
Welcome!

This is a place where I intend to upload my thoughts on the sports travels I make. It's something I've been doing for a while, but have only recently decided to make its own blog/site.

However, a lot of the trip reports I currently have are from before I set this up. Therefore, I'm going to do one a day until I've caught up, so to speak. I'm going to start with the series of baseball stadiums I visited this year (for games), and then I've got some other things. Of course, there's a possibility of me making stadium/game visits while I go through these archives, but I'll let you know if those occur (i.e. if you DON'T see a note in italics at the beginning of a post, it's current.)

Each of these 2025 posts has a similar setup: a bit about the team, a bit about the stadium, my general thoughts, a small detail about the game, and a section devoted to merchandise. I'll be honest: merch is one of the main reasons I make these trips as I'm a sports memoribilia collector, so that's usually where I go "in depth", so to speak.

I also have some even deeper "archives" of content from previous years, so I'll probably put those in as I see fit.

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A little bit about this site and its early days

Intro


_\*This trip occurred on April 12, 2025._

It’s kinda hard to discuss the BlueClaws without talking about Lakewood, NJ (their home town) and what’s been going on there over the past few decades: a ridiculously sharp increase in population launching it past traditionally larger towns and cities to become the fifth most populous municipality in New Jersey as of 2020 (though census estimates have it at fourth). A large portion of that can be attributed to the fact that Lakewood has become known for its large Orthodox Jewish population - a group which is, to say the least, controversial. I don’t want to get too deep into the varying views on this Orthodox population, but in short: they are becoming more influential in the township (and the state), and it’s yet to be seen what will happen as said influence increases (as the population boom isn’t showing any signs of slowing down). However, I don't think a ban on Friday and Saturday games is in the cards just yet - though if it does become a possibility, it would almost certainly raise eyebrows around the state (with the team apparently having already looked at moving to Asbury Park, NJ + Trenton eager to get an affiliated team back).

However, you probably wouldn’t know much about that if the only thing you did in Lakewood was a BlueClaws game - ShoreTown Ballpark is in a much more “industrial” area of town which seemingly has not seen any influence from the population boom (or at the very least, it seemed kinda normal arriving from the Garden State Parkway). Originally named after the township, they changed their location to Jersey Shore in 2021 in an attempt to tie themselves better to the more well known Jersey Shore (and possibly to distance themselves from certain connotations of Lakewood). As a heads up, this game was in April; I don't know if there's significant ticket prices, but their weekend schedule changes up a little bit somewhere around Memorial Day (though it really just means games start later Thursday-Saturday).

As they are a “Jersey Shore” team and are south of Interstate 195, I would classify them as being in South Jersey (i.e. the parts of Jersey that tend towards liking Philadelphia sports). This helps, as they’re a Phillies affiliate and have been since they arrived from somewhere in the Carolinas in 2001. This connection has been rather fruitful for the Phillies, as evidenced by the two players whose numbers the BlueClaws have retired: 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels and 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard (who, coincidentally, also spent a bit of time in Scranton but didn't work for Dunder Mifflin). You’ll probably find quite a few locals who support the Phillies during games, but thanks to the Jersey Shore being a popular weekend getaway for those from North Jersey and New York, you’ll also run into a lot of Yankee and Met fans as well.

The day I went was…awful. A coastal storm made the whole day rainy and cold, and the fact that it took nearly three hours to play seven innings (of game 1 of a doubleheader) didn’t help things. The game was originally supposed to start at 4, but a rainout the day prior moved the start time to 1, and then later 1:30. VERY few people were in the stands, and the few that were seemingly arrived near the end of game 1 and then left after their children sang the national anthem before game 2.

Easily one of the most unique aspects of this park - a bar/lounge area which is entirely indoors on the suite level. Most minor league parks don’t allow non-suite-ticket-holding fans onto suite level, so having this is great for those times when the weather is too much like the day I went (I wonder if its air conditioned for those way-too-hot games). Said bar also includes a small standing room terrace outlooking the field, so you don’t have to completely miss out on watching the actual game when you’re there (it also provides a unique high level view rarely seen in the lower levels of MiLB).

Another cool thing: as a “Jersey Shore” team, one of the big things they try to promote is that image of the classic Jersey Shore boardwalk experience (but with fewer people in just swimsuits). As such, they have carnival games in the outfield, as well as a special concession stand that has pizza and ice cream (but no fried Oreos? WHAT?).

Their mascot - a yellow something-or-other named Buster - clearly studies his major league counterpart very closely, as he was goofing around the entire stadium. He tried to sell me on a hat that was too small for me in the team store, was seeking attention from the team store employees (who were treating him as if he were “real”, which was neat), and I even caught him trying to mess with the PA Announcer! He(?) was far and away the most interesting mascot I've seen in the minor leagues, which is why I'm noting him here (others just do the typical "walk around and high five/take photos with fans" thing).

### MERCH

Speaking of the mascot, they have mascot plushies for sale (like a lot of teams). However, the thing that piqued my interest (though I ultimately didn't go for it) was a plush of the crab logo featured on the team's hats.

The team store here is, in all honestly, kinda big for a team that's always been in A-level ball. That's not a bad thing mind you - in fact, I think it makes the place a lot more comfortable than other team stores coming up in this series (especially when it's as cold as it was on the day I went).

I ended up getting several hats here - the most interesting of them being a “beach ball colored” hat that the team has seemingly retired. I also ended up getting a jersey despite it having glued-on letters (something I’m not a big fan of) - part of that may have been to add a layer despite already having a jacket AND hoodie (it was THAT cold), but the selection on the day was super limited (if you wanted anything smaller than a large, you were out of luck). The team's online store seems to indicate that they've restocked SOME of the jerseys, but I'm curious as to what they look like…

Also, as a postscript to this, I ended up finding an old logo BlueClaws jersey a few months later at a thrift store with the script stitched on. The team was doing a “trade-in” promo where fans could trade in old logo merchandise, so there’s a non-zero possibility that someone traded this in, the team donated it to the local thrift organization, and it ended up in my possession (I should also note that I got a massive 75% discount on it). I also tried visiting the team store a second time (their website indicates that they have non-game day hours), but alas, it seems that it’s only open during games now (partially due to the stadium being kinda near nothing).

