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Ron Marinaccio, Toms River
Ron Marinaccio of Toms River is always reminded about how far he'd gone as he worked in spring training, moving around the bold-faced names at Yankees camp.
Marinaccio recalled growing up as a Yankees fan in Toms River and attending games at the previous
Yankee Stadium.
Marinaccio joined the Yankees' pitching staff on the same day that Toms River native
Todd Frazier announced his retirement from baseball."It's impossible to picture myself on the foul lines for the Opening Day introductions," Marinaccio, 26, said.
"That's going to be incredible in itself, and being with the Yankees just makes it a little bit cooler," Marinaccio said after pitching a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in the Yankees' preseason finale against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
Marinaccio, a 2013 Toms River High School North alumnus, said he texted Frazier after the former big-league infielder – who played for both the Yankees and the Mets – announced his retirement on social media earlier Tuesday.
Marinaccio, who has spent time with Frazier, said, "I'm happy for him; he's going to enjoy time with his kids now, which is awesome."
"This offseason, he reached out to me, and I got to pick his brain a little bit...
"I didn't know what to expect going in here, so that was good," Marinaccio added, referring to Frazier as "an older brother figure to me."
Based on a strong spring and a 2021 minor league season that placed him on the map, the right-hander, who wore No. 97 in camp, earned a spot on the Yankees' 16-man staff to start the season.
Marinaccio and fellow rookie JP Sears, a lefty, drew the attention of coaches and executives "very early on," according to manager Aaron Boone.
"Putting them on the 40-man roster this winter was a solid sign of who we believed they were and where we thought they were," Boone explained.
"And I believe both of those guys...have the makeup (and) the equipment necessary to make this shift."
During the COVID-interrupted 2020 summer, Marinaccio's velocity increased from 90-91 mph to a steady 94-95 mph as he focused on his delivery and training.
Last season, the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder combined up a 2.04 ERA in 40 games for Class AA Somerset and Class AAA Scranton, with 105 strikeouts and 27 walks in 66.1 innings.
The fact that he was up against clubs like the Toronto Blue Jays in spring, which featured Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and George Springer, gave Marinaccio even more confidence in his ability to navigate a strong big-league order.
