Ron Rizzi grew up in The Bronx and was a standout pitcher at Columbia University. But he never got a chance to play Major League Baseball.
“At the end of my junior year, I tore my rotator cuff,” said Rizzi, who said he had an ERA around 1.00.
Today, a pitcher may be able to come back from such an injury. But Rizzi was hurt in the late 1960s, and medical advancements were several years away for rotator cuff injuries.
Rizzi, of Joppa, went on to coach college baseball in New York. He moved to Harford County in 1976, and became a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates the next year. He recalls seeing Cal Ripken, Jr. pitch for Aberdeen High in the 1970s.
He scouted for the Pirates until the late 1980s, and along the way signed future big league pitchers John Smiley, Stan Belinda, Tim Drummond (a La Plata native) and Rick Reed.
Rizzi joined the Milwaukee Brewers in the late 1980s, and was involved in the signing of All-Star pitcher Ben Sheets, among others.
Rizzi is now a professional scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and this year he covers teams in the American League East, American League Central and National League East. He is on the road for about 250 games a year, and also covers Double-A and Triple-A teams.
“I met him when he was the coach at Harford Community College. That is how he got his start in this area,” said Mike Toomey, a scout for the Washington Nationals and a long-time Maryland resident. “His passion for the game … he really doesn?t have any peer. He is a true baseball guy. Ron has a work ethic that is second to none.”
As an amateur scout, Rizzi saw Brian Jordan play in high school at Milford Mill and with the Liberty Road travel team.
“He was a shortstop then. He was a tremendous leader,” Rizzi said of Jordan, now with the Atlanta Braves.
When Jordan played for the Dodgers a few years ago, Rizzi showed him the scouting report which the NewYorker prepared on him when Jordan was growing up in Baltimore County.
Rizzi said that much has changed in scouting since he began 30 years ago.
“There are not enough scouts beating the bushes finding these (amateur) guys,” said Rizzi, who added that showcase events have made it harder to find a hidden gem.
THE RIZZI FILE
Profession: Baseball scout
Team: Dodgers
Residence: Joppa
Did you know? Rizzi gave some input to the front office of the Dodgers in a trade after the 2005 season that sent Tim Hamulack, an Edgewood High graduate, from the Mets to the Dodgers … Rizzi?s mentor was the late Joe Consoli, a long-time scout for the Pirates.
