Felician University Alumnus, Anthony Barone, who has risen through the professional baseball coaching ranks to Manager of the American Association’s Milwaukee Milkmen, is a guest on this week’s edition of Ballhawks on Radio Felician University. Barone graduated from Felician in 2001 and was a captain of the inaugural Golden Falcons Baseball team in 2000 and 2001.

Barone was due to make his managerial debut on May 22nd, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Milkmen’s season has been put on hold. So how does a new baseball manager prepare for a baseball season when life is not normal? According to Barone trying to stay positive and keeping in contact with his guys is important. “What I’ve really been doing is staying in touch, just to see how they’re doing as individuals…baseball is baseball, you really hope their health and their family’s health is good, I’m truthfully more concerned about their wellbeing than if they’re working out.” This concern for his teammates is what made Barone a good team captain says Ed Ward who coached Barone at Felician in those early years of the baseball program. Ward, who makes a surprise appearance on Ballhawks thinks the social skills Barone employed at Felician will make him a great baseball manager, “When he was at Felician he was a people person and I think it will be the same way with the Milwaukee Milkmen.”

Both Barone and Ward took time to reminisce about the 2000 and 2001 Felician Golden Falcons Baseball Team which made it to the playoffs both years and had surprising success for a baseball program in its inaugural years, finishing 2nd in the CACC in 2001. Barone fondly remembered his first visit to Felician, driving here from Jamestown, NY in a snowstorm. “The moment I arrived and met Coach Ward, I was impressed with his enthusiasm for Felician and the Baseball program, when I got to campus, it was beautiful, it had that small feel, like it was home.”

Barone is still looking forward to that managerial debut sometime in July when the American Association is looking to possibly start a shortened 80 game season. This will give the Milkmen about a week of training camp. “Our guys are going to really be ready to go when they get to Milwaukee…but many of these guys have been to the show or in the high minor leagues so they know how to keep in shape.”

This edition of Ballhawks with host Jeff Shelly can be heard on Radio Felician, Friday 6/5 and 6/12 at 8pm and Sunday 6/7 and 6/14 at 1pm. Radio Felician is the internet radio station of the Franciscan University of NJ. You can listen to Radio Felician by finding it on the Felician University website, www.Felician.edu or clicking HERE.

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About Felician University

Felician University engages over 2,300 undergraduate, graduate, and adult students through programs in Arts & Sciences, Business, Nursing, and Education. Universal Franciscan values of social justice, compassion, and respect for human dignity serve as an inclusive foundation for transforming the lives of tomorrow’s leaders. Felician University’s education is ranked 3rd best return on investment for private colleges in New Jersey 2018 by the PayScale.com College ROI Report and is ranked #1 safest college campus in the state by niche.com.