Ron Porterfield is an American

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), ...

athletic trainer Athletic training is an allied health care profession recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA)"What is an Athletic Trainer?". The Board of Certification Website. 2003. Athletic training is also recognized by the Health Resources Serv ...

. He has been the head athletic trainer for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

since 2006.

Early life

Porterfield is a native of

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

. He is a 1983 graduate of

St. Michael's High School St. Michael's High School is a private Catholic junior/senior high school located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is privately run under the auspices of the international Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, better known as the De ...

(Santa Fe) and a 1988 graduate of

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

Professional baseball career

Houston Astros (1988–1996)

Porterfield began his professional baseball career as the trainer for the 1988

Auburn Astros Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

of the Class A

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. Porterfield continued working in the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

system through the 1996 season. He was named

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

"Athletic Trainer of the Year" in 1992.

Tampa Bay Rays (1997–present)

In 1997, Porterfield was hired by the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, now known as the Tampa Bay Rays, to be the team's Minor League Medical and Rehabilitation Coordinator, a position he held until 2002. Porterfield joined the Rays' Major League team as assistant athletic trainer in 2003, and was named head athletic trainer in 2006. As of 2011, Porterfield is one of the few remaining members of the Rays staff who have been with the organization since its inception. In Tampa, Porterfield has been lauded by All-Star pitchers David Price and James Shields for his training methods. Former Rays outfielder

Rocco Baldelli Rocco Daniel Baldelli (; born September 25, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach who is the manager of the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Baldelli quickly progressed through the minor ...

, who was unable to play for most of 2007 and 2008 due to a mysterious ailment that was originally thought to be life-threatening and was later diagnosed as

channelopathy Channelopathies are a group of diseases caused by the dysfunction of ion channel subunits or their interacting proteins. These diseases can be inherited or acquired by other disorders, drugs, or toxins. Mutations in genes encoding ion channels, wh ...

, said his playing career, which he described as having hit "rock bottom," might never have resumed if not for Porterfield's time and dedication in pursuing a proper diagnosis and treatment. By the time Baldelli left the Rays as a free agent during the 2008–09 offseason, Porterfield had amassed a 3,000-page medical file on Baldelli, which Porterfield forwarded to Baldelli's new team, the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. Porterfield shared "Major League Athletic Training Staff of the Year" honors in both 2005 and 2009.

Personal life

Porterfield resides in

Parrish, Florida Parrish is an unincorporated community in northwestern Manatee County, Florida, United States. The community is located near the intersection of U.S. 301 and State Road 62 and is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton Metropol ...

, with his wife and two children.

References

External links

PBATS – Tampa Bay Rays training staff
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porterfield, Ron Living people Baseball people Sportspeople from Santa Fe, New Mexico New Mexico State University alumni Major League Baseball trainers Tampa Bay Rays personnel Year of birth missing (living people)