Eric Joseph Fryer (born August 26, 1985) is an American 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 ...

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 ...

. He played 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), ...

(MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. A product of

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, the Milwaukee Brewers selected him in the ninth round of the

2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...

Amateur career

Fryer attended Reynoldsburg High School, where he excelled as a

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, going 8-2 on the mound with a 1.35 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched, and batting a school record .544 with 7

homeruns In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

and 50 RBI, along with 26 stolen bases his senior year, earning league and district player of the year honors. He received first-team All-State honors twice, and led the team to district titles in 2003 and 2004; falling one game short of the Division 1 state championship in 2004. He played college baseball at

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. In 2006, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. During his junior season at Ohio State, Fryer batted .322. In his three seasons at Ohio State, Fryer held a batting average of .338 with ten home runs and 126 RBIs in 172 games, earning All Big Ten honors twice. Fryer graduated from Ohio State in his first minor league offseason with magna cum laude honors.

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

Fryer was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers as a

and left fielder in the tenth round of the

2007 Major League Baseball Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...

out of

. Fryer started his professional career with the

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwauke ...

in 2007. Fryer spent the 2008 season with the West Virginia Power where he won the South Atlantic League batting title and was voted into the leagues All-Star game. He batted .335 with 10 home runs and 70 RBI on the year. On February 4, 2009, Fryer was traded to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in exchange for Chase Wright.

New York Yankees

Fryer played 59 games for the Tampa Yankees, hitting .300 with 15 stolen bases before being traded, along with Casey Erickson, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Eric Hinske on June 29, 2009.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates called up Fryer for the first time to the major leagues on June 25, 2011. Fryer got his first major league hit on July 2, 2011, off

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

pitcher John Lannan. Fryer was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on November 18, 2011. Fryer was promoted to the Pirates on June 26, 2012, then was optioned back to the minors on July 7, 2012, before being recalled again on September 1 and was designated for assignment on October 25, 2012. He elected for free agency on October 29, 2012. In 16 games with the Pirates over 2 seasons, Fryer hit 8-30 with 5 R and 1 SB.

Minnesota Twins

On November 10, 2012, Fryer signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins with an invitation to spring training. He spent the season with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. His contract was selected by the Twins on September 9, after Rochester was eliminated from the International League playoffs. He hit his first major-league home run off

Tommy Milone Tomaso Anthony Milone ( ; born February 16, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewe ...

of Oakland, a 424 foot solo shot to center in a game the Twins lost 18–3. While up with the Twins for 6 games he hit .385 (5-for-13). He was competing for the back-up catcher role along with Chris Herrmann and Josmil Pinto in 2014. He hit 3-11 with 3 RBI in 7 games in Spring Training, however that position was eventually given to Pinto. Fryer began 2014 once again with Rochester. He was outrighted to AAA on December 23, 2014. He was recalled from AAA Rochester on July 8, 2015 after hitting over .300 on the year and being selected for

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

to play in the Pan American Games.

St. Louis Cardinals

The

signed Fryer on November 12, 2015, to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training as a non-roster player. On March 31, 2016, the club assigned him to Triple-A

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. However, due to an injury to backup catcher Brayan Peña, he made the major league Opening Day roster as the backup to

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely considered one of the grea ...

. Fryer's first hit and RBI came in his first plate appearance of the season on April 9 against the Atlanta Braves. He made his first start on April 17 at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (M ...

against the Cincinnati Reds. He reached base in all four plate appearances, including three hits in three at bats and first walk of the season, to extend a streak of seven consecutive plate appearances reaching base to open the season. He collected his first two doubles, including driving in Aledmys Díaz for the decisive run in a 4–3 win. Upon Peña's reinstatement from the DL on June 28, 2016, St. Louis designated Fryer for assignment. He appeared in 24 games with the Cardinals, batting .368 (14 hits in 38 at bats) with five RBI.

Second stint with Pirates

The Pirates, playing the Cardinals at

on July 3, 2016, claimed Fryer off waivers, and he switched dugouts to return to his former club. Fryer went 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI against the Cardinals on July 5, 2016 after they placed him on waivers to make room on their roster.

Second stint with the Cardinals

On December 12, 2016, he signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals, that included an invitation to major league spring training. His contract was purchased, and he was added to the 40-man roster on March 29. With the addition of

Carson Kelly Carson Franklin Kelly (born July 14, 1994) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Chicago, Kelly was raised ...

on July 21, Fryer was

, and removed from the 40-man roster by the Cardinals. The Cardinals assigned Fryer outright to AAA Memphis on July 24 but he refused the assignment and became a free agent.

Retirement

On December 18, 2017, Fryer signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, on February 12, 2018, Fryer announced that he had decided to retire instead of reporting to camp.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fryer, Eric 1985 births Living people Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Pittsburgh Pirates players Minnesota Twins players St. Louis Cardinals players Ohio State Buckeyes baseball players Harwich Mariners players Helena Brewers players West Virginia Power players Tampa Yankees players Lynchburg Hillcats players Gulf Coast Pirates players Bradenton Marauders players Altoona Curve players Indianapolis Indians players Rochester Red Wings players Pan American Games competitors for the United States