By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent 

On the last Sunday afternoon in April, right-hander Ryan Tatusko took the mound for the Syracuse Chiefs in an International League contest with the Indianapolis Indians.  The assignment had special meaning for the 29-year-old right-hander.   

“I grew up coming to Indians games,” said Tatusko, a 2003 graduate of Noblesville High School.  “It’s pretty cool to step on that mound and remember what it was like to be 10 or 11 years old, watching games from the stands.” 

A Merrillville native, Tatusko came to Noblesville while still in elementary school – “probably fifth or sixth grade,” he recalled – and grew up rooting for the Chicago Cubs.   “I idolized (Greg) Maddux and all those guys,” he said.  “Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson – the big names back then. 

Tatusko, who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 200 pounds, played baseball and basketball as a boy.  “Growing up in Indiana, you can't escape basketball,” he said.  “But then I fell in love with baseball.” 

That passion has carried to Tatusko to within a step of the major leagues.  It helped him earn a college degree, and enabled him to see a huge swath of the United States, as well as South American and the Caribbean.  The National Pastime even led him to a soul mate.     

In high school and later in college, Tatusko pitched for Hoosier legends.  During his freshman year at Noblesville, Millers coach Dennis Kas (who was elected to the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000) recognized Ryan’s potential.  “He gave me the opportunity to play varsity baseball,” said Tatusko.  “He didn't allow too many freshmen to do that.  To be under his tutelage was an invaluable experience.” 

As a junior in 2012, Tatusko’s 7-1 record and 1.78 earned run average attracted a baseball scholarship offer from Indiana State University.  He spent that summer pitching for the Indiana Bulls.  One of his Bulls teammates, McCutcheon High School southpaw Clayton Richard, went on to pitch for the White Sox and Padres.  “That's a summer that I won't forget,” Ryan said.  “We had an extremely good team, and I got to understand what traveling around the nation was like.” 

In his senior high school season, Tatusko threw a fastball during a game with Brownsburg and felt a sharp pain in his left elbow.  “I remember that like it was yesterday,” he said.  “Something just popped.  It hurt.  I didn’t know how bad it was.” 

An MRI revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament, and the following week Ryan underwent Tommy John surgery.  “It was about 15 or16 months before I picked up a baseball,” he recollected.  “Back then, the rehab process wasn’t as expedient as it is now.  Rehab took about 11 or 12 months.  It was a very long year.” 

Indiana State coach Bob Warn honored Tatusko’s scholarship, redshirting him for his freshman year.  “Moving from one legend (Dennis Kas) to another (Warn, also a member of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2000), you don't know how blessed you are until you look back and think, ‘Wow!  I've been coached by some of the great legends in Midwest baseball.” 

Sitting out the 2004 season gave Tatusko an academic edge.  He used the time to load up on credits toward a degree in business administration.  “I went to practices,” he explained, “but when the guys went on the road for games, it hurt to see them travel when I couldn’t.  Later on, though, I was able to take lighter course schedules and still graduate on time.”    

After three solid seasons with the Sycamores, Tatusko earned a diploma in 2007.  That June, the Texas Rangers drafted him in the 18^th round.  From 2007 to 2009 he pitched for Rangers affiliates in Spokane, Wash. (short season Northwest League), Clinton, Iowa (low-A Midwest League) and Bakersfield (high-A California League).  

Along the way he was introduced to one of his baseball heroes:  Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, who joined the Rangers in 2008 as team president.  “That was my main guy,” said Tatusko. “I got to meet him face-to-face.  Being introduced to your boyhood idol was a very neat experience.” 

Tatusko opened the 2010 campaign with the Frisco Roughriders of the Double-A Texas League.  Playing in Frisco, a Dallas suburb, proved to be fortuitous - it was there he met Megan, his future wife.  “We’ve been together for about four years now,” Ryan said.  “She’s a saint for putting up with the baseball lifestyle, that’s for sure.”    

By the end of July, Tatusko’s 9-2 record and 2.97 ERA earned him a berth on the Texas League All-Star squad.  But on July 30, he was traded to the Washington Nationals (along with Tanner Roark, another right-handed hurler) for infielder Cristian Guzman.  

“That was a big shock,” Ryan said.  “I get a call from the Rangers front office, and they tell me that I’ve been traded, and thank you for service.  They said my plane ticket to Double-A Harrisburg (the Nationals’ Eastern League farm club in Pennsylvania) was going to be in my email.  Sure enough, 45 minutes later, there it was.  And about 24 hours later, off I was on a plane.  It was a whirlwind experience.” 

