State College Spikes honorary bench coach Josiah Viera, who inspired fans and the baseball world as he battled a rare childhood genetic condition, will be inducted into the New York-Penn League Hall of Fame later this month, the league announced on Thursday.
Viera, who died on Christmas Eve 2018 at the age of 14, was diagnosed with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a rare, terminal disorder that causes a child to age rapidly with an average life expectancy of 8 to 13 years. His love for baseball eventually connected him with the NYPL’s Spikes, where the Schuylkill County native became an honorary bench coach and integral part of the team for five years.
He will be inducted in the 2019 class with Gene Baker, who in 1961 became the first African-American manager in organized professional baseball when he was named skipper of Batavia by the Pittsburgh Pirates; Jane Rogers, the first person hired by the State Island Yankeees in 1999 who rose from officer manager to senior vice president of baseball operations; and Bernie Williams, whose standout stint hitting .341 with the Oneonta Yankees preceded an illustrious 16-year career with the New York Yankees, who retired his number 51.
‘As the oldest, continuouslyâ€operated Class-A league in professional baseball, the list of players, coaches, field managers, general managers, and owners reads like a Who’s Who of Baseball,’ NYPL President Ben Hayes said in a news release. ‘We are proud to induct another class of extraordinary nominees.’
Viera, who was diagnosed with Hutchinson-Gilford at the age of 1, never let his condition diminish his passion for baseball. and in 2010 he began playing Little League. Arthritis prevented him from continuing to play after a few years, but his story had spread, and in 2013 he was introduced to the Spikes, the St. Louis Cardinals’ short-season A affiliate, through the Children’s Miracle Network. He immediately became part of the family.
In 2014 he was named honorary bench coach and his spirit and enthusiasm was an inspiration to the team, which won its first New York-Penn League championship that year. Viera became a fixture and welcome friend in the Penn State and State College communities, and with the Spikes, forming strong bonds with coaches, players and staff.
As bench coach, Viera was in uniform and had his own locker, and offered his advice and encouragement to coaches and players. He was part of the team for another NYPL championship in 2016.
After his death, tributes poured in from across the baseball world, and he was honored at the Spikes’ home opener in June when the team retired his No. 10, a first in franchise history. Throughout the season the Spikes have been wearing a memorial patch on their home jerseys — a JV inside a baseball diamond drawn by Viera a few years ago.
Viera will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 21, during pre-game ceremonies for the 2019 New Yorkâ€Penn League Allâ€Star Game at Staten Island’s Richmond County Bank Ballpark. It will come one year and one week after he made his final appearance at Medlar Field, when during the 2018 NYPL All-Star Game, Viera made the final pitching change and left the field to a standing ovation from fans and both teams.
He will be the first State College Spikes representative inducted into the NYPL Hall of Fame, which was established in 2012. It includes a host of players and managers who would go on to standout MLB careers, including Randy Johnson, Pete Rose, Wade Boggs, Robin Yount, Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn, Nellie Fox, Jim Rice, Don Mattingly, Jim Leyland, Jorge Posada and Buck Showalter, among others