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A trip down the shore BEFORE "Shore Season": good idea or bad idea?

Jersey Shore BlueClaws (South Atlantic League) @ Shoretown Ballpark (Lakewood, NJ)


_\*This trip occurred on April 30, 2025._

![A beautiful day at Maimonides Park in Brooklyn](/images/brooklyn.jpeg)

If you're not familiar with the history of baseball in Brooklyn, here's an intensely abridged version:

Originally founded in 1883, the Brooklyn Base Ball Club (as they were officially known) went through a slew of (unofficial) nicknames over the course of many, many decades before one of them - "Trolley Dodgers" - stuck; this was then shortened to just "Dodgers". They weren't actually all that successful believe it or not (the Dodgers franchise has the most World Series losses all time), but they are known for two significant things:

1. Jackie Robinson becoming the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in 1945 (even if the U.S. government thinks that it's DEI and therefore insignificant)
2. Winning the 1955 World Series after losing seven other times (and then subsequently losing the next year's WS)

In the late 1950s, facing an aging stadium and difficulties trying to get a new one[^1], the Dodgers decided to move to Los Angeles, thus leaving Brooklyn without a baseball team. At the same time, the rival New York Giants were ALSO facing an aging stadium and ended up also moving west - to San Francisco.

In 2001, the New York-Penn League started up operations in Brooklyn with a team affiliated with the National League team formed in the void left by the Dodgers and Giants: the New York Mets (there’s actually a bit more to the story than this, but again: intensely abridged). The Brooklyn Cyclones played in the NYPL for two decades, winning a title in 2019 before Major League Baseball consolidated the minor leagues - a move which killed the NYPL (and also meant that the Cyclones were the NYPL's final champions). Since 2021, they've been in the High-A South Atlantic League[^2], which includes former NYPL rival Hudson Valley (and Aberdeen prior to them switching leagues in 2026).

They play in what is now known as Maimonides Park in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. For those who don’t know, Coney Island is best known as the place where the Hot Dog Eating Contest is held every July 4th, but it's also one of New York City's more well known summer attractions (the name "Cyclones" is based on a famous local rollercoaster). I didn't get to explore the area that much when I went due to a time crunch, but as someone who grew up in New Jersey, what I've seen of the boardwalk online feels like any other Jersey Shore town, and what I saw of Coney Island felt like the rest of New York City.

All of that to say...this place is definitely a little more generic-ish IMO, but it has its unique quirks. For starters, one of the main concession stands is based on Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, which meant that the fries I got were the crinkle cut fries they're known for as opposed to “regular fries”. Also, the backdrop of this stadium is quite unique with views of Coney Island’s famous rollercoasters and the Atlantic Ocean (how many other stadiums are this close to the ocean anyway?); I believe it’s because of these things that the concourse does NOT wrap around the outfield. However, the most unique thing about this park in terms of layout has to be the team store - which I'll talk about in a bit.

I feel like tickets here are a little more than some of the other teams in the area (and subsequently learned that certain games cost MUCH MORE than others), but the day I went they had a special where any ticket in the stadium cost five dollars! I ended up taking advantage of this to get a seat ten rows up and right behind home plate, which was a great view (though I'm personally not super big on being in the sun the whole game). That five bucks ended up being beyond worth it, as the Cyclones dominated their opponent both offensively (five home runs split between two guys) and defensively (1 run allowed on 3 hits in one inning, one baserunner allowed the other eight). It was one of those games designed for schools to take field trips to, so there were a lot of students, but I’d expect a decent mix of Yankee and Met fans during most games plus some random others (as, in case you forgot, you’re in a tourist hotspot).

Given that the Cyclones are technically in New York City, this is probably one of, if not the most transit accessible stadiums in the Minor Leagues, as no less than four of New York City's subway services stop a block or so away. However, it will take a lot of time to get here from most parts of NYC as it's at the end of the four lines that run nearby (as in it’s faster to get from here to Citi Field by car despite NYC traffic). Parking is ten dollars with a ticket if you choose to drive (which is pretty good by NYC standards), but be aware that depending on where you're coming from (i.e. New Jersey and/or Staten Island), you're looking at a hefty toll bill...

### MERCH

This is one of those parks where the concourse is above ground level, so once you go through the gates, you have to climb up some stairs to get to it. In most parks I've seen with this setup (i.e. places like Worcester, Manchester, and Brockton), the team store is at “ground level” for easy access on non-game days (this is kinda awkward in Brockton, but I’ll get to that later). However, in Brooklyn, the team store is two levels, with a street level entrance AND an entrance on the concourse (which is kinda wild when you consider this was a team at the lowest levels of baseball for a long time); this is probably due to the fact that both floors are smaller than your average retail space.

Some merchandise items were shared between the two levels, but there were more of certain things (i.e. jerseys) on the lower level, while the upper level had other items (including some items for the soccer team that plays in the stadium - will have to check them out soon).The selection here was actually kinda vast: they have a bunch of hats (though the only one I was interested in was the main "Bc" logo one), but sadly, the jerseys were all sublimated; there's indications that they used to have ones with "glued on letters" at worst, but I didn't see any when I went. I did, however, find an old jersey from the 2000s at a vintage store (with sewn-on lettering) months before I came here, so I ended up wearing that for the game. I will note that I was interested in getting a varsity jacket, but ultimately decided against it (mainly as I feel I have too many jackets already).