Tatusko went 3-1 with a 1.72 ERA in six starts for Harrisburg and began to explore the possibility of heading south of the border for winter league baseball.  He signed with the Venezuelan League’s Bravos de Margarita for 2010-2011.  “Knowing nothing about winter ball, I went,” he said.  “What a different world!  At some of our games, we were drawing 20,000 or 30,000 people.  And they were loud!  It was almost like a European football match.” 

The season in Margarita afforded Tatusko the chance to play with and against major leaguers.  “I played alongside Carlos Zambrano and a lot of big names,” he said.  “Only having Double-A experience at the time, it was nice to watch big leaguers – how they went about their game, and how did they did things.  I picked up tidbits about how to improve my game.”

He also developed an appreciation for Venezuelan cuisine.  “The food was delicious,” he said.  “My wife will tell you, I’m not one to try new food.  But I figured I had to eat while I’m down there.  Teammates helped out, pushing stuff in front of you, saying, ‘You gotta try this!’  Some things you like, and some things you learn very quickly you don’t like. 

“My favorite was cachapa.  It was almost like a sweet pancake.  They grilled up some ham and put honey butter all over the top of it and folded it over like a giant sandwich.  It was delicious.  Whenever I saw that on the menu, that’s what I went for.  It was definitely a foodie’s paradise down there.” 

Tatusko shuttled between Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse between 2011 and 2013 and continued to play winter ball (he spent 2013-14 pitching for the Estrellas de Oriente in the Dominican Republic).  He also took an active role in Syracuse community service, visiting children’s hospitals and veterans’ facilities with other Chiefs players.  “We head out to children’s hospitals and VA hospitals, just meeting people and talking,” he explained.  “And it’s not necessarily about baseball.  It’s just spending time with kids and spending time with the veterans.  

“That’s something that’s near and dear to my heart.  I definitely love giving back, especially to children.  If you can make them forget about what’s going on at least for an hour or two while you’re there, then we’ve done our part to try to help.” 

At present, Ryan’s and Megan’s family consists of a six-pound Yorkshire terrier named Lucy.  “She’s like our kid, and that will suffice for now,” said Ryan.  “With traveling and things like that, (having children) is hard right now.  But it’s something that’s definitely in our future.” 

For the April 27 start at Victory Field, Tatusko said:  “I had about half of Noblesville in the stands.  It’s always nice coming to Indianapolis, and it was nice seeing everybody.  There were some familiar faces, some I haven’t seen in a couple of years.” 

Tatusko threw six solid innings, giving up four hits, four walks and a pair of runs (both earned) while striking out five.  He took the loss, leaving him with a 1-3 slate and a 2.36 ERA after five starts for a 10-13 Syracuse club that has provided lukewarm offensive support. 

Ryan says his repertoire consists of a fastball, slider, and a changeup.  He credits this year’s early successes – including an impressive 0.82 WHIP – to a cut fastball.  “That’s kind of what I live on,” he said.  “It’s a pitch that can bail me out of situations.  I had a good first month of the year throwing it” 

The day after his performance against Indianapolis, Tatusko candidly assessed the future.  “I feel extremely confident this year in what I’m doing,” he said.  “I’ve made some mechanical changes that have put me over the edge and ready for the next step.  But with those guys in the Nationals rotation – the likes of (Jordan) Zimmerman, Gio (Gonzalez), (Stephen) Strasburg and (Doug) Fister – those are big-name guys, so there’s really no hope of knocking them out of the rotation.  

“But whatever role Washington wants me in – starting, relieving, long relief – whatever they want me to do, I’ll do.  Whatever it takes to get me to the next level, that’s what I’m going to do.  That’s always been my mantra.  Just ask, and I’ll be there.”  

He also reflected Razor Shines and Pokey Reese, two of his favorite Indianapolis players from boyhood.   Shines, a first baseman-outfielder, was a crowd favorite with the Indians from 1984-89 and again in 1991-93.  He saw big-league action in 1983-85 and 1987 with the Montreal Expos and later coached for the White Sox and Mets.  Shines currently manages the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Double-A Southern League.  

Reese, an infielder, played for Indianapolis from 1995 to 1997 and spent 1997 through 2004 in the majors with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Boston.  

“Those are the two that I’ll always remember,” Ryan said.  “Pokey Reese’s name sticks out in my mind, because he was the first autograph I got at an Indians game when I was a kid.  I’ll never forget that.  Wherever he is, if he reads this, I hope he knows that I’ll never forget his name.” 

In hospitals around Syracuse, it’s likely there are youngsters – and perhaps some veterans – who feel the same way about Ryan Tatusko.