The Houston Astros shook up the front office on Thursday, removing Reid Ryan as team president of business operations and installing the owner’s son in the role.
Later in the day, Hall of Fame member Nolan Ryan — Reid’s father — said he was vacating his position as executive adviser to the team.
The younger Ryan, who assumed the team president job in May 2013, instead was given the title of “executive advisor, business relations.” In a team statement, the Astros said the change would give Ryan “more opportunities to focus on his other business ventures while remaining an important part of the Astros organization.”
Taking his spot will be Jared Crane, the son of Astros owner Jim Crane, the team said.
Ryan, who turns 48 on Nov. 21, founded teams at Triple-A Round Rock and Double-A Corpus Christi and remains the owner of the Round Rock team, the Astros’ affiliate. He also is a founding board member of R Bank, a Texas community bank.
“Jim Crane has been a great owner for the city of Houston, and I thank him for the opportunity to lead the Houston Astros organization,” Ryan said in a statement. “Thank you to the many employees, fans, and partners that have supported this team during my tenure as president. Baseball is about bringing joy to people’s lives and I take pride in knowing that we have made so many memories for our fans. While my role has changed, I will remain with the Astros and look forward to another great season in 2020.”
But Nolan Ryan, who sat behind home plate at Minute Maid Park during every game of the Astros’ postseason run, won’t remain.
“I will not be back with the club and will leave it at that,” Ryan, who pitched for the Astros from 1980-88, wrote in a text message to Mark Berman, sports director of the Fox affiliate in Houston.
The Astros won the American League pennant but lost the World Series to the Washington Nationals in seven games.
