A homecoming for Panik
NEWYORK— The Mets signed second baseman Joe Panik on Friday before their series opener against the wild cardleading Nationals, a homecoming for the New York native.
Born about twenty miles north of Citi Field in Yonkers, Panik lived in suburban Dutchess County where he attended John Jay High School in the hamlet of Hopewell Junction. He played college baseball for St. John’s not far from his new team’s Queens stadium
“It couldn’t have worked out any better for myself, personally, a lot of family, a lot of friends in the area,” Panik said. “For me to be coming to a club that’s hot right now It’s very exciting. For me, it’s a great situation.”
Panik, 28, was designated for assignment by the Giants this week and later released. The Giants selected him in the first round out of St. John’s in 2011, and the former Gold Glove winner played a key role during the club’s 2014 World Series run.
“I think what we have in that clubhouse is something very special. There’s chemistry,” general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said. “Any player that we were going to bring into this clubhouse, we wanted to make sure that he fit in.”
An All-Star in 2015, Panik hit .271 with 36 home runs and 221 RBIs in six seasons with San Francisco. He has struggled this year, batting just .235 with a career-low .627 OPS in 103 games.
“You just don’t know what to expect when something like this happens. For me, it’s the first time in my career being DFA’d and changing teams,” Panik said. “I’ve been with the same organization since 2011 so it’s a lot of excitement right now.”