I also got an "OFFICIAL MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL" here with Rob Manfred's signature and the pre-2023 MiLB logo on it, though it was surprisingly expensive ($27 IIRC).

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[^1]: One proposal for the new stadium called for the Dodgers to play in a dome. Had they actually gone through with this, it would have been the first domed stadium for traditionally outdoor sports in the United States (and also probably would have been vacated by the 1990s).
[^2]: Apparently the Mets wanted to move the Cyclones to the Double-A Eastern League in the realignment, but multiple parties nixed the idea (including the current Mets' current Double-A affiliate in Binghamton, NY).


Baseball in Brooklyn is BACK - Back in the New York Groove

Brooklyn Cyclones (South Atlantic League) @ Maimonides Park (Brooklyn, NY)


_\*This trip occurred on May 1, 2025._

![Heritage Financial Park](/images/hudsonvalley.jpeg)

Before Andrew Cuomo pissed off folks in Rockland and Westchester counties by slapping his father's name on the New Tappan Zee Bridge (and LONG before he tried to convince New York City he'd be a good mayor after the scandal that cost him the governor's seat), it was an old, rotting piece of junk that - despite being the fastest route from New Jersey to New England - was viewed by my parents as something to avoid due to how congested it typically was (mainly on the way up). Therefore, we'd often head up the Thruway to Newburgh and catch Interstate 84 up there rather than take the Saw Mill River Parkway (a winding, narrow road which is uncomfortable to drive on) or 684 (which involved the Cross Westchester Expressway, which was perpetually under construction at the time). Located in Wappingers Falls, NY, and nestled just across the Hudson from Newburgh, what is now Heritage Financial Park (then Dutchess Stadium) was clearly visible from 84 as well as the logos of its tenant (the Renegades) and their then-affiliate: the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays[^1].

Founded in 1994 after a move from Erie, PA, the Hudson Valley Renegades started life in the New York-Penn League as an affiliate of the Texas Rangers. In 1996, they became an affiliate of the aforementioned (Devil) Rays - a full two years before said team played their first game in 1998! They had a pretty decent run in the NYPL - winning three league titles and producing a pretty good crop of MLB talent (including players like Evan Longoria). However, when the great MiLB realignment of 2020 occurred, the Renegades jumped from the dying NYPL to the South Atlantic League (alongside the Brooklyn Cyclones, who I talked about [yesterday](2025-08-09_bkncyclones)). They also, in what can only be described as an attempt to connect themselves better to the local area, switched their affiliation from the Rays to…the Yankees. This move more or less killed the Yankees NYPL team on Staten Island, which given that the Mets decided to stay in Brooklyn, was kinda controversial (I'll get more into this in a later post).

I went back and forth on whether or not to actually catch a game here before a hockey jersey giveaway sealed the deal; before that game, I visited the team store while driving up to Massachusetts (more on that in the Merch section). As for the rest of the stadium, it was built in the 90s, and it’s one of those stadiums where your seating areas are split into upper and lower tiers with the concourse/main walkway in the middle. The concession stands and team store are in an area of the concourse that’s blocked from the field by a grandstand area (i.e. where the suites and press box are), but there were TVs to watch the action (though it’s delayed). One end of this part of the “outer concourse” has a kids area, and there’s a bar area that’s open to all fans down the right field line (along with some luxury fire pit seating just below it). There’s another VIP area in left, but I didn’t bother trying to access it (one thing I noticed with specifically the New York minor league venues: ushers are very serious).

If it hadn’t been for the five dollar ticket I got from the Cyclones (though it was more like eight dollars due to fees), this would be the least expensive ticket I found: general admission bleacher seating is available for just five dollars(ish)! The mid-level concourse does make the view from the upper areas a bit awkward, but if you end up going to a game where the Renegades get walloped 9-2 (which, coincidentally, was the final score of the game I went to), then a “free upgrade” isn’t too hard to accomplish (assuming you don’t end up in the seat of someone actually at the game).

I guess I'll finish this by saying that there are two things to note before coming here if you’re thinking about it:

1. The team uses Ticketmaster, so be prepared for Ticketmaster shenanigans.
2. Parking is ten dollars if bought at game time (which is kinda high when you consider that this is the same price as Brooklyn), but seven dollars if pre-purchased (though, once again, Ticketmaster). I know there are local streets and a strip mall nearby, but I don’t know what their parking rules are, so be careful if you’re trying to avoid paying parking fees (as there’s no real transit option).

### MERCH

When I visited the team store the first time, I noticed that it was kinda small and very cramped due to the presence of merchandise racks that are usually on the concourse during games (as well as them preparing to ship online orders). I feel like it's probably the size you'd expect from this level of baseball (or at least the "old" level; other stadiums I've visited from the NYPL had similarly sized stores), and it DID have some VERY old hats from I don't even know when (they were all too small for me though), which was cool. Because Minor League Baseball teams LOVE playing dress up, the Renegades also have a TON of alternate identities (as well as throwback merch as they had recently celebrated their 30th anniversary), and each one had its own section of hats, shirts, and jerseys (contributing to the “crampedness”).

When I was at the game, I was surprised to find that instead of just being outside the team store, some of the extra racks were in a second merchandise area on the first base side of the concourse (the main store is closer to third); it had a more limited selection of things - many of which I’m pretty sure are available in the main store (though it may be there to allow shopping while watching the game/shorter lines). However, I gotta mention the "Hudson Line" hat the team came out with at some point: meant to resemble the Yankees' interlocking "NY" logo, it features an interlocking "HV", but the V looks kinda like a Y, which can basically make the hat seem like it's saying "YH" for "Yankee Hater" (something various Boston sports stores sold back in the day).

