Patriots’ Amendola revels in taking to McCoy mound
PAWTUCKET — For a professional football player who’s been a part of two Super Bowl winning teams, Danny Amendola got to cross an item off his bucket list at McCoy Stadium on Thursday night.
“I always wanted to throw out the first pitch,” said the Patriots wide receiver after doing just that with PawSox reliever Austin Maddox serving as the ceremonial catcher. “Nothing better than doing it in the hometown where you live. I have a lot of friends who come to (McCoy Stadium) and hang out and I’ve always wanted to come to this stadium. It’s great to be here.”
Growing up in Texas, Amendola played a lot of baseball. He was a second baseman and lists former Houston Astros standout Craig Biggio as his favorite player. His biggest downfall was his inability to hit a curveball. Luckily for Amendola, he ran into no issues when it came to hauling in passes on the football field.
“I was 18 and going through a transitional stage. The curveball wasn’t a part of it,” Amendola said with a smile.
A year-round Rhode Island resident, Amendola plans to place the ceremonial baseball from his PawSox experience in his locker at Gillette Stadium.
“It’s a great opportunity to play on a great football team,” said Amendola, who’s taken several pay cuts to remain with the Patriots. “I love playing for this team and this city.”
Now entering his fifth year as one of Tom Brady’s trusty and dependable pass catchers, Amendola said it took him a few weeks before last February’s Super Bowl sensation against the Atlanta Falcons subsided.
“Once those aches and pains go away, you always have the film to look at. It was a great night and I’ll remember it forever. It’s always going to be a crazy game,” Amendola said. “It’s a very demanding game, but that’s why you need to treat your body well. As you get older, you have to do it even more.”
The Patriots hosted their final minicamp practice on Thursday. Next week, there’s three days of OTA workouts before the schedule eases up until the opening of training camp in late July.
“We’ve put a lot of good work in, but it’s also very demanding and fun at the same time,” Amendola said.
The Patriots are scheduled to receive their Super Bowl rings on Friday night.
“We’re all stoked,” Amendola said. “We had a good week of preparation and running around, but it’ll be fun to relive the Super Bowl.”
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EXTRA BASES: The PawSox opened a four-game series against Buffalo with an 11-0 win before 5,585 fans. Shawn Haviland went the distance for Pawtucket, scattering four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Offensively, Ryan Court belted his fifth home run while Allen Craig went 3-for-4. … Pawtucket has now won five straight. Jalen Beeks (0-1, 6.00) is on the mound Friday. … PawSox manager Kevin Boles on reliever Chandler Shepherd, who was placed on the disabled list on Tuesday (retroactive to June 4) with right forearm stiffness: “We’ll give him some rest to calm some things down.”