SAL Brooklyn Cyclones

A 'New' Man in Charge

April 6, 2023 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Brooklyn Cyclones News Release


BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Fresh off a second-half South Atlantic League North Division crown, the Brooklyn Cyclones have a familiar face taking the reigns in the dugout at 1904 Surf Avenue. Chris Newell - who spent last season as Brooklyn's bench coach - returns to Coney Island to assume the role of Cyclones skipper.

"I'm super excited. It's a dream come true," said Newell. "It's an honor, especially to manage the Cyclones, the first pro team [in Brooklyn] since the Dodgers left."

Entering his fourth season in the organization and his second in Brooklyn, the Clarkstown, Mich. native gleaned plenty from Brooklyn's 2022 skipper Luis Rivera and plans to impart similar lessons as he carries the torch following last summer's playoff run.

"Being here last year helped pave the way and working for Luis [Rivera] was outstanding," said the 49-year-old. "The environment that he created with us as a staff, he let us coach. As they say, 'you guys are hired for a reason, you guys are here to coach, use your strengths,' and we were able to do that. I'm going to do the same thing with my staff this year."

Newell is no stranger to calling the shots from the dugout - he served as the skipper for the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers of the United Shore Professional Baseball League from 2016-19. In that time, he was named Manager of the Year three times (2016-18) and captured two league championships (2017-18).

However, despite his previous on-field success in former homes, Newell credits his preparedness to his connection with the players in the dugout and away from the ballpark.

"It always about the players. I've learned more from the players than any player has ever learned from me," Newell explained. "You have to get a chance to know your players, not just on a baseball level, but a personal level. Having that ability last year with the guys that were here is only going to help me moving forward with these new guys."

The former Major League scout will unleash a loaded lineup set to feature returnees such as OF Stanley Consuegra, OF Alex Ramírez and new faces like C Kevin Parada and OF Omar De Los Santos. With so many top bats in Brooklyn to start the season, Newell hopes to foster a loose environment for each to thrive.

"Create an environment where they're not coming to work everyday, they're coming to play baseball," said Newell. "This is what they've worked their whole lives for and it's my job to nurture them and get them up to Buck [Showalter] soon."

Thanks to an equally gifted pitching staff - headling by the Mets' top pitching prospect RHP Blade Tidwell - Newell is not only overjoyed about the potential for greatness, but the camraderie pitching coach Victor Ramos has developed with the staff.

"The comfort level that these guys have with Victor is second to none," exclaimed Newell. "His personality, his energy, everything about him it just screams 'wonderful vibes'. For a guy like me who is loosey-goosey, to have my pitching coach be the same guy, it's been special and we haven't even started yet."

While the key goal is to develop the next generation of Amazin' Mets stars to shine at Citi Field, the Michigan native - and the organization itself - is ready to start fostering a winning culture to bring a second league title to Coney Island in the last four years.

"Winning is contagious. As long as that scoreboard is on, and it's lit up, winning matters, but developing matters too," described Newell. "Eddy Rodriguez (Mets' field coordinator) said it best in spring training. He says, 'we're going to be developing players from 1:30 p.m. until the sixth inning, seventh inning. Then, from the seventh inning on, it's about winning.'"

Check out the Brooklyn Cyclones Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from April 6, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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