King’s Education Department to present Evidence-Based Conference in preparation for 2016-17 school year

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<p>It turned out Mark Teixeira didn&#8217;t need more than one hit during his Triple-A rehab stay to have a major impact on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.</p><p>Because during his time in Moosic, Teixeira proved to be a big hit.</p><p>That wasn&#8217;t limited to his attraction at the box office, where the RailRiders drew more than 20,000 fans over three days to watch one of the star attractions of the New York Yankees play at PNC Field.</p><p>His sheer presence in the clubhouse gave the RailRiders a big boost, too.</p><p>&#8220;Definitely, you can learn a lot from him,&#8221; said rising Yankees outfield prospect Aaron Judge, who banged three home runs in three days with Teixeira batting behind him in the RailRiders lineup. &#8220;You can learn a lot just being around him, just kind of pick his brain. He&#8217;s been around the major leagues for a long time.&#8221;</p><p>What Teixeira and the Yankees learned over his three-day stint in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is that his balky right knee is holding up through a short stretch of games &#8212; at least for now &#8212; even if his swing isn&#8217;t in All-Star form.</p><p>The three-time American League All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winning first baseman appeared to move fluidly around the bag at PNC Field while playing first base for six innings on Tuesday and the full nine on Thursday before re-joining the parent Yankees in time for Saturday&#8217;s 1 p.m. game against the Minnesota Twins.</p><p>But he batted just .111 for the RailRiders, managing just a lone single in nine at-bats while trying to regain his timing after recovering from loose cartilage in his right knee that sent him to the big league disabled list June 4.</p><p>For the RailRiders, though, his timing was perfect.</p><p>Young prospects in their lineup like catcher Gary Sanchez, outfielder Jake Cave, shortstop Donovan Solano and outfielders Tyler Austin and Judge only stand to benefit from the advice Teixeira was more than willing to share.</p><p>&#8220;The younger players will benefit from him being here,&#8221; RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said.</p><p>Some already have.</p><p>For higher-end prospects such as Judge, who spent some time in big league camp during spring training, the week certainly wasn&#8217;t their first chance to watch and learn from Teixeira.</p><p>But having him in the minor league clubhouse for a few days proved to be a valuable refresher course for hitters who had an opportunity to take spring swings with the Yankees.</p><p>The up-and-coming RailRiders have been soaking up some of that insight from Nick Swisher, a former Yankees regular who signed a minor league deal with New York in May while hoping to play his way back to Yankee Stadium.</p><p>But a double dose of input from Teixeira and Swisher, two of the Yankees regulars on their 2009 World Series championship team, can&#8217;t help but add to the experience of RailRiders prospects longing to someday play in New York.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got a lot of baseball knowledge,&#8221; Judge said of playing with Teixeira. &#8220;It&#8217;s an honor.&#8221;</p><p>Judge said the most important input he received from Teixeira during the week was simply a reminder from when the two talked back in Tampa during spring training.</p><p>&#8220;Just stick to what you do, he said,&#8221; Judge smiled. &#8220;In spring training, a lot of different people want to talk to you about different approaches. He said, &#8216;You know what works for you, just stick to what you know.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>That mindset has carried Teixeira to a .270 career batting average over 14 big league seasons, and has him three homers away from reaching the 400 mark for his career.</p><p>He&#8217;s not off to the best start of his life, batting .180 in 49 games for the Yankees this season &#8212; &#8220;I&#8217;ve been beat up all year,&#8221; Teixeira said &#8212; but he was right back in the middle of their batting order upon his return.</p><p>And his frustrating beginning to the 2016 season that&#8217;s been plagued with health problems may end up becoming a blessing for some guys planning on becoming Yankees of the future.</p><p>&#8220;This is a great atmosphere for minor league baseball,&#8221; Teixeira said. &#8220;This is a great group of guys here. I really enjoyed being here.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">While playing with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders during a three-day rehabilitation stint this week, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left the minor league team with a little big league wisdom. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL062216Railriders3-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>While playing with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders during a three-day rehabilitation stint this week, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira left the minor league team with a little big league wisdom. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL062316Railriders4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was a big hit with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fans and players when he showed up at PNC Field. The RailRiders drew over 20,000 fans over the three games Teixeira played in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL062316Railriders4-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was a big hit with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fans and players when he showed up at PNC Field. The RailRiders drew over 20,000 fans over the three games Teixeira played in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_rr_mh5_faaCMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">RailRiders prospects like Aaron Judge, shown batting against Toledo on Wednesday, benefited from having New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira (at left, in the on deck circle) spend three days with the team during a three-day injury rehabilitation stint with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this week. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_rr_mh5_faaCMYK-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>RailRiders prospects like Aaron Judge, shown batting against Toledo on Wednesday, benefited from having New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira (at left, in the on deck circle) spend three days with the team during a three-day injury rehabilitation stint with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this week. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mark Teixeira proves a hit with young RailRiders hitters