Some old, some new. The Modesto Nuts gear up for a new season.
For new Modesto Nuts manager Denny Hocking, it’s all about familiarity.
Hocking, who spent 2018 as the manager of the Clinton LumberKings in Iowa, has brought half of his roster and hitting coach (Jose Umbria) with him to the Single-A Affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
“I honestly don’t look at it from my point of view but from their point of view,” Hocking said at the Nuts’ Media Day on Tuesday. “Half of these guys have been with me for a full season and know what I am about. They don’t need to adjust to me, I need to adjust to them.”
Hocking estimated there 12 players on the Nuts who he coached last year on the LumberKings including infielders Johnny Adams and Eugene Helder as well as outfielder Ariel Sandoval.
The new gig is also a return to the California League for the 13-year MLB veteran after spending the 2014 and 2015 seasons as manager of the Inland Empire 66ers. He is also a Southern California native and his family resides in Anaheim.
“When we go down south, I am basically two hours from all of the affiliates down there,” he said. “I know Sunday night we finish our series in Lancaster and I will be spending the night in my bed at home. I will have the opportunity to see the family a little bit more and it’s a extra charge for me personally when I get to sit in the dugout and look out into the stands and see familiar faces.”
After winning the California League title in 2017, the Nuts finished in third place last year with a 62-78 record.
First time in California: Helder, infielder Connor Kopach, and catcher Cal Raleigh all are in California for the first time.
“I am glad that I am getting out of the cold weather,” said Kopach, an Illinois native. “I am looking forward to seeing California in general and seeing some of the big cities like San Francisco and San Jose.”
Raleigh was a third round pick for the Seattle Mariners in 2018 and hit .288 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs for the Everett AquaSox last year. Helder had 44 RBIs for the Lumberjacks.
Updates to Stadium: John Thurman Field got some upgrades in the off-season.
Seats were upgraded in the upper box and a state-of-the-art new video board was put in left field.
The Nuts open the season Thursday in Lancaster against the JetHawks.
The Nuts’ home opener is April 11 against the Stockton Ports at 7:05 p.m.
