Former NAU Baseball Star Mentoring Angels' Minor Leaguers
by Matthew Sewell, NAU Media Relations
PHOENIX, Ariz. - It’s been an adventurous 30 years since the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Minor League Pitching Coordinator Kernan Ronan last donned a baseball uniform for Northern Arizona University.
In fact, Ronan was a member of the last squad to ever participate in America’s pastime for the Lumberjacks. NAU discontinued the baseball program in 1981, Ronan’s senior year.
Ronan, a native of Phoenix and a 1977 graduate of Brophy College Prep, still calls the area home, but he has been on the move almost constantly since his two years in Flagstaff.
Alan Flitcraft was the coach who recruited the 20-year-old Ronan to pitch at NAU after he competed two years for Glendale Community College. It was a move that Ronan has been grateful for his entire adult life.
“I have a great deal of respect for Coach Flitcraft,” said Ronan. “He gave me an opportunity to excel as a pitcher at NAU. I’m grateful for that because I would have had to walk-on at Arizona or Arizona State with no guarantee of the same shot I had in Flagstaff.”
That recruitment by Flitcraft sparked nearly three decades of involvement in professional baseball for Ronan, something he said may not have happened if it weren’t for NAU.
In 1981, Ronan was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 18th round of Major League Baseball’s First Year Player Draft. For the next five years, he traveled to virtually all corners of the United States, and advanced to the highest level of the Giants’ farm system within two years. Ronan hung up his cleats for good in 1986.
His next move was going back to school to receive his teaching certificate, while coaching high school football at his alma mater, Brophy, in the meantime. In the fall of 1988, he was faced with a tough choice. He had been the pitching coach for South Mountain Community College in Phoenix and was about to take the same position at Glendale Community College (GCC) when the Angels came calling.
Ronan’s dream had been to get back into professional baseball through coaching, and his retired neighbor and close friend, Joe Carbacio, happened to be connected to many people in that industry. Carbacio, a baseball legend in the “Valley of the Sun” for many years, made a few calls to friends, and before long Ronan was contacted by a MLB scout informing him of a couple openings with the (then) California Angels.
Dave Grant, Ronan’s former high school coach and would-be colleague at GCC offered him some valuable perspective on the subject.
“Kernan, even at that time, had great expertise and potential when it came to knowledge of pitching,” said Grant, who still teaches at GCC and serves as the head baseball coach. “I told him that an opportunity for a full-time position in pro ball is something he shouldn’t pass up. Major League teams are always scrutinizing the development of their players, so the fact that he’s been there so long says a lot about his ability to coach.”
Ronan’s decision was a simple one after that.
“Joe Maddon (current manager of the Tampa Bay Rays) contacted me and offered me a job coaching in Palm Springs (Calif.) with their Class A affiliate,” said Ronan. “I’ve been with the Angels ever since.”
Even though he has been under the label of one organization, Ronan has coached in eight different locations with the Angels in his 22 years of service, and has positively affected the careers and the lives of hundreds of pitchers during that span. It’s the best part of the job for him and it’s something that keeps him excited to put on the uniform every day.
“I always enjoy watching players grow and advance through the system,” said Ronan. “There is a great sense of accomplishment on the part of the players when they see themselves improving.”
A couple of Ronan’s more prominent products include major league aces Francisco Rodriguez, who set the single-season save record with the Angels in 2008, and Ervin Santana, who threw a no-hitter for the Angels in June.
Ronan has been in his current position since 2007, and although he takes pride in the coaching aspect, he has said he also enjoys the extra time he gets to spend at home with family and friends. While he has always made his home in Phoenix, Ronan would spend upwards of five months on the road any given year before that.
“My schedule now is a lot better than it was before,” said Ronan. “When I’m the busiest I’ll spend four or five days at home and closer to 10 on the road at a time.”
Ronan has always enjoyed his time with the Angels, and he says he is thankful on a daily basis for the opportunities he has been given. Though, when asked what the highlights of his career have been, two events stand out in particular, and they happened to occur in the same year. In 2002, his Angels won the World Series and he got married.
Coming from a family of eight kids, family has always been important to Ronan.
“My wife and the rest of my family have always been supportive of the demands of my position,” said Ronan. “I count my blessings every day that I get to spend time with them and still get to do what I love.”
Kernan Ronan has spent the last 22 years paying it forward, helping young pitchers become great athletes and great men, almost in homage to those who did the same for him so many years ago.
