He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg).

On October 10, 1961, he was the 17th overall selection in the 1961 MLB Expansion Draft as the ninth pick of the fledgling Houston Colt .45s.

During spring training in 1963, Houston traded him to the Chicago Cubs, where he spent the full season as a pinch hitter and third-string catcher and batted a lofty .338 with three home runs and 15 RBI in 78 games.

Returning to Seattle at the outset of 1966, Ranew was batting .283 in 25 games when, on May 11, he sustained serious head injuries during a wild, on-field fight between his club and the Vancouver Mounties.

Catcher Ranew, engaging with Reynolds, was hit in the head by a bat-wielding Santiago Rosario, the on-deck hitter.