Baseball has always been a family affair for Vilade

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ask around the Rays clubhouse about Ryan Vilade, and you’ll hear a few things repeated over and over again.

“I think he really likes to play,” manager Kevin Cash said. “He enjoys the game, and I think he knows the game as well.”

“You can tell he loves the game,” echoed starter Shane McClanahan. “He loves being around it.”

That’s the thing about Vilade: He’s always been around baseball. His father, James, played at Baylor University before embarking on a 30-year career in the game that has included decades coaching in the Minor Leagues, leading various college programs and now working at the high school level.

Ryan has been there every step of the way. They think about it often this time of year, as they’ve created a lifetime of Father’s Day memories at the ballpark together.

“From the day I was born, I was on a baseball field with him,” Ryan said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without him, I’ll tell you that right now.”

James was the head coach at the University of Dallas when Ryan was born on Feb. 18, 1999. When James was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame, he requested that the photo on his plaque be one of him squatting down with a young Ryan, wearing a jersey of his own.

Ryan looks back with particular fondness on the childhood days he spent on the field at the University of Texas at Tyler, where James coached from 2003-10. He was the bat boy, but it felt more like he was part of the team. He hit during batting practice, and he can still remember players cheering when he lifted a ball out of the infield -- no minor feat for a kid his age.

“Felt like it was, like, the biggest thing ever,” Ryan recalled, smiling.

James spent six seasons coaching for the Rangers’ Double-A Frisco RoughRiders affiliate, allowing Ryan to watch and learn from future big leaguers like Elvis Andrus, Joey Gallo, Jurickson Profar and many others -- including, coincidentally, current Rays teammate Nick Martinez. Ryan says that experience was the reason he felt ready for professional baseball right out of high school.

“To be able to just see all those different levels of baseball, I think, really helped me grow as a player and as a person,” he said.

James’ message to his son was always simple: “Everybody has to help the team win.”

Even then, Ryan took it to heart. He shagged fly balls in the outfield. He cleaned up the batting cage. He did whatever he could to help.

“He’s always been that way. He’s always looked forward to going to the field and had even more energy when he showed up,” James said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Every day on the field is special, and he treats it that way.”

You can still see that in the way he’s playing for the Rays. Acquired in early November in a minor trade with the Reds and finally given his first extended shot in the Majors with his sixth organization, Vilade has hit .288/.349/.459 with four homers and 25 RBIs while playing four different positions and mostly facing left-handed pitchers.

“He’s always found a way to help every team that he’s been on,” James said.

Ryan still speaks to James after almost every game, but James says he sticks to “dad advice” rather than trying to talk about hitting strategy. He sends Ryan the same text before every game he plays, too: “I love you. Play winning baseball. Share the game. Take God with you.”

Ryan often refers to “winning baseball” when discussing his role and goals, but sharing the game is a calling for the entire Vilade family.

In 2014, James founded the Keeper of the Game Foundation with a mission to “provide kids and young adults with special needs and disabilities unique baseball experiences that foster the growth of those individuals and their love of baseball.”

The foundation’s reach has grown significantly over the years, gaining visibility through big leaguers like Bobby Witt Jr., Ryan O’Hearn and, of course, Ryan Vilade.

Ryan recently made a $2,600 donation (for his number, 26) to the Rays Up Foundation. He’s always front and center on “Magic Mondays,” when the Rays host players and coaches from Buddy Baseball, A League of Their Own and St. Petersburg Challenger League before Monday home games.

“We’re very blessed to be here and play the game we love,” Ryan said. “So just not taking these things for granted, because there’s kids out there who would do anything to be in our shoes. That helps me put this game in perspective.”

It’s a personal cause for James, who was diagnosed with a learning disability at 13 years old, kept his passion for school through baseball and vowed to give back if he ever had a platform to do so. The same goes for his wife, Jennifer, a special education teacher. Their children -- Ryan, brother Trent and sister McKenzie -- inherited that desire to help.

And to share the game they love.

“It’s been a family journey,” James said, “and it’s been amazing.”