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Proctor Rails

06/12/2020 - Ryan McCarthy Elected to Proctor Baseball Hall of Fame

PROCTOR — Ryan McCarthy has been elected to the Proctor Baseball Hall of Fame. Chosen by the 2020 Rails baseball team's seniors, he is the second of the one-a-year 21st-century players to gain induction.

He will be posthumously inducted during the 2021 Proctor Baseball banquet. Other 2021 inductees, from the Modern Baseball Era (1970-1990), will be announced in October 2020. 

McCarthy played varsity baseball for the Rails from 2010-12. He is Proctor’s all-time leader in career home runs (12) and runs batted in (RBI, 96). Among his other appearances on the Rails career leaderboards are second in total bases (138); third in slugging (.597); and fourth in batting (.385), hits (89), and on-base percentage (.479). He was a two-time Duluth News Tribune All-Area Team selection and he was named to the All-Lake Superior Conference Second Team in 2011.

He holds the state high-school record for single-season grand-slam home runs, with three in 2011. He has the top two spots on the Rails single-season RBI records, with 48 in 2011 and 30 in 2012. He also has the school record for most hits in a season, with 38 in 2011. His seven home runs in 2011 tied the school record set by Mike Pehl in 2002. His 63 total bases in 2011 is also a school record. Among the highlights of his prep career was a 10-RBI game to open the 2011 season at Moose Lake. That performance ranks tied for third in state records.

He played in four state baseball tournaments while wearing a Proctor jersey—two VFW (2009, 2010) and two high school (2011, 2012). He also played football and hockey for the Rails.

McCarthy played baseball for Mesabi Range College in 2013. He batted .268 (22-for-82) with three doubles, two home runs, and 23 RBI in 30 games. He also played amateur baseball for the Duluth Padres (now the Lake Superior Sea Dogs) in 2013.

He worked as a crisis manager for Stepping Stones for Living, a Hermantown group-home company.

He died unexpectedly on February 13, 2020. His obituary states, "Ryan's greatest joy in life was spending time with his daughter, Taylor. He enjoyed playing and coaching softball, fishing, bow hunting, camping, golfing, and time spent with his friends and family." He was 26 years old.

McCarthy joins his fellow Class of 2012 teammate Jake Lewis, chosen last year in the initial Proctor Baseball Hall of Fame election, on the list of 21st-century players to be honored. The other inductees from 2020 were Karl Condon, Ted Downs, and Maurice "Spike" Gorham from the Early Baseball Era (1890s-1946) and Joe Lane and Gerald "Peanuts" Peterson from the Golden Days Era (1947-1969).

Since there is no baseball banquet in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Proctor Baseball will follow the lead set by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and will plan for a doubleheader induction at the 2021 banquet.