{"id":7768,"date":"2020-06-14T04:34:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T01:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/rutgers-camden-coach-christian-hackenbergs-baseball-dream-not-a-joke\/"},"modified":"2020-06-14T04:34:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-14T01:34:00","slug":"rutgers-camden-coach-christian-hackenbergs-baseball-dream-not-a-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/rutgers-camden-coach-christian-hackenbergs-baseball-dream-not-a-joke\/","title":{"rendered":"#Rutgers-Camden coach: Christian Hackenberg\u2019s baseball dream \u2018not a joke\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Rutgers-Camden coach: Christian Hackenberg\u2019s baseball dream \u2018not a joke\u2019<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n The text message on baseball coach Ryan Kulik\u2019s phone read like a mistake.<\/p>\n

Hey, can you get a catcher for Hackenberg? He needs to throw a bullpen. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Christian Hackenberg?\u2019\u200a\u201d Kulik recalled Saturday for The Post. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed.<\/p>\n

The former Jets quarterback \u2014 a second-round draft pick who flopped out of the NFL after three seasons and lost his starting job in the short-lived Alliance of American Football \u2014 is pursuing a professional baseball pitching career, as first reported by NBC Sports Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

For the last month, Hackenberg has been training with Kulik, coach at NCAA Division III Rutgers-Camden and trainer at All Pro Baseball Academy in Williamstown who is working out of his backyard during quarantine. They talk every day and get on the mound once or twice per week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a joke,\u201d Kulik said. \u201cHe\u2019s all-in. He wants to do whatever it takes to reach his goal. And I think he can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rutgers-Camden catcher Tommy Gosse is Hackenberg\u2019s bullpen batterymate. He mixes in fastballs, changeups and curveballs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hits the mitt,\u201d Gosse said. \u201cNo dirt balls. I\u2019m not blocking every pitch, by any means. I set up a spot and right now he is hitting it. Sometimes I have to take a step back, like, \u2018Wow, he is making this transition and learning so quick.\u2019\u200a\u201d<\/p>\n

Hackenberg, 25, was playing slow-pitch softball in South Jersey with a friend of Kulik\u2019s when the idea to switch sports materialized. He was a standout high school baseball player at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, but the side gig ended when he arrived at Penn State as a five-star quarterback in 2013. <\/p>\n

Baseball is a sport unforgiving of seven-year layoffs, but Hackenberg was clocked at 92 mph. Kulik sees room to grow the fastball to 95 when a consistent throwing program and arm-care routine are in place. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows it\u2019s going to take some time,\u201d Kulik said. \u201cBut, physically, he\u2019s got the body and the arm strength for it. It\u2019s a little different, with your lower-half mechanics, throwing a football than a baseball. Once he figures that out, he is going to be pretty damn good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hackenberg\u2019s NFL career was one bad experience on top of another. The Jets buried him on the depth chart over accuracy concerns (among other reasons) and he was traded without playing a regular-season snap. He later was cut by the Raiders, Eagles and Bengals.<\/p>\n

Baseball offers a clean mental slate. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest takeaway is he loves to compete,\u201d Gosse said. \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky enough to catch a couple big-leaguers over the years, but I for sure never thought I\u2019d be catching an NFL QB.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hackenberg\u2019s next step is to sign with a major league organization at a time when franchises are cutting minor leaguers en mass. Or he could try the independent minor league route \u2014 as former Giants quarterback Danny Kanell once did \u2014 if and when those seasons resume.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I think he could pitch in the big leagues one day? I really do,\u201d Kulik said. \u201cBecause he is just scratching the surface with what we\u2019re doing now, and I\u2019m already seeing results and improvement. If he continues to do this for another year, there\u2019s no reason he can\u2019t be 95-plus. He wants it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kulik is an Eagles season-ticket holder and a Penn State fan, but football only enters their discussions on Hackenberg\u2019s call.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a little bit of a chip on his shoulder,\u201d Kulik said.<\/p>\n

Hackenberg is making up for lost time by sponging up coaching, not afraid to ask an elementary question.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been around a lot of big leaguers, been around a lot of very talented pitchers, and he\u2019s just different in that he wants to be good,\u201d Kulik said. \u201cHe just has that drive and mentality. You can tell by the look in his eye that he wants to get there.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

If you want to read more Sports News<\/a> articles, you can visit our General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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“#Rutgers-Camden coach: Christian Hackenberg\u2019s baseball dream \u2018not a joke\u2019” The text message on baseball coach Ryan Kulik\u2019s phone read like a mistake. Hey, can you get a catcher for Hackenberg? He needs to throw a bullpen. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Christian Hackenberg?\u2019\u200a\u201d Kulik recalled Saturday for The Post. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Indeed. The former Jets quarterback…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15853,15852,15850,15851],"class_list":["post-7768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-christian-hackenberg-kulik-recalled-saturday-for-the-post-what-do-you-mean-indeed-the-former-jets-quarterback-a-second-round-draft-p","tag-can-you-get-a-catcher-for-hackenberg-he-needs-to-throw-a-bullpen-im-like","tag-rutgers-camden-coach-christian-hackenbergs-baseball-dream-not-a-joke","tag-the-text-message-on-baseball-coach-ryan-kuliks-phone-read-like-a-mistake-hey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7768\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}