Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Pitching
- Hometown:
- 2022 (1st Season)
- Year at Mizzou:
- Springfield, Mo.
- Alma Mater:
- Drury, '08
- Email:
- RMEINHOLD@MISSOURI.EDU
Ricky Meinhold enters his first year as the Tigers pitching coach after joining the Mizzou coaching staff in June 2022.
Known across baseball for his developmental acumen and care for players, Meinhold possesses a substantial background in integrating data, biomechanics, while maintaining the art/science dynamic into pitching programs. Over the course of 11 years in professional baseball, he has played major roles in pitching, development, and scouting.
Meinhold will look to continue the upward trajectory of the Tigers pitching staff and guide Mizzou back to its historical pitching prominence. From 2017-19 the Tigers owned one of the elite staffs in the SEC, posting an ERA of 3.75 or better in each season and leading the SEC in league ERA in 2019. In 2022, a young pitching staff showed promise while marking a 13-game improvement over 2021.
While with the Lotte Giants, Meinhold guided every aspect of the organization’s pitching development and coaching. Under his leadership, the Giants’ rotation worked to a 3.55 ERA last season and finished as one of the top three overall staffs in the KBO. Ace Charlie Barnes led the KBO with 96 innings of work while owning a 2.72 ERA while working with Meinhold.
Prior to moving to Korea in 2021, Meinhold spent two seasons as an assistant major league pitching coach and minor league pitching coordinator with the New York Mets. The Mets finished the 2021 season ninth in the majors with a 3.90 ERA. He oversaw the implementation of the organization’s pitching programs at both the major and minor league levels while also assisting in the Mets roster management from the MLB to the Dominican League.
Meinhold spent six years in the St. Louis Cardinals organization with five of those seasons spent in major league scouting and pitching development. During his time with the Cardinals, he covered scouting responsibilities including international amateur and professional, major league and minor league professional teams, instructional league, and the Arizona Fall League. Meinhold also assisted in advance scouting for the playoffs through his tenure in the organization. Along with his scouting responsibilities, he also coordinated the Cardinals’ pitching development and analysis across both the major and minor leagues, utilizing data and biomechanics to enhance individual pitching plans.
During his time with the Cardinals organization, Meinhold led the evaluation and pitching development of USA Baseball 18U National Team from 2016-20. In 2017, Meinhold was the pitching coach of the WBSC 18U World Champion USA team in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The team included current/former MLB pitchers, Ryan Weathers (San Diego Padres, 1st Round) and Matt Liberatore (Tampa Bay Rays, 1st Round, St. Louis Cardinals). Amongst the nine pitcher-only members, all have been drafted and are currently playing professional baseball. The list includes: Mason Denaburg (Merritt Island, Florida HS, Washington Nationals, 1st Round), Landon Marceaux (LSU, Los Angeles Angels, 3rd Round), JT Ginn (MSU, New York Mets, 2nd Round), Ethan Hankins (Forsyth, GA HS, Cleveland Guardians, Comp. A), Liberatore, Joseph Menafee (Texas A&M, Cincinnati Reds, 20th round), Kumar Rocker (Vanderbilt, New York Mets/Texas Rangers, 1st Round), Weathers and Cole Wilcox (University of Georgia, San Diego Padres, 3rd Round).
Born in St. Louis and later raised in Springfield, Mo., and Campbell, California, Meinhold earned his bachelor’s degree from Drury University in 2008. After finishing his three-year minor league career as a left-handed pitcher, he earned a master’s in sport administration from Coker University in South Carolina, where he served as the pitching coach, recruiting coordinator, and assistant athletic director from 2011-13. Meinhold got his start in coaching as a volunteer assistant at Lindenwood University during the 2011 season after his playing career ended.
