Joe Panik excels against Yankees, Dutchess County marvels
panik #panik
Joe Panik said he had the dates circled on his calendar four years ago.
The San Francisco Giants visited the New York Yankees for three interleague games that summer, and the Hopewell Junction native had looked forward to playing close to home and in the ballpark of the team he rooted for growing up.
Plans were derailed, though, when a concussion kept him sidelined. Instead of playing in front of friends and family, he was relegated to rehab on the west coast and missed the series.
This week, Panik got his chance to play in Yankee Stadium. And although it wasn’t under the most glamorous circumstances – the pandemic prevented fans from attending the game – he made the most of it.
Panik clubbed his first home run of the season in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 13-2 loss to the Yankees Wednesday. The booming blast landed in the second porch in the right field grandstands. Although the Yankees swept the Blue Jays, the 2008 John Jay-East Fishkill High School graduate finished the three-game series with two hits, two RBI, a pair of walks and three runs scored.
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His appearance in the series and his home run generated excitement from the community back home in Dutchess County.
Matt Martell, a 2014 John Jay graduate and Sports Illustrated reporter, was left in awe of the home run.
“Panik’s home run was a no-doubter off the bat. An upper deck shot at the new Yankee Stadium is a blast, similar to hitting one into the third deck at the old stadium,” said Martell, who was coached at John Jay by Panik’s brother, Paul Panik, an assistant baseball coach at the time. “Knowing he grew up a Yankees fan made the homer all the more exciting.”
Tom O’Hare, who coached Panik at John Jay, saw the clip of his home run the following day.
“It was awesome for a kid who grew up an hour from Yankee Stadium. Knowing Joe, I’m sure he looked around and took a moment to really take it in and enjoy it,” O’Hare said. “It’s got to be another check mark on his list of great accomplishments in a great career he’s having.”
Broadcaster Ryan Ruocco, a Fishkill product and close friend of Panik, tweeted his excitement over the feat. His social media post read, “I know how much that meant to him growing up a die hard Yankee fan. So cool to see. Gave me chills!”
Last December, Panik mentioned he anticipated those games in the Bronx against the Yankees in 2016 before he offered health and fitness advice to local athletes in Wappingers Falls. In speaking to the Journal, he explained where his Yankee fandom came from.
“My dad grew up a Yankee fan, in the Bronx, in Yonkers,” Panik said last year. “And he just kind of passed that along to me.”
He added that his first favorite player was Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs. But as Derek Jeter gained fanfare in the mid-1990s, the former Yankee captain quickly became Panik’s idol.
Traditionally a second baseman, Panik has seen time at Jeter’s old position, playing 11 games at shortstop this season. He’s also played third base for the Blue Jays in nine games this year, proving his ability as a utility man.
Panik was drafted 29th overall in 2011 by the Giants. He won a World Series championship with San Francisco in 2014 and was named an All-Star the following season.
In August of last year, he was designated for assignment by the Giants but picked up by the New York Mets three days later. He signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays in January and made the opening day roster.
Panik began Major League Baseball’s condensed 60-game season slowly, slashing .217/.294/.283 through the end of August. He’s since swung the bat better, with a .313 batting average, a .441 on-base percentage and a .479 slugging percentage over his last 15 games.
“I have seen improvements recently. He’s swinging at fewer pitches outside of the zone than he has in previous seasons,” Martell said. “As he’s gotten more at-bats and consistent playing time, he’s found a rhythm offensively.”
O’Hare has noticed the refinement, too.
“It seems like he’s trending up the last few weeks,” he said. “He’s doing well and I’m just happy that he’s with a ballclub that’s got him in the lineup, so he can do great things.”
The Blue Jays entered Friday 26-23 and remain in position to reach MLB’s playoff tournament, which was given a new format this year. Eight teams in each league will make the postseason.
Panik will have another chance to play against the Yankees before the end of the season, but not at Yankee Stadium. Toronto will host New York at Sahlen Field in Buffalo for four games between Sept. 21 and Sept. 24.
A.J. Martelli: amartelli@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4836, Twitter: @AJ_Martelli
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Joe Panik excels against Yankees, Dutchess County marvels