I got several hats and a REALLY nice jacket my first time here (it goes with the throwback hat and is a nice color), and for the game, I ended up getting a Hudson Valley Cider Donuts hat and also went against my better judgment and got a jersey with a Yankee logo on one of the sleeves (hey, it was half off!). Interestingly, it has a number that's stitched (24, as 2024 was their 30th anniversary), but the letters and sleeve patches aren't (it was also the only jersey that wasn't sublimated). Also, as I mentioned earlier, there was a hockey jersey giveaway; the jersey itself is more or less what you’d expect for something that, in essence, cost sixteen bucks (ticket + parking) to get, so it’s…not exactly the type of quality I usually try to go for.

On a final note, the team logo baseball I got here is a little strange in that it says “OFFICIAL MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL” on it (but still has the Renegades logo).

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[^1]: For those who don't know, the now Tampa Bay Rays were founded in 1998 as the "Devil Rays", but dropped the "Devil" from their name in 2008. The change seems to have worked, as they made the World Series that same year after being perpetual cellar dwellers in the decade prior.


A trip nearly 20 years in the making...probably

Hudson Valley Renegades (South Atlantic League) @ Heritage Financial Park (Wappingers Falls, NY)


_\*This trip occurred on May 8, 2025._

![A view from the outfield at Coca-Cola Park](/images/lehighvalley.jpeg)

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs have been in Allentown since moving down from Ottawa, Ontario in 2008 (and thus making the "International" in the International League's name a misnomer). Their move came with a $50 million dollar stadium named Coca-Cola Park, which doesn’t sound like a lot until you realize that it was apparently one of the most expensive minor league stadiums at the time it was built (other teams have since gone well past that cost). However, that $50 million investment seems to have worked very well: the IronPigs have been in the top 10 of attendance in all of Minor League Baseball every year since they debuted, and have even spent a few years as the overall leaders of MiLB in attendance (including the last two years). Part of that can likely be attributed to the fact that they’re the AAA affiliate of the nearby Philadelphia Phillies, so the fans are more invested in the team especially given that a number of the players are on the brink of playing for said Phillies (the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers also have their top minor league team in the area). Of course, there’s also the fact that the minor leagues are where a lot of MLB players do rehab assignments, so when a guy like Bryce Harper is in town for a few days (as he was in 2022), people tend to flock to you (even if it does remove the “less expensive, less of a hassle” factor that helps these teams draw).

My original plan was to go here for an 11 AM "education" game (i.e. a game designed for schools to make field trips to - like the game I went to in Brooklyn), but something came up and I had to switch gears[^1]; I ended up settling on a jersey giveaway night a few days later. I must say, though, that this place is VERY nice. It makes sense that it'd be better than most of the other parks I've been to recently (since it is the highest level of Minor League Baseball), but I honestly think I liked it better than Worcester's Polar Park (which I've been to a few times) despite being about 13 years older. A large part of that is the fact that Polar Park is crammed into an already existing city block, while Coca-Cola Park has tons of land around it, thus allowing more sprawl, so to speak.

Similar to ShoreTown Ballpark, the concourse wraps completely around the field, and there are a LOT of interesting things to see walking around, like the play area in the left field corner, a grassy hill in center, and the outfield bullpens underneath an LED ribbon used for the game's line score (as well as far too many bacon references and food items with bacon). The main gate area doubles as a plaza with tons of concession stands nearby (as well as the team store), so if you want to have a table while you eat, you (as well as a bunch of unique concession stands[^2]). Speaking of the concessions, I felt that while I wouldn't call them "cheap", they seemed noticeably less expensive than some of the other stadiums I've been to (looking at you Hudson Valley...). There was also PYROTECHNICS around the park: Flamethrowers on top of some of the scoreboard "towers" and steam jets behind the plate (and basically right above where I sat). I'm guessing these are nods to the "Iron" in IronPigs: the steel industry that used to dominate the area (see: Billy Joel).

There are upper level seats here, but I didn't go up to check them out since I had some not-so-fun encounters with ushers in other parks. These seats are, surprisingly, MORE expensive than seats in the lower bowl (case in point: 15 dollars got me behind home plate PLUS the ability to pivot for no additional cost).

### MERCH

This is where I tell you that the game was actually my second visit here; my first visit was just a “quick” stop at the team store to check a few things out. I couldn’t see much of the park from this quick visit, but the store is down the right field line right next to the main gate (as opposed to being behind home plate like a lot of other minor league team stores).

The team store here is rather large and has a VAST array of things - even if most of it is your standard fare. My first visit to this store is where I ended up at a "crossroads" moment for my hat collection when I had to decide between getting a flex fit hat like I'd been collecting since 2019 or going with a fitted hat (I collected fitted hats between 2005 and 2012, but then stopped once I realized that most of them didn't feel right). In terms of the jerseys, however, most of them were sublimated and the ones that had twill letters were glued on; throw in the fact that I found something less expensive on eBay and I wasn't super interested.

There was also a secondary merch area on the concourse that had shirts on which the team heat pressed the name and number of that night's starter due to him being one of MiLB's top pitching prospects (though strangely, it was basically near first base, making it less than 100 yards from the main store). However, the wildest thing I saw when I was at the team store: a rack of the opponent's shirts! I won't get into too much detail on the game since the visitors were the team I think I'm supposed to like, but I will say that based on the two prior nights, things may have been different had the rain that forced me to leave early not ended the game shortly after I left...

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[^1]: Allentown is a touch over an hour from where I live, so I prefer earlier games to avoid having to drive home on dark roads.
[^2]: One of the concession stands in the entry plaza was for Hershey Ice Cream, but it was closed. I'm going to assume it's due to either an equipment or staffing issue and not because the Hershey Bears were playing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the playoffs...


"Well we're living here in Allentown..."

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (International League) @ Coca-Cola Park (Allentown, PA)


_\*This trip occurred on May 18, 2025._

![A view of Hinchliffe Stadium from atop the parking garage. Despite the stadium not selling alcohol, a beer advertisment can be seen near the field...](/images/hinchliffe.jpeg)

Paterson, New Jersey.

