as a
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...
.
Baseball career
Wrona played high school baseball at
Bishop Kelley High School
Bishop Kelley High School is an American Lasallian Catholic high school with 905 students, grades 9 to 12, located at 41st and Hudson Avenue, in the center of the Tulsa metropolitan area (in the Midtown area), on a campus spanning just over 47 ...
and college ball for
Wichita State University
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
.
After being drafted by the Cubs in the 5th round of the
1985 Major League Baseball Draft
First round draft picks
The following are the first round picks in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft.
Supplemental First Round Selections
Background
Six of the first eight draft picks from the June regular phase had at least one full ...
, he spent several seasons in the minor leagues before making his major league debut on September 3, 1988, as a
pinch hitter against the Reds.
The next year, with
Joe Girardi
Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and S ...
and
Damon Berryhill, the Cubs two primary catchers, both spending time in the minor leagues, Wrona found himself spending a good part of the season in the majors as well. The Cubs carried all three catchers for the
National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
against the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
. The Giants won the series 4 games to 1. Wrona enjoyed no success in the series, going 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts while appearing in two games.
Wrona never played a full season in the major leagues. A career backup, he played no more than 38 games, nor had more than 92
at bats, in any one season. Only in 1989 did Wrona play more than 16 games or log more than 29 at bats in the majors. He played his final major league game as a member of the Brewers on July 22, 1994, although he continued to play in the minor leagues until 1998.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrona, Rick
Major League Baseball catchers
Chicago Cubs players
Cincinnati Reds players
Chicago White Sox players
Milwaukee Brewers players
Peoria Chiefs players
Winston-Salem Spirits players
Pittsfield Cubs players
Iowa Cubs players
Tulsa Drillers players
Nashville Sounds players
Indianapolis Indians players
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Louisville Redbirds players
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players
Birmingham Barons players
Oklahoma RedHawks players
Wichita State Shockers baseball players
Baseball players from Oklahoma
Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma
1963 births
Living people