Only a cyclone can stop the Cyclones!
High winds and heavy downpours washed away the Cyclones’ season opener with the hated Staten Island Yankees on the Rock last night, putting the Brooklyn debut of a catcher named Sanchez and a would-be pipefitter named Johnson on hold for at least a day.
Last night’s opener at Richmond County Bank Ballpark on bucolic Staten Island was called early in the afternoon and will be played July 8 as part of a single-entry double-header, which, in the New York-Penn League, usually consists of two seven-inning games.
That moves the season opener to where it belongs — in Brooklyn — where the Clones, led by catcher Carlos “The Other” Sanchez (no relation to New York Yankees’ star catcher Gary Sanchez) and pitcher Trent “Magic” Johnson (who says he would be “pipefitter” if he wasn’t a ball player), will take on the Evil Empire of the New York Penn League tonight at 7 pm.
The Cyclones hope to improve on the team’s disappointing 2016, when it finished under .500 for the third-straight season — a level of play that may or may not have led to the removal of Tom “Gamby” Gamboa as manager. This year’s squad will be headed by former Mets All-Star second baseman Edgardo “Fonzie” Alfonzo — not to be confused with his brother, Edgar “Not Edgardo” Alfonzo, the only Cyclones manager to lead the team to a New York–Penn League championship, which happened way back in 2001.
So head on out to the ball park, and, as always, we’ll see you at MCU!
Brooklyn Cyclones vs. Staten Island Yankees at MCU Park (1904 Surf Ave. between W. 17th and W. 19th streets) Tuesday June 20 at 7 pm. $19 for field box seats, $12 for bleechers. www.brook
