Over the course of 10 years working for the minor league New Jersey Jackals, Billy Pinckney learned all kinds of baseball lessons. Now, they can be found in his self-published book, Passion Prevails: Baseball’s Top Performers Advise Youth Players on Maximizing Their Experience.
Pinckney, a Little Falls native and Montclair State alum, has compiled stories and advice from professional baseball players at various levels. He spoke to lots of Jackals players for the book, as well as former Yankees and Mets, including David Cone, Darryl Strawberry, Willie Randolph and New Jersey’s own Todd Frazier.
The book aims to help youth and amateur players as they navigate hardships, coaches, parents and more during their baseball careers, however long they last. “As I played, I realized that some coaches didn’t understand how to be the best coach or role model for a young player,” says Pinckney, a former club player at Montclair State. “In high school, I butted heads with our coaches over philosophies. And I saw that a lot of young players were in similar situations. So I put this book together in order to help young players navigate adversity and the pressure that they’re getting from parents or coaches.”
Pinckney’s book also focuses on life after baseball, whenever that may come for an individual. The best advice he has come across is to “separate your sport and life,” and he’s working on that now as he transitions from player to aspiring sports-media member.
“Everyone has a rest of their life to live and time to spend on other things and other interests,” Pinckney says. “So if you let baseball or whatever sport consume all of you and make that your identity, it’s very difficult to find true contentment outside of the sport.”
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