Yankees trainer Monahan to miss spring training

February 14, 2010 by BY ERIK BOLAND / Erik.Boland@newsday.com

Gene Monahan, a popular Yankees’ clubhouse and dugout presence for nearly half a century, will miss Spring training and possibly the start of the regular season to deal with “a significant illness," the team announced Sunday morning.

“I miss not being around my professional family already, but I’m battling,” Monahan said in a statement.

The Yankees said Monahan, 65, the longest tenured athletic trainer in baseball, having served in that capacity the last 38 years for the team, would remain in New York to receive extensive treatment over the next several weeks.

Monahan’s illness was not disclosed. “The New York Yankees have gone above and beyond in this most difficult time,” Monahan said in the statement. “I couldn’t do this alone, but with the support and love of my immediate family, my family within our organization and the dedication and expertise of many fine doctors, I look forward to resuming my role with the team this season.” Monahan – “Geno” to players and just about everyone in the organization – was a bat boy for the team in 1962 and began his training career in 1963 with the Yankees’ Class-D affiliate in Fort Lauderdale. He had worked the past 47 years in Spring Training for the organization. Monahan was inducted into the New York State Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2007 and last season he received the National Athletic Trainers Association Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award. Steve Donohue, the Yankees’ Assistant Athletic Trainer the past 25 years, will serve as head trainer in Monohan’s absence. It is not yet known who will be Donohue’s assistant.