The Savannah Sand Gnats had completed a 16-hour bus trip from Georgia to Lakewood, N.J., arriving at 2 am, but when they began play at FirstEnergy Park on Monday evening, Aug. 11, to defeat the Lakewood Blue Claws, 7-2, there was a little bit of Brooklyn waiting for them.
Savannah is the New York Mets’ affiliate in the South Atlantic League and a step above Brooklyn in the Mets’ farm ladder. The Sand Gnats roster is peppered with former Cyclones — Jefferies Tatford, Joaquin Rodriguez, Michael Parker, and Brant Rustich — to name a few. And since the Mets frequently send players from Savannah to Brooklyn to help out the Cyclones, often players play first at Savannah and then later at Brooklyn.
In recent years, Cyclones’ fans have made Lakewood a regular road trip, as they can usually make the journey in less than an-hour-and-a half from most points in Brooklyn, and then say hello to former Cyclone players and members of the coaching staff.
In the stands at Lakewood were Steve and Dawn Aiello and their son Steve Jr., from Borough Park; Billy and Christiane Valentine, from Bensonhurst; Dana Rinaldi, of Long Island, a former Cyclone beach Bum and a cousin of former Cyclone catcher Drew Butera; and Don Byrnes of Bay Ridge.
Former Cyclones’ manager George Greer, who managed Brooklyn during the 2006 campaign, is now the hitting coach for Savannah, and the Sand Gnats are managed by former Brooklyn hitting coach Donovan Mitchell.
Before the game, Greer discussed his stay in Brooklyn.
“It was a wonderful summer for myself and my family. The Brooklyn fans were just so knowledgeable about baseball.
“I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the entire organization. The kids were super; they battled back from a terrible start [an 0-7 first week].”
The Cyclones came from last place to make the playoffs that year.
This year’s Cyclones — including Jordan Abruzzo and infielder Jose Jimenez — have benefited from the ever-so-slightly higher level of competition in the Sally League. Both were sent to Brooklyn after spending the earlier part of the season at Savannah.
“Both Jordan and Jose were starting to progress for us, really hitting the ball well,” said Greer. “They were both recognizing off-speed and breaking pitches a little easier.”
Jimenez has been especially solid for Brooklyn. In his 19 games as a Cyclone, he’s hitting .282 — up from his .253 at Savannah — with four home runs.
There’s another Brooklyn connection to Savannah. When Greer was in the minors, his hitting coach was Joe “Ducky” Medwick, a Hall-Of-Famer who played mostly with the Cardinals, but had two stints with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“Medwick was the last Triple Crown winner in the National League [in 1937],” said Greer, “And he used to tell us; ‘See the ball; move the ball around; hit it where it’s pitched; go gap to gap; line drives; ground balls; and let the bat head do the work.’
“Joe Medwick wasn’t just a great competitor, and a great mentor, he was a great teacher.”
That advice from a Dodger great gets passed on to a Cyclone manager and then on to today’s kids, well, that’s the great thing about baseball.
So Savannah may be in Georgia, but there’s part of Brooklyn in that southern city. Call it, “Brooklyn South,” where a former Cyclones manager is still coaching great Brooklyn players, past and present.