That’s it. That’s the post.

Okay, so that’s not exactly the full story…

Paterson is notoriously feared by locals for being a “rough” town - so much so that even the local state park is considered questionable by some. The third largest city in New Jersey (for now - see [the BlueClaws post](2025-08-08_jsblueclaws) for more on that), Paterson was a mill town back in the day before that industry died out and really hasn’t recovered. Dilapidated houses/buildings and roads in need of some work are abundant in Paterson, and this unfortunately includes the neighborhood Hinchliffe Stadium is located in. Heck, on a visit to downtown Paterson one time, I ended up in a parking garage that was dilapidated to the point where I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get out of there alive!

However, for whatever reason, Jackals ownership thought that it would be the perfect spot to move their team after deciding that they didn’t want to be at Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair anymore (the team was founded in 1998 and played their first 25 years in Montclair). They made the move in 2023, and…it hasn’t really worked out. I have no clue what their attendance numbers were in Montclair, but from what I’ve heard, attendance in Paterson has NOT been good (partially because Paterson). They claim to get a few thousand a game, but it seems like they're counting sales and not spectators: the game I went to was starkly empty - you could sit basically anywhere you wanted without anyone batting an eye.

As for the stadium itself…it is actually a significant historical landmark: named after a former mayor of Paterson who helped in its construction, Hinchliffe Stadium is known as being one of the few surviving stadiums today that hosted Negro League baseball (no matter what the government tries to say about the importance of the Negro Leagues). However…there come some concessions (and not the food and drink type) when you try to preserve that history. Fenway and Wrigley are known for being historic, but some will argue that once you look past that history, they still have aspects that make for a VERY uncomfortable experience. Hinchliffe may not have giant poles obstructing some seats, but it does have its own issues; for example, there are no plastic back seats like modern stadiums - just bleacher seating (though the team does have seatbacks available). In addition, alcohol is not served (something you rarely see outside of summer collegiate leagues), there's only one single concession stand on the first base side, and its menu is quite limited (plus their oven broke the day I went apparently). Also, the section my ticket was in supposedly received a prize for one of the opponents striking out, but you were supposed to be physically sitting in that section to claim it (i.e. not just holding a ticket). I have no clue if anyone got that prize, as the sections are not labeled at all!

The playing field is quite odd: the infield is in one corner of a field designed for football, but unlike other football/baseball stadiums that high schools use, there's no extra "field" for the baseball diamond. Therefore, the right field line is BEYOND short - very tall netting prevents left handed hitters from pulling easy homers to right (though the game I went to featured three home runs to right center). There's also an athletics track around the field, and parts of it are covered with turf as it's "in play" (again, super shallow right field). There's also very little to do outside of watch the game, as there's no side activities around the concourse (though the view is kinda nice).

If you're worried about your car, there's a large parking garage down the third base line (near the main gate), It is a little pricier than you may think it should be at seven dollars, but it does help as it also has quick and easy access to the stadium (also, some have used it to their advantage...).

Additionally, there's SUPPOSED to be a Negro League history museum in the outfield, but it was closed when I went (and I've heard that it's closed for other games as well). There was an indication that the Jackals' relationship with Paterson/Hinchliffe has changed since they moved in, which is interesting, to say the least…

I don't really want to speculate too much on this, but I do truly wonder what the future is for the New Jersey Jackals. Playing in front of tiny crowds in an awful baseball setup is not a good look, and given that the team on the field hasn't been great for a bit, it's hard to imagine that a once proud organization (five league titles split between three leagues - the most recent one being 2019) has such a murky future…

And in case you were wondering about the game: Jackals won 7-1. As of this being posted (August 12, 2025), that win represents 4.5% of their win total for 2025 - they've won 22 games so far, putting them firmly in last place in the entire Frontier League (not to mention their most recent home series getting cancelled due to a water main break...).

As a final note, A soccer team is moving in for 2026: the latest installment of the New York Cosmos.

### MERCH

Before I continue, I HAVE to talk about the team’s “online store”, because it is WEIRD.

The Jackals’ “online store” is one of those custom spiritwear sites, so while there’s TECHNICALLY a much more extensive range of merch online…none of it is really as “official” (i.e. player hats, official team wear, etc.). This also means that novelty items such as baseballs and mini bats are only available at the game, as well as things such as game hats (plus New Era fitted hats, as the Jackals sell these as well at games).

Going back to the game, talking about merch leads to what is probably the weirdest thing about the Hinchliffe experience: their merchandise stand (an old converted carnival game) is outside of the gates. From what I've seen, there was something inside the stadium the first year, but it got moved out for some reason (I found what I think was the old space, and it was used for storage). There's not much to say about the stuff in the stand as it's mostly hats (some of which have weird alternate logos they never wear) and shirts; I was mildly interested in some old Negro League jerseys they had, but only one of them had a script stitched onto it and the ones they had in my size ALL had ink stains on them in DIFFERENT PLACES. I did, however, end up getting a hoodie because I liked the design of it.

In addition, this is the first time within these reports that I can say that I had seen the team BEFORE this year - I went to a game in 2022 when they were still at Montclair State University. I bought a few of their hats then, as well as a super old (and rather beat up) jersey (in addition to getting more hats when visiting the carnival stand in 2024 - I thought about watching the game, but the line for tickets was too long). Sadly, said 2022 visit somehow did NOT include me getting a replica championship ring from their 2019 championship, as I don’t recall seeing them being sold (this is something I've gotten from other independent teams, including one owned by the same group as the Jackals).

