All-Diamond Team: Joe Panik

In 2025, The Diamond hosts its 40^th and final season of professional baseball in Richmond. Between the Richmond Braves from 1985-2008 and the Richmond Flying Squirrels since 2010, countless future major leaguers have taken the steps from the first base dugout onto The Diamond’s playing surface.

Prior to the season, fans voted for The All-Diamond Team, selecting one manager as well as 14 of their favorite players who have gone on to MLB stardom after suiting up for the R-Braves and Flying Squirrels.

We continue the announcement of the All-Diamond Team with the fans’ choice for second baseman, Joe Panik.

Manager: Grady Little
Starting Pitcher: John Smoltz
Starting Pitcher: Tom Glavine
Starting Pitcher: Logan Webb
Relief Pitcher: Mike Stanton
Relief Pitcher: Hunter Strickland
Utility Player: Mark DeRosa
Catcher: Javy Lopez
First Baseman: Ryan Klesko
Second Baseman: Joe Panik
Shortstop: TBA
Third Baseman: TBA
Outfielder: TBA
Outfielder: TBA
Outfielder: TBA

Joe Panik was a member of the Richmond Flying Squirrels in 2013, a year before beginning his eight-year MLB career.

He was selected as a shortstop by the Giants with the 29^th pick in the 2011 MLB Draft after an all-conference college career at St. John’s.

After hitting just under. 400 that spring in college, he went to short-season Salem-Keizer and was named the Northwest League’s MVP, batting .341 in 69 games to start his professional career.

In 2012, Panik spent his first full professional season with High-A San Jose, where he was named the California League’s top defensive shortstop before spending the 2013 season at Double-A in Richmond with the Flying Squirrels.

The Giants had Brandon Crawford, who was early into his big-league career, locked into shortstop in the majors, and Panik slid over to second base heading into 2013.

“I had to learn how to play second base,” Panik said. “The Giants had won the World Series in 2012, and Crawford had a phenomenal season playing shortstop. That offseason, the Giants said they were going to move me from short to second. There was a lot of learning. I really learned a lot about myself, good and bad, and how to handle situations.”

Baseball America ranked Panik as the No. 2 Giants prospect heading in 2013, saying, “He could form a smooth tandem with Brandon Crawford in another year or two.”

The 2013 Flying Squirrels had an infield filled with highly touted Giants prospects. Shortstop Ehire Adrianza, who has gone on to play 12 seasons in the majors, was already on the Giants’ 40-man roster and played shortstop.

Adam Duvall, who has also spent more than a decade in the majors and won a Gold Glove, won a World Series title and been selected as an All-Star, was playing third base.

Ricky Oropesa, who went on to set the Flying Squirrels career homer record that still stands today, was considered one of the Giants’ top power prospects and played first base.

Panik made his Double-A debut with the Flying Squirrels on April 4, 2013, on Opening Day against The Diamond against the New Britain Rock Cats.

He picked up his first Double-A hit the next day, added a three-hit game two days later and rolled to a hot start for the season’s first month, batting .333 in 25 games. He closed the month on a 10-game hitting streak, which included six multi-hit games.

That same streak was also the beginning of a 24-game on-base streak. From April 20 through May 17, he hit .352. He had multiple hits 12 times in his first 31 Double-A games through early May.

On May 23, Panik started the second triple play in franchise history. With the Flying Squirrels leading in the ninth, Trenton had runners at first and second with no outs.

On a 3-2 pitch, Tyler Austin lined out to Panik at shortstop, who then stepped on second base for a force out and threw to Andrew Susac at first for the final out of the game.

Panik cooled off at the plate during the middle of the summer but finished strong, batting .274 in 27 August games. He closed the season with a .257 batting average.

“They always say Single-A to Double-A is the biggest jump,” Panik said. “To me, it was. As you go up the levels, the pitchers make fewer mistakes. In A-ball the velocity or the pitches might not be there. In Double-A, there’s more velocity, better breaking pitches and pitchers don’t make as many mistakes. The talent alone really couldn’t get by, so I really had to learn game planning and approaches.”

For the year, Panik played 137 of the Flying Squirrels’ 142 games, which is tied with Charlie Culberson in 2011 and Daniel Mayora in 2012 as the most in a season in franchise history.

“I took pride in taking care of my body,” Panik said. “When I was younger, I really took pride in learning how to be able to play tired, learning how to play when your body might not be feeling well.”

Panik also set a team record with 522 at bats in 2013, a mark that still stands today.

“That was something that, coming through the minor leagues, the organizational philosophy was that they wanted you to get as many at-bats as possible,” Panik said. “They felt that the more at-bats you got, the quicker development could be.”

As a rookie with the Giants in 2014, he helped them win their third World Series title in five years.

Panik is one of six former Flying Squirrels players who have been selected as an All-Star in the majors through 2024, earning a spot in the 2015 All-Star Game.

“It’s crazy to think of all the players that have come through The Diamond that the fans remember me and they remember me fondly,” Panik said. “It’s truly an honor. That’s a lot of years and a lot of great ballplayers who have gone through there.”

He is also one of four former Flying Squirrels to win a Gold Glove in the majors, which he did in 2016. Crawford (four times), Duvall (2021) and Patrick Bailey (2024) are the others.

“I really felt like I grew up in Richmond,” Panik said. “It was definitely a big part of my development as a player. Richmond was one of the special places for me. It was the best atmosphere in the Eastern League if not one of the best in Minor League Baseball. It didn’t matter if it was April or if it was a day game in July.”

Panik spent six seasons with the Giants from 2014-2019. He and his middle infield partner, 2010 Flying Squirrels shortstop Brandon Crawford, are featured on a mural on the first-base side of The Diamond.

“It’s definitely special coming back here, seeing your face up on the stadium,” Panik said. “It’s very humbling, seeing your face and seeing that you’ve made an impact on the people of Richmond and the fans.”

Panik played with the Mets for part of the 2019 season, spent parts of two seasons with the Blue Jays before finishing his career with the Marlins in 2021.

He now works with the Giants as a special assistant in player development.