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Now pitching for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, No. 1, John Hynes …
Maybe it could have been.
Who knew that hockey guy Hynes, the former coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and current boss of the New Jersey Devils, was so skilled on a baseball field?
Or that Ken Daneyko, a three-time Stanley Cup champion as a defenseman for the Devils, dreams of being a professional baseball player?
Everyone found out some hockey heroes long for major league memories when the RailRiders hosted New Jersey Devils Night on Friday.
It started with Hynes, who grabbed a glove and went into a semi-windup to deliver the first pitch. It was a perfect strike.
And it tuns out the youngest head coach in the NHL at the age of 40 was actually a baseball standout throughout his days at Toll Gate High School in Warwick, R.I.
“I was a shortstop. I played up through high school,” Hynes smiled, quickly adding that he had no background on a mound that he could reference to help him with Friday’s first pitch. “Got it up a little bit. I was going to use a softball throw, underhand, but it worked out.”
Maybe Daneyko can work as his catcher.
Nicknamed “Mr. Devil” after playing in a franchise-record 1,283 games and helping New Jersey win the 1994-95, 1999-2000 and 2002-03 Stanley Cups, Daneyko is dying to step in a batter’s box with the pros.
In fact, Daneyko, who currently works for MSG Plus as a color commentator for Devils games, told RailRiders broadcaster Darren Headrick he loves baseball so much, he wants to come back as a professional baseball player in his next life.
In this one, both Hynes and Daneyko are sticking to hockey.
Hynes, a relentless teacher, credited his time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for helping him through his first season as an NHL coach in 2015-16, but the rigors of h0ckey’s top league turned out to be eye-opening.
“The AHL does a great job of preparing you as a coach or a player, because the league is difficult,” Hynes said. “The biggest adjustment was the schedule, and the amount of games. You play every other day. You have very limited practice time, and the travel is harder, in a sense, because you’re going from coast to coast. You keep the same style as you had with the players and the members of the organization as people, and how you want your culture to be.
“You do make some tweaks, either systematically or with one-on-one player adjustment.”
And when those tweaks turn into trouble, there’s more price to pay.
“I hold him accountable,” Daneyko laughed.
Back in order
Injured RailRiders outfielder Aaron Judge did some pregame work before Friday’s game and appears close to returning from the left knee sprain that’s kept him out of the lineup for two weeks.
Despite the absence, Judge still leads the RailRiders with 16 home runs and 54 RBI, and his bat could be shipped to New York if the parent Yankees are inclined to trade away some pieces from their major league roster by the Aug. 1 trading deadline.
“He’s progressing well,” RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said. “We’re not going to rush him back. He’s feeling good and the swelling is gone. He’s going to have to go through a process where he gets the strength back in his legs. We want to make sure when he’s back on the field, he’s 100 percent.”
Wheeling and dealing
Pedrique isn’t overly concerned about potential major league deals that could affect his minor league team, mainly because faces change with stunning regularity at the Triple-A level.
Just in the span of two weeks since the All-Star Break ended July 12, pitcher Chad Green reported to the RailRiders and was called back up to the parent Yankees; Crestwood grad Matt Wotherspoon was shipped back to Double-A Trenton for a third time this season; and starter Brady Lail was transferred to Trenton and then came back to the RailRiders.
Also during that timespan, reliever Nick Goody came down from the parent Yankees and Jonathan Holder joined the RailRiders bullpen from Trenton; and Mason Williams came off the Yankees disabled list and now starts in center field and hits leadoff, moving All-Star Ben Gamel to another position — in the order and in the field.
“That’s the way it is in Triple-A,” Pedrique shrugged. “When I was with the Diamondbacks (Triple-A team) one year, we had so many moves, it was a joke. But that’s part of the game.”
So the RailRiders aren’t about to get rankled thinking about new players who may join their lineup in August, or current guys who may leave it.
“The only way to handle it is to come in with a positive attitude,” Pedrique said. “I’m pleased we’re getting the chance to send guys up to New York. At this point, I’m pleased they can contribute. And if you lose a guy, somebody will come in and will step in and help the club.”
