I hope you all enjoyed my coverage of the Brooklyn Cyclones this summer. I certainly did! It was great to meet and interact with many of the team’s recent draft picks to see what’s in store for the future. And of course, Rich Donnelly is an awesome baseball mind, so it was great to hear his perspective each night. Below is a Q&A between myself and the MMO staff discussing the...
Normally, the lower levels on the minor leagues serve the purpose of developing young players fresh out of the June MLB draft and to get them accustomed to life in professional baseball. But for the Brooklyn Cyclones, making the playoffs has basically been a perennial feat. However, the 2013 summer short season ended without a postseason berth for the Cyclones for just the fourth time in the...
The Brooklyn Cyclones have only scored three runs in the past two games. Yet it’s resulted in two wins. The Cyclones earned a 2-1 win Thursday night over the Staten Island Yankees to remain a half-game in first place ahead of the Aberdeen Ironbirds, who also won Thursday. In front of a packed house at MCU Park in Coney Island celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of Ebbets Field – the...
No one said moving into first place would be easy for the Brooklyn Cyclones. But with the Abderdeen Ironbirds losing Tuesday night, the Cyclones could have moved a half game into first place had they won. It took 16 innings – the longest game of the season for Brooklyn – but the Cyclones fell 5-3 Tuesday to the Tri-City Valleycats at MCU Park. The team remains a half-game out of first place in...
Wednesday night at MCU Park in Coney Island was “Bark in the Park” day in which fans could bring their canines to the stadium. But on that night, Brooklyn Cyclones’ righty John Gant was the “top dog.” Gant tossed a complete-game shutout in which he faced the minimum amount of batters in the Cyclones’ 1-0 win over the Tri-City Valleycats to earn the series win. He allowed only one hit while...
Brooklyn Cyclones’ manager Rich Donnelly has said on many occasions this summer that runs in the New York-Penn League are as precious as gold. But based on the past few games, his team has been filthy rich. The Cyclones pounded out 15 hits in an 8-1 victory Monday night at MCU Park over the Tri-City Valleycats, the Single-A short season affiliate of the Houston Astros. “It’s baseball,” said...
Brooklyn Cyclones’ righty reliever Johnny Magliozzi had no thrown more than a single inning at any time this summer. But with the game on the line in the top of the eighth, Cyclones’ manager Rich Donnelly called on the reliever to get the final six outs. Magliozzi came through in dominant fashion as Brooklyn held on for a 6-4 win Friday evening at MCU Park over the Vermont Lake Monsters, the...
It was hockey jersey night at MCU Park in Coney Island Wednesday evening, and the Brooklyn Cyclones waited until well into the third period – also known as the bottom of the eighth inning – to wake up from a game-long drought and earn a 3-1 victory over the Hudson Valley Renegades. The win moves the Cyclones to 27-26 and just one game behind the McNamara Division-leading Aberdeen Ironbirds, who...
Every official baseball game features a top of the third inning. The Brooklyn Cyclones (23-24) likely wish that were not the case after a 4-1 loss to the Connecticut Tigers – the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers – Tuesday night. The Tigers scored all four of their runs – three of which were unearned – in the top of the third. Lefty starter Dario Alvarez hit the leadoff man and walked the...
The Brooklyn Cyclones will have plenty of representation at the 2013 New York-Penn League All-Star Game to be played Aug. 13 in Norwich, Conn. Starting pitchers John Gant, Miller Diaz and Robert Gsellman, closer John Mincone and second baseman L.J. Mazzilli will all represent the National League Affiliates in the game. Diaz will be the starter for the NL. With just over a week to go to the game,...
A version of this story originally appeared in The Tablet Newspaper. Brooklyn Cyclones’ manager Rich Donnelly is known for being a passionate man. He’s coached professional baseball at various levels for nearly 40 years, including winning the 1997 World Series as a coach with the Florida Marlins. But Donnelly has another passion – that actually rivals his love of baseball. The 67-year-old coach...
It’s very rare that any baseball team excels in all three major aspects of the sport – timely hitting, clutch pitching and strong defense – in any one particular game. If a team does do that, it usually isn’t a short season Single-A team. But the Brooklyn Cyclones enjoyed a complete effort in a 4-0 victory Monday evening over the Hudson Valley Renegades, the short season affiliate of the Tampa...
