Joe Panik: 2019 Mets Second Baseman
He attended high school in Hopewell Junction & then college at St. Johns University in Queens, where he played baseball for the Red Storm.
In summer he played in the Cape Cod league making the All Star team there as well. He would get selected as a first round pick in 2011 by the San Francisco Giants.
He would make his MLB debut in 2014 playing in 73 games batting .305 for the World Champion Giants. Post Season: He would collect three hits in the Wild Card game win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the NLCS Game #2 he hit a two run HR off Adam Wainwright in the 6-4 SF win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
He would also drive in two runs in the World Series Game #4 win over the Kansas City Royals. In Game #7 he made a diving catch & helped turn a spectacular double play, flipping the ball with his glove to the short stop. Overall he batted .233 in the post season (17 for 73).
He would spend parts of six seasons with the Giants as their main second baseman in those years. He made the 2015 All Star team as he batted .312 on the season with 27 doubles playing in 100 games. He won a Gold Glove & led the league in fielding % in 2016, while having career highs in HRs (10) & RBIs (62). He would have had more production but was hit in the head with a pitch in July & suffered a concussion, missing some action.
2016 Wild Card Game: In the Wild Card game against the Mets, he drew a 9th inning walk & scored on Conor Gillaspie's three run HR.In 2017 he tied an MLB record & set a Giants franchise record, with 12 hits in a three game series.
In 2018 he hit HRs in the first two games of the season, both coming in 1-0 wins against the LA Dodgers. He was the first player in MLB history to help his team to back to back 1-0 wins.
Mets Career: In 2019 he was struggling batting .235 & was designated for assignment on August 9th. With the Mets losing their second baseman Robinson Cano due to injury, the Mets jumped at the opportunity signing the former New Yorker.
He arrived just in time as the Mets were on a big win streak & fighting for a play off spot. On August 11th he drove in his first Mets run. He went on an eight game hit streak, driving in three runs & hitting a triple from August 9th thru the 22nd. On August 31st he doubled & drove in a pair of runs in the Mets 6-3 win at Philadelphia. He hit his first HR on September 3rd, in a 11-10 Mets loss to the Nats. His second homer came on the last day of the season, as the Mets swept the Braves ending the an 86 win season.
Quotes: Joe Panik: "It was a lot of fun. I think everybody here wishes we could've made an actual run, but to be in it until the last week, to still have a chance, it makes September baseball fun."
Toronto Blue Jays. He played in 41 games batting .225. He hit his only HR on September 16th in a game against the AL New York club.
He played in two games of the 2020 AL Wild Card series loss to the Tampa Rays, making the last out in both games.
Panik played 662 games at second, 14 games at short & 12 at third base.
Family: Joe married his wife Brittany, whom he has known since his days in Dutchess County. He has helped out at baseball clinics in Newtown, Conn. in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
In a seven year career, in 723 games he has 684 hits 127 doubles 19 triples 323 runs scored with 39 HRs & 240 RBIs.
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| The Panik Family in Joe's St. Johns Days |
Family: Joe married his wife Brittany, whom he has known since his days in Dutchess County. He has helped out at baseball clinics in Newtown, Conn. in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
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