WhistlePigs to open season Tuesday

Jun. 5—princeton — Settling into the manager's office at Hunnicutt Field in Princeton, it didn't take long for Kevin Boles to sing the praises of the sport that he's built his life around for more than a quarter-century.

Baseball is "a great game," the new skipper of the Princeton WhistlePigs said last weekend, on the brink of the 2023 Appalachian League season. Boles added that he's "really honored" to have the opportunity to pilot the local team.

"I was with Boston for 11 (seasons)," he said. "I've been with a number of organizations — Kansas City, the Florida Marlins. I started off as a player with the Cubs. It's been fun. Each place has different, unique challenges, and great learning experiences. And this is just another one."

The new Appy League schedule debuts tonight and Wednesday with Princeton hosting the Bristol State Liners. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. both nights. The WhistlePigs will play six of their first 10 games at Hunnicutt, followed by a short trip to Bluefield for games on June 17 and 18.

Boles took his first managerial job at age 25 in the year 2000, in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. He worked his way up to the Triple-A ranks, first with the Red Sox farm club in Pawtucket, R.I., and ultimately managing the Syracuse Mets in 2022.

The Appy League, though, is a different animal — now stocked with mostly college players, arriving in town via the pipeline of USA Baseball rather than being assigned within the minor-league feeder system.

Boles said, "Obviously, dealing with college players, that'll be something new. I've dealt with newly drafted high school and college players for a number of years ... so there's going to be some similarities, as far as that goes."

"I'm looking forward to just seeing the type of players that are out there these days in (NCAA) Division I baseball."

Boles was a catcher at the University of South Florida before the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the 42nd round of the 1998 MLB Draft. His professional playing career lasted two seasons.

"(I) wasn't a good player," Boles recalled. "I got the wood bat in my hands, and (my playing career) was short-lived."

"I remember going to the Cubs and saying, 'I'd like to start my transition as a player-coach, and eventually try to get full-time.' I knew I wasn't a big-leaguer. I was very realistic, as far as where I was as a player. I just knew that the next challenge was having a career in coaching."

The motivation to remain in baseball, he said, came from "just wanting to work with the best players in the world — who want to be a part of World Series-championship organizations. I've been fortunate enough to do that twice, working with the best of the best."

He said that he is focused on "being able to teach, to teach the game. It's a great game. It's definitely different from when I started, 23 (or) 24 years ago. But ... being able to teach the game that I love, it's an honor."

He appeared energized by the coaches helping with this summer's WhistlePigs.

Ronald Hayward, back for a second season in Princeton, will be third-base coach and will oversee outfielders and the base-running aspect of the offense.

Hayward is "very impressive," Boles said. "It's been a pleasure to get to know him."

Alex Jones will serve as Princeton's hitting coach. He is the son of former All-Star relief pitcher Todd Jones, who notched 319 saves during his 16-year career in the Major Leagues.

Jones has a "great work ethic (and) a great reputation," according to Boles. "Just talking with him, he's very passionate about what he does. And he's got a plan, knows what he wants to do with each individual player. He's going to set the tone for our hitters, that's for sure."

The pitching coach is a name familiar to MLB fans. Bobby Jenks pitched seven Major League seasons with the Chicago White Sox (2005-10) and Boston Red Sox (2011). He received two All-Star selections (2006-07) with the White Sox and was instrumental in helping Chicago win the 2005 World Series, pitching in all four games of the series.

Boles said, "He loves to compete. He's going to be able to help these guys out, quite a bit."

These days, Boles noted, coaches and managers must understand, "Each player is an individual, is unique. ... There's a lot more one-on-one time, instead of team conversations. That dynamic has definitely changed.

"It's just different. So, just try to get to know your players, more than anything. ... Players have got to know that you care, you care about their careers. (There are) no hidden agendas, and it's about them."

Boles said that, as a former player, "I understand where they've been. Every player, everybody has insecurities. Everybody has doubts. You're always curious about how your own coaching staff (will) use you. There's always questions.

"And what we're going to try to do here, is, any questions that they have, we want them to feel free to come to us and ask. They have to meet us halfway.

"We don't know these players," he said, "so they're going to have to tell us what they need. Now, we have done that; we have player plans in place with these guys. We've been in communication with them. ... Yeah, we've seen them on video, and we've seen them on paper.

"We're going to get to know them."

The manager remembered, as a newly drafted player, "just having a lot of questions. And it just seemed very fast. What we're going to try to do is to just kind of slow things down a little bit for these guys, if we can."

He remembered his father telling him, "Be patient. It's a tough game."

"Players don't mean to make mistakes," he said, but quickly established a higher bar for his young roster. "Obviously, you have high expectations for them, you have standards, and there's a certain way you have to go about your business."

Boles said fans expect to see "some exciting baseball. We want to see some winning baseball, too. Yeah, we'd like to win some games in front of our home fans here. ... People have a choice, as far as what their entertainment is.

"Our guys will play hard. That's the one thing," he said. "We may make some mistakes, but they are going to play hard, and they're going to give their best effort. If not, we'll get somebody that will."