---


A historic stadium gets a new lease on life

New Jersey Jackals (Frontier League) @ Hinchliffe Stadium (Paterson, NJ)


_\*This trip occurred on May 25, 2025, and you'll note that it's NOT a baseball game. I was originally just chronicling baseball games with these 2025 writeups, and as such, I was debating whether or not to write about this as it’s a different sport (soccer), but eventually decided to include it - mostly as it’s still a baseball stadium._

The New York Feather Monkey Yankees.

As a Massachusetts native, I grew up not liking the Yankees all that much, so given that I'm currently living in New Jersey (and have been for a while), I’ve never truly known how to deal with them. On the one hand, you have to give them credit: that history is impressive (even if the Red Sox are, more often than not, on the wrong side of it). On the other hand…their magical ability to be slightly above mid at worst when literally EVERY OTHER TEAM IN NORTH AMERICA has had a bad season in the 21st century is downright MADDENING. Most of my friends are Yankee fans, and they’ve never had to suffer through a truly dismal season the way just about everyone else has (the last time the Yankees finished under .500 was the year I was born, so if you know or choose to look it up, you now know my age).

Here’s the thing, though: I’ve never been to the new stadium. I have been to the old stadium, but it was only once (2007) and I legitimately cannot tell you anything about that visit as I don’t remember much (outside of the Yankees losing one of the final games in Tampa Bay "Devil" Rays history). As much as I’d like to see the new stadium to cross it off my list, I’d rather not be forced to spend three hours with Yankee fans while hoping that the home team has a repeat of Game 5 in 2024.

However, there’s another team that plays in Yankee Stadium: New York City Football Club! Sure, they may be the lovechild of two different flavors of evil (the Yankees and English soccer/football supergiant Manchester City), and they’re part of Major League Soccer - one of the more notorious soccer leagues in the world (seriously, look it up), but a $20 ticket + a tour of the stadium costing NEARLY $40 meant that this was the least expensive way in. Outside of a somewhat random 2021 title, there’s not much to say about NYCFC - though having followed them back when they first started out in 2015, it’s kinda odd seeing them have a bunch of dudes who most soccer fans have never heard of when they started out as a “retirement home” for no less than two World Cup winning players.

The first thing you notice when you walk into Yankee Stadium 2009 is the “grand concourse” - a MASSIVE hallway-esque area with a bunch of small stands (i.e. merch, a 50/50 raffle, and a stand to get customized jerseys - I don't remember if there were any concessions). At the end of this hallway are stairs/escalators up to the upper levels, though I feel I should note that the third level was not open for this game. If I remember correctly, this design (as well as the exterior) was meant to resemble the original exterior of the old Yankee Stadium as it was built in 1923 - if you’re like me and remember something VERY different, that's because the original stadium was damaged and had to be rebuilt in the 70s (BTW, the old field is a public park now).

The main concourse of the stadium’s seating bowl (i.e. the first level) goes completely around the field, and there are views to the field from most of the infield sections (as well as the 4 trains passing by outside the stadium). I was also able to walk around the second level as well, and it was fairly similar - though there were less areas with field views (and it doesn’t completely wrap around as it ends in the outfield).

I will say, though, that the soccer atmosphere itself is strange. I’ve heard that the Yankees mandate that the soccer pitch not touch the pitcher’s mound (heh); therefore, it’s actually not wide enough to meet international soccer standards. Also, the field runs from left field towards first base, and the supporters section (i.e. the most passionate fans) is in the outfield bleachers. They were rather noisy throughout the match (as you’d expect soccer supporters to be), but outside of them, there was little noise outside of the moments when NYCFC threatened to score (and did - three times in fact en route to a somewhat controversial 3-1 win). In fact, I could hear the people behind me talking about…childbirth.

Because the Yankees cannot resist flaunting their 27 championships (and the men who won them), there are reminders of them all around the concourse; my favorite part of this was reminiscing about the 2000-2009 gap (i.e. Luis Gonzalez in 2001, Josh Beckett in 2003, and most especially the emergence of David Ortiz in 2004). In addition, they’re known for Monument Park - a feature present since 1932 with physical monuments to former Yankees who have had their numbers retired - both great and average at best. Unfortunately, it (and its special store) was closed during the match (as well as a “Yankees museum”); I've heard it's only open pregame (when I was too busy checking out the team store), but there are also pitch side seats that are on the field itself which you go through Monument Park to get to. Yes, that’s right: for some undisclosed amount of money, you can sit near where Aaron Judge patrols center field (though I think the spot where he dropped that ball is well within the soccer pitch lines).

### MERCH

I don’t think I’ve seen as many merch stores/stands at ANY sporting event as I did at Yankee Stadium - save for another MLB park I visited later in the year (but more on that will have to wait for now.)

While the store with street access (i.e. the one that is open when nothing’s going on) seems small, there’s a bigger one further in (though it seems to only be for games). Half of the small stands sold the same exact things (i.e. jerseys, hats, and other fun things), but a store on the second level had something rather interesting: clearance merchandise! I was able to take advantage of this to get a few old NYCFC jerseys (thanks to soccer teams and their propensity for changing their jerseys every year; it's also piqued my interest in returning next year if/when the current away jersey with the monogram rotates out).

For what it’s worth, I also got a special “NYC Parks Green” jersey and a hat with the current NYC monogram, but I didn’t get any logo balls - NYCFC or Yankees.

---


I enter what I consider "baseball hell" to watch...soccer?

New York City Football Club (Major League Soccer) @ Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY)


_\*This trip occurred on May 29, 2025._

![An image of the New York City skyline as seen from SIUH Community Ballpark](/images/siuhskyline.jpeg)

Staten Island: New York City’s redheaded stepchild.

A mostly residential part of New York City that wasn’t even accessible by car from the other boroughs until the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, Staten Island is often forgotten about and even looked down upon by the rest of the city for several reasons. Not only is it still fairly isolated from the rest of the city’s boroughs (as outside of the bridge, the ferry is the only way there and the island’s lone rail line is technically not part of the New York City Subway), but it’s also much more politically conservative than the rest of the city, and probably the most famous part of the island (not counting the ferry) is Fresh Kills Landfill: a former dump that was once thought to be the largest in the world.

In 1999, the New York Yankees set up a New York Penn League team on Staten Island. Similar to Brooklyn, it was a relocated team from somewhere else that moved to New York when the city built a stadium for them on the island (it should be noted that this deal also included the Brooklyn Cyclones stadium). Much like their parent organization, the Staten Island Yankees won a bunch of league titles - six of them to be exact.

When Minor League Baseball realignment happened in 2020, Staten Island moving to the South Atlantic League seemed like a decent idea - especially when you consider that the Mets chose to put the Brooklyn Cyclones there (somewhat unwillingly though). However, the Yankees instead opted to affiliate with the Hudson Valley Renegades, thus leaving Staten Island’s baseball future in limbo. While we can’t pinpoint the exact reasons they did this, I have a feeling these factors were involved:

- Lingering bitterness over the whole Pizza Rats affair. I forget the year, but there was a clip of a rat on the New York City Subway carrying a slice of pizza that went viral. The Staten Island Yankees decided to have a little fun with it and became the "New York Pizza Rats" for a game; it was popular with fans but HATED by Yankees management to the point that they were looking to terminate their affiliation agreement with Staten Island BEFORE the realignment (at least that's what I remember hearing).
- Attendance had been declining for a decade plus; whether that be due to lost interest or, well, being on Staten Island is unknown (conversely, Verrazzano Bridge neighbor Brooklyn led the NYPL in attendance in the league's final year).
- Something I heard about between starting this write up and my actual visit: land. MLB created a list of new specifications for Minor League stadiums alongside the realignment which, for most teams, involved needing to perform intensive renovations. Given that the stadium is sandwiched between the Hudson River and a major roadway, there’s probably not enough room to meet the specs (not to mention trying to get the money to get anything done in New York…). Alao, because of this proximity to the Hudson River, the concourse does not loop around the outfield (there’s a 9/11 memorial just past left that I have yet to visit BTW).
- Getting here by car…isn’t fun. It’s several miles from either of the highways on the Island (278 and 440), and a lot of the local roads you’re required to drive on getting here are…gritty, to say the least. In addition, their suggested parking garage (attached to an outdoor mall opened in 2019) had the wrong rates on the meter when I arrived, which ended up costing me an extra SIX DOLLARS for FIFTEEN MINUTES. It IS right next to the ferry terminal, however, so that’s a plus if you’re arriving by public transportation (though again, not much on Staten Island for tourists outside of the views - it really feels like the mall is an attempt to “change” that, but a ton of empty storefronts does not portend success).

Anyway, despite losing the Yankees, Staten Island got a second chance when the Atlantic League set up shop in the stadium in 2022. The new team, named the FerryHawks, play in the same stadium the Yankees played in: Staten Island University Hospital Community Park (formerly the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George - a name that’s still visible on the suite level). The FerryHawks haven’t really done much in their time in the Atlantic League, but they are notable for having the Atlantic League’s first female player in Kelsie Whitmore (which, given that one of the MiLB specifications involved women’s spaces, makes me wonder how they accommodated her). I don’t believe she is with the team currently (last I saw she had signed with the Savannah Bananas), but her jersey was still on sale in the team store (though based on what I’ve seen at other MiLB and indie stadiums, a lot of these smaller teams have trouble moving merch, so they’ve probably been there for a while).

I mentioned the park being squeezed due to the Hudson earlier, but said Hudson is a big contributor to the best feature of this park by a mile: the view of Manhattan you get looking towards the outfield! The day I went was cloudy, so I couldn’t see much of the city, but it must be cool if you’re batting to see that (if also a bit distracting). If you’re interested in these amazing views for the whole game, get tickets on the first base side if nothing behind home is available (I was on the third base side, but it was kinda hard to see); plus, if you look close enough, you can even see (what I’m pretty sure is) the Brooklyn Bridge!

The rest of the stadium is more or less what you’d expect from a lower league stadium, though interestingly, it’s built into the side of a hill. The concourse behind home plate and on the third base side are level, but the first base side is on a lower level - notably without handicap access to the rest of the stadium (despite having a handicap ramp to it). Most of the concession stands are on the “main” level, which it should be noted is a little lower than the main gate. However, the lower level had something marked as “Qdoba” though it was closed when I went - likely due to me going to a morning game.

Speaking of the game, it was another one of those “education” day games where they try and get a bunch of school field trips; I must say that I felt like the kids here were a lot livelier than the morning game I went to in Brooklyn. Also, it ended up being a doubleheader as the previous night’s game (i.e. my originally intended visit) got rained out, and the second game was MUCH lower key due to all of the schools having left by then (which also helped me scoop a foul ball in an empty section). Both games were won by the visiting Lancaster Stormers, though I feel like neither game featured anything notable except for **PABLO SANDOVAL**. Yes, that's right kids: the 2012 World Series MVP is still playing baseball!

Sadly, there are indications that the FerryHawks are facing the standard indie league struggles (though that's a bit difficult to determine based on a morning game/doubleheader), so who knows what their future holds…

But seriously, why did the Staten Island Yankees have to get terminated? Sure, the FerryHawks/Ducks rivalry is cool, but it’s no “Battle of the Verrazzano”…

### MERCH

The team store here is rather small-ish, but it's got your standard selection of hats (most of which I had ordered years ago outside of a Wu-Tang Clan themed one that I still didn’t get), shirts/sweatshirts, and jerseys (including the aforementioned Kelsie Whitmore jersey). As you may expect from a lower league team, most of the jerseys are sublimated (including the ones the players wear); however, they did have a version of their home jersey with stitched-on letters and sleeve logos, so that was a nice find (had they not, I would have potentially gotten a light blue sublimated jersey because I liked it that much). There was a game-used jersey on display behind the register, but I didn't ask if it was for sale (nor was I super interested given the jersey I got had stitched on letters and patches).

