Phillies Minor League Team's 'Road Trip' Almost Ends In Tragedy

A wrong turn almost turned tragic for a Pennsylvania minor-league baseball team after the team bus they were passengers in got lost, collided with an SUV, was pushed over the guardrail of an overpass and left dangling thirty feet over the busy highway below.

On Tuesday night, the Wiiliamsport Crosscutters-- an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies-- had just beaten the Brooklyn Cyclones (a New York Mets affiliate) in Coney Island and were headed to a Holiday Inn in Brooklyn when the driver of the bus apparently got lost.

The driver headed over the Veranzano-Narrows Bridge onto Staten Island and the driver tried to re-cross the span back to Brooklyn.  That's when the bus collided with a Lexus SUV on the overpass about 11 p.m., ricocheted off the vehicle and went up the guardrail--leaving the bus hanging precariously over the edge.

"Two more feet to the left and it would have fallen down onto the Expressway," a witness said.  "It was definitely their lucky day."

According to police,there were 52 passengers on the bus, including the entire Crosscutters team.  Two players and a coach were treated for minor injuries and released from a local hospital.

The driver of the SUV claimed the bus driver ran a red light and cut off the team's bus.

The incident recalled a more tragic bus crash.  In 2007, a Bluffton University baseball team charter bus plunged off an Atlanta highway ramp and killed six people.

The Crosscutters (26-21) recovered enough to play the next day, but lost to the Cyclones (25-22), 3-2, at MCU Park in Coney Island.  Both teams are battling for playoff spots in the Single-A N.Y.-Penn League.

I'm sure the team was counting their blessings more than their pitches the next day.

A Viola Grows In Brooklyn

I haven't heard the name Frank Viola in years. Even when I think of the Minnesota Twins his isn't thefirst name to come up. He was a long time Twin and tormented my beloved Tigers for years. He was one of the best pitchers in the American League and won a Cy Young in 1988. He was one of the main cogs when the Twins won the World Series in 1987.

After retiring in 1996 you didn't hear much of him. He has resurfaced again as the new pitching coach for the  Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Mets Class A outfit. Before that he was coaching high scholl ball in Orlando, Florida and doing some work for Red Sox broadcasts.

"We are excited to welcome our new staff to MCU Park," said Cyclones General Manager Steve Cohen. "It's a wonderful thing to have a Cy Young Award winner like Frank Viola guiding our young pitchers, and we look forward to a great 2011 season with all of our coaches."


The Mets are betting there will be some "Sweet Music" in Brooklyn.