Val Pascucci update
Valentino Pascucci patrols the outfield at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium in Newark during his tour of duty with the Camden Riversharks in 2010 (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
A few of you might remember that I was hoping to see former Met Val Pascucci play for the Camden Riversharks this season when the team announced signing him back in February.
Well, that’s not going to happen – at least right away. I had considered going to watch the Riversharks play a spring training game against the Somerset Patriots today, but I decided to skip it when I saw that he wasn’t listed on the roster.
It turns out that Pascucci is playing for the Broncos de Reynosa in the Mexican League, where he is batting .200 (13-for-65) with 6 home runs and 16 RBI through 19 games.
Ex-Met Val Pascucci signs with Camden Riversharks
Valentino Pascucci patrols the outfield at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium in Newark during his first tour of duty with the Camden Riversharks in 2010 (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
Former New York Met Valentino Pascucci was one of three players signed by the Camden Riversharks today.
Pascucci went 3-for-11 in a 2011 September callup for the Mets. He also played in 32 games for Montreal in 2004. In the Expos’ final game in franchise history, an 8-1 loss to the Mets at Shea Stadium, Pascucci went 3-for-4 including a pair of hits off of Tom Glavine.
In 2010, Pascucci played in 14 games for Camden, so this will not be his first Atlantic League experience. Unfortunately, during that time I didn’t manage to get his autograph – I don’t think I was able to find any of his baseball cards in time. So Pascucci remains among the 101 current and former Mets players who are not represented in my autograph collection.
The Riversharks open the 2013 season on Thursday, April 18th, in Lancaster, Pa. against the Barnstormers. Their home opener is Tuesday, April 23rd vs. the Bridgeport Bluefish. My first shot to get to Camden this year will probably be on Sunday, April 28th for a game against the Barnstormers – hopefully I’ll be able to get a baseball card signed this time.
The other players signed by Camden today were Ruddy Yan and Raul Padron, both returning Riversharks.
Trenton Thunder & Camden Riversharks collect items for Hurricane Sandy victims
Trenton Thunder mascot Boomer (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
This week, the Trenton Thunder and Camden Riversharks are each running their own drives to collect supplies for the people who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.
For details, including lists of needed items, click here for the Riversharks and here for the Thunder.
Camden Riversharks, Somerset Patriots release 2013 schedules
The Camden Riversharks will play their 2013 home opener at Campell’s Field on April 23rd. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
The Atlantic League unveiled its 2013 schedule information today. The 140-game season will begin on Thursday, April 18th and conclude on Sunday, September 15th. The full schedule is available in PDF format on the league website.
The Somerset Patriots start the season at home with a series against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, while the Camden Riversharks open up on the road in Lancaster, Pa. against the Barnstormers. The Riversharks will play their home opener on Tuesday, April 23rd when they host the Bridgeport Bluefish.
No changes to the composition of the 8-team independent league are planned for 2013, according to the schedule that was released.
For more information, visit the websites of the Somerset Patriots and the Camden Riversharks.
Photos from Sunday’s Camden Riversharks vs. Sugarland Skeeters game
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- Cambell’s Field marquee
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- Camden coach Ron Karkovice and Sugarland manager Gary Gaetti participate in the pre-game lineup exchange
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- Sugarland Skeeters manager Gary Gaetti was a star player for the Minnesota Twins in the 1980s
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- Sugarland Skeeters player/coach Vic Gutierrez
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- Former Houston Astros outfielder Jason Lane was the Sugarland Skeeters DH
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- Sugarland Skeeters outfielder Bubba Bell spent time in the Mets farm system last year
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- Sugarland Skeeters shortstop Iggy Suarez was once a Boston Red Sox prospect
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- Sugarland Skeeters starter Heath Phillips
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- Former Newark Bears coach Ron Karkovice watches the game from the Camden Riversharks dugout
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- Camden Riversharks starter Kevin Reese
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- Former Newark Bears infielder Paddy Matera started at shortstop for the Riversharks and made several nice plays in the field
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- The Ben Franklin Bridge
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- Philadelphia
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- The Battleship New Jersey
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- The Moshulu
A Paddy Matera sighting
Paddy Matera, seen here in a photo from a 2011 Newark Bears game, will play for the Camden Riversharks in 2012. (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
For those wondering about where former Newark Bear Paddy Matera would be playing in 2012, it’s time to start following the Camden Riversharks.
Jose writes:
I just saw Paddy Matera playing today [Saturday] with the Camden Riversharks against the Lancaster Barnstormers. He started at short, and think he went 2 for 3 today.
Matera joins former Bears coach Ron Karkovice and recent Bears players Mikey Mehlich, Chris Rollins and Matt Smith with Camden.
The Riversharks begin the 2012 season on Thursday, April 26th with a 7:05 p.m. game in Bridgeport. Their home schedule starts on Wednesday, May 9th with a 7:05 p.m. game vs. the Lancaster Barnstormers, and their first trip to Bridgewater to play the Somerset Patriots begins on Thursday, May 24th with an 11:05 a.m. day game.
Camden Riversharks name 2012 coaching staff
Good morning and happy Sunday. I’m catching up with a few things from Thursday that no longer seemed so important by the time I had time to write about them that evening.
Ron Karkovice (Photo credit: Paul Hadsall)
The Camden Riversharks have announced their 2012 coaching staff, and it will have a familiar face to Newark Bears fans.
Ron Karkovice will join new manager Jeff Scott as his bench coach. Karkovice had been a Newark Bears coach since 2009. A 12-year veteran of Major League Baseball, Karkovice spent his entire playing career with the Chicago White Sox. He caught Wilson Alvarez‘s no-hitter in 1991 and hit an unconventional inside-the-park grand slam in 1990.
Scott, who had been the Riversharks’ pitching coach for the past three seasons, previously managed the Atlantic League’s Road Warriors franchise in 2006 and 2007.
Rounding out Camden’s coaching staff is former infielder Brett Bonvechio, who played for the Riversharks from 2008-2010.
A tip of the cap to Corey Mansfield‘s ATL Baseball Blog for reminding me about the Rivershark’s coaching staff announcement.