I also found something rather wild: Mets and Yankees hats! Why they’d have those (especially given their relationship to the Yankees) is a REALLY good question…

Finally, I feel like I should probably mention the Atlantic League’s official baseball: it’s not only unique in that the Atlantic League manufactures its own baseballs (their brand is called “Drake”), but it also features red and blue stitching as opposed to most leagues having only red stitches. I bought one from the team store and contemplated buying another before scooping the foul ball in game 2, which leads to another unique feature: the league added QR codes to each baseball in 2025! I’m not sure exactly what the QR code is supposed to do, but the one I got leads to the Atlantic League’s website.

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A borough often scorned gets a second chance at baseball

Staten Island FerryHawks (Atlantic League) @ SIUH Community Ballpark (Staten Island, NY)


_\*This trip occurred on June 4th, 2025._

A long time Eastern League stalwart (if you consider 1994 to be “long time”) that found themselves on the outside looking in after 2020 when the Yankees (whom they had been affiliated with since 2003) pulled the rug from under them in favor of an affiliation with the Somerset Patriots (formerly of the Atlantic League), the Trenton Thunder found new life with the newly formed MLB Draft League - an unusual “hybrid” league designed for draft eligible players. In the first half of the season, the league is, in essence, a summer collegiate league featuring draft eligible prospects; after the MLB All Star break, the league “switches” to players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility and remain undrafted (I believe that other collegiate leagues require that players have NCAA eligibility remaining after the summer). Of the teams in the Draft League, Trenton was the highest leveled team at Double-A; one team was from what is essentially now High-A, while the others were all New York-Penn League refugees[^1].

The “demotion” hasn’t seemed to affect attendance - the team has led the MLB Draft League in attendance by a decent margin each of the last three years, and were second in 2021 (probably due to pandemic factors - one of which was, somewhat ironically, the stadium hosting a Triple-A team). This is interesting, as it really feels like going down levels and/or losing affiliation has a tendency to impact attendance numbers negatively (see: New Britain and Norwich in Connecticut). Case in point: the reported attendance for this game (7,022) was only 99 fans less than the other two games in the Draft League that night combined; and to give an idea of just how massive the crowd was, I got into the stadium around half an hour before the game and had already missed out on the giveaway for the first thousand fans! Sadly, however, the Thunder were blown out by the visiting Williamsport Crosscutters; I left when the game was 6-3 in the seventh, but it ended 13-4, so…

The team plays in what is now officially called Trenton Thunder Ballpark; however, the stadium’s former name Arm & Hammer Park is still visible above the main gates and atop the scoreboards: Arm & Hammer Park. The park is located on the shore of the Delaware River, but you can’t really see it from the field due to the tree line in right field (the park faces south). However, it (and Pennsylvania) are visible from the end of the first base side of the concourse - which is (for better or worse) probably one of the main reasons the Yankees left: distance (Somerset is closer to New York than Trenton). Speaking of the Yankees, the facade above the suites features images of former Thunder players who went on to the majors (all of them with the Yankees) - the good (a Derek Jeter rehab stint), the okay (Gary Sanchez), and the GOAT: Greg Bird. As an aside, one BIG thing to note if you’re driving here (which is likely as the nearest public transportation is several blocks away): parking is cash only.

There’s not much to say about the concourse IMO, as it’s fairly standard (and doesn’t wrap around the outfield), but it’s at the top of the seating bowl and has views to the field everywhere except right behind the press box (i.e. behind home plate). The seating bowl itself, however, is interesting: it’s split into upper and lower sections, with a walkway separating the two (it’s hard to call it a concourse as there’s nothing but trash/recycling bins on it). Coincidentally, Somerset (who replaced Trenton in the Eastern League as mentioned earlier) has the same setup; the main difference being that the gates are at concourse level at Somerset, whereas in Trenton the concourse is elevated above the gates (think places like Brooklyn or New Hampshire).

One of the team's most famous traditions is a little thing known as the bat dog. During the first inning, a golden retriever replaces the bat boy in retrieving players bats after they leave the batters box and bringing them to the dugout. I don't know if the Thunder were the first team to do this (as I’ve seen other teams do this), but it's something they seem to take a lot of pride in (to the point where they’ve added a “Trenton Goldens” alt identity).

In terms of concessions, HOW IN THE STARS DO YOU NOT HAVE TOMATO PIE? It’s (another) one of the team’s alt identities and easily Trenton’s most famous culinary item, yet it is nowhere to be found on any of the concession stand menus. Mind you, however, that the Lehigh Valley IronPigs also have a “Tomato Pies” alt identity, but I don’t recall seeing tomato pie there either[^2]. They do, however, have one of the more contentious food items famously from New Jersey (which is also one of their alt identities): what they call pork roll[^3]!

They also feature a somewhat “local-ish” item: Chickie's and Pete’s Crabfries! Yes, it’s more a Philly thing, and yes, the IronPigs have this too, but I finally tried it here after seeing it in a few places before, and it was actually quite interesting! I guess part of this is because Trenton is closer to Philadelphia than Allentown, though the Thunder have never had a Phillies connection due to Reading.

On a final note, Thunder ownership is hellbent on getting affiliated ball back in Trenton, so they've been working on the stadium to get it to MiLB specifications (the changes mainly deal with player facilities, so you may not notice them). How they're going to get that team without an MLB expansion I'm not sure (though I did see a strange claim that they "deserved" the Jersey Shore BlueClaws' spot in the SAL), but given that we've seen several shuffles since 2020 (plus 2025 is when MLB wanted Minor League teams to meet specifications or else), anything is possible (and there are constant rumors about what teams may end up "moving”).

### