After two elbow surgeries the past two years,
Lee Gronkiewicz is officially retired from chasing his major league
baseball dream. He was hoping for one more chance, but his elbow injury
will not allow it.
He spent the final two months of last season as
manager of the Columbia Blowfish of the Coastal Plain League and is
back again this year.
The former USC standout is currently the
pitching coach at USC-Lancaster, but he is looking forward to being back
in the Midlands this summer as manager of the Blowfish. They open the
season with a home date against Florence on May 27.
"I've had the
positions and batting lineup set on paper for the last six months,"
Gronkiewicz said. "This is a team I built, so I'm thrilled to have these
kids coming in."
While Gronkiewicz has his lineup ready, it might
be late June before his entire roster is available. USC players Tyler
Webb, Brison Celek, Patrick Sullivan and Jake Williams are listed on the
roster, but depending how far the Gamecocks advance in the NCAA
postseason, they might not be available right away.
Some other
local players on the roster are former Spring Valley star Jake Zokan
(College of Charleston), Nick Orvin (The Citadel) and Kevin Nichols
(Lexington, Erskine).
"It's going to be tough," Gronkiewicz said.
"The season will be three or four weeks in before get to see a lot of
our players. We have to sign a lot of conditional guys. We're looking to
use a number of local guys in that role to give the roster a Columbia
flavor. I will have enough ammo out on the field in the beginning to
compete, but it will be a challenge."
Gronkiewicz said he expects
his team to be aggressive and try and manufacture runs instead of
sitting back waiting on the three-run homer.
"I preach
aggressiveness on the bases," he said. "We steal bases. We have tons of
speed, and we're going to use it. I don't see us sacrificing too much, I
see us stealing bases instead."
Opening night also will offer
Columbia fans an opportunity to meet two-time National League MVP and
former Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy, who will be signing autographs.
The
Blowfish will auction off a signed Atlanta Braves No. 3 Dale Murphy
jersey to benefit Palmetto Health Foundation.
"We have a team in
Mobile, Alabama, and we brought him in for an appearance and we struck
up a great relationship," Blowfish general manager Bill Shanahan said.
"We said right away to let's bring him to Columbia for a good cause."
Again
the highlight of the schedule will be annual USC alumni-Columbia
Blowfish game on July 3rd. That usually is the biggest draw of the
season with former Gamecock players facing the Blowfish. Fireworks are
also scheduled for after the game.
This year's game will feature
an additional twist. The USC players will have their uniforms auctioned
off afterwards with all the proceeds benefitting the Ray Tanner
Foundation.
"Although my name is on it, the money we raise is put
right back into the community," Tanner said. "The fact that the Blowfish
have embarked on this is a great feeling for us. We're very
appreciative, and we hope it's a big night so we can reach out to so
many people in the community that need the money the most."
