New Florence Y’alls Manager Chad Rhoades did not hesitate when asked what he is looking forward to the most this upcoming season.
That is setting a vision for the whole organization. That goes beyond the players and coaches including analytical positions, developmental coordination positions, scouting and game planning spots.
“We want to become a pipeline for professional baseball, not just on the field,” Rhoades said. “To me, that happens once people outside understand that you’re doing this from a baseball perspective. But it’s built around family, around one philosophy. Everyone in the organization has a role to play just like the players on the field. If all the players on the field play their role in each of their positions, then you will win. It’s a byproduct of putting the guys in the right positions.”
That has a number of the returning players excited including Harrison DiNicola. The Y’alls finished 39-55 last year taking seventh place in the eight-team Frontier League West Division.
“It’s awesome to have a leader come in ready with a plan, especially this early,” DiNicola said. “I think he’s been itching to grab the future by the reigns and have his own club, and I’m happy he got this opportunity. I think he’s going to do a great job. Exquisite is a good adjective to use. It’s going to be cool.”
Rhoades quickly pointed out that independent baseball is the new minor league for a number of reasons. The draft is shortened and there have been cuts to rookie and Single A Minor League Baseball teams.
“In Florence, we want to offer the most innovative environment, family atmosphere place to come if you’re looking to get back,” Rhoades said. “We want to work younger this year and work with those college players that are getting overlooked.”
The Y’alls have re-signed a number of players from last year and brought in some new talent from the collegiate levels. Florence finished 57-38 making the playoffs when Rhoades serves as the pitching coach in 2021. Rhoades also served as an assistant to Dennis Pelfrey during the 2016 season.
“We believe a good team beats a good collection of players,” Rhoades said. “We’re going to have a good approach put in place for guys. When guys come from affiliated ball, they really don’t know why they got released and they don’t have a plan of action to get out. We’ll have a developmental plan for each and every single player that we’ll go over with the coaches and the player so that we’re all on the same page and they all know the role and task that they’re going to play in order to get out and put our team in the best possible chance to win.”
The Y’alls have made it to the Frontier League championship series three times in 2012, 2017 and 2019, coming up short all three times. The last time the franchise won the Frontier League crown was 2000 when it was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Rhoades does not need to be reminded of the constant roster turnover throughout the season. But players like infielder Craig Massey bring leadership to the team.
“Being able to create the culture is one of my strengths. I have a good, clean circle as far as contacts in affiliated baseball with people I trust and players with perspective I want,” Rhoades said. “They’re going to play for each other. If guys can play up to the standard that they’ve set for themselves, then the other team is not the focus. If we can conquer ourselves, then we can compete and beat other teams. But if we focus on other teams and we don’t know our own strengths, that’s when it gets tough.”
Massey said roster changes are not really a surprise to anyone but maybe the rookies coming out of college. Massey and others said they felt things would click at various points in the season. But the Y’alls were not able to put that run together to make the playoffs.
“Getting to this level already, you’ve had to deal with some failure at some point,” Massey said. “I always say you feel prepared out there or you feel pressured. To me, that just goes back to putting in the work, making sure you’re ready and making sure you’ve done what you need to be prepared on the field. After that, you give it all you got and see what happens.”
The Frontier League East features three teams located in Canada including the defending champion Quebec Capitals. The Y’alls have three games in Canada this year from July 21-23 against the Ottawa Titans.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for our players to see that. The only frustration I do see which I’m sure is going to get smoothed out is not being able to take your visa guys and those types of protocols going in,” Rhoades said. “You can’t bring five, six of your players. But it’s fun for me to travel. We’re always seeking to protect our house. But we’re going to love going on the road even more to be able to see other places and compete there.”
The Y’alls had a handful of exhibition games, including an upcoming visit to the Savannah Bananas on May 15. Florence opens the season Thursday against the Gateway (Illinois) Grizzlies at Thomas More Stadium.