At first glance, Andy Stankiewicz is a glutton for punishment.
Why would one man put himself through this, again? He was a free man last year, roving from team to team, teaching the intricacies of infield defense. He never stayed in one place for more than a week.
Stankiewicz, the Staten Island Yankees manager in 2003, didn’t have to slog through losses anymore. Or answer any more “What’s wrong with this club” questions.
But in spring training of this season, the Yankees asked Stankiewicz to work as a roving infield instructor for the first half of the year and to coach the Baby Bombers for the second half. He agreed.
“Roving is different,” Stankiewicz said before last night’s home opener against the Brooklyn Cyclones at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. “You’re in with a team for five or six days and then you’re out and then you’re with another team. With managing, you’re with the same group of guys every day. You can invest a lot of time and energy with them. You develop relationships and you can develop trust there.
“We didn’t do that well [in 2003], but I really enjoyed the job and I felt like we got better. It’s been a great experience.”
Stankiewicz and the Yankees struggled through a forgettable 29-47 2003 campaign. Last season, with Tommy John at the helm, the Yanks went 28-44 (the Yanks lost four games to a rainouts).
This year could be different. On Tuesday, opening night, the Yanks lost 10-7 to the Cyclones at KeySpan Park. Their pitching and defense struggled, but Stankiewicz pointed to several members of the lineup who provided reason for hope.
Center fielder and lead-off man Brett Gardner went 2-for-4 with three runs scored. First baseman Kyle Larsen went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. And John Poterson blasted a three-run homer in the eighth.
“We want them to develop an understanding of professional baseball,” Stankiewicz said. “To play the game as a livelihood as opposed as a hobby. We want them to understand the Yankee program. Sometimes it’s player development versus winning. But we work for an organization and an owner who’s not very patient. He doesn’t want his teams to lose whether it be this team or the Gulf Coast League team or obviously the New York Yankees.”
Now Stankiewicz takes the reins again, and presumably will have to hear from that “owner” from time to time. What some see as masochism, Stankiewicz sees as an opportunity. The former Yankees infielder says that one day he hopes to be in a major league dugout.
“This is my second year doing this,” Stankiewicz said. “I’m learning, I enjoy it. I have a long way to go, but I’d love to continue and move up the ladder and someday manage in the big leagues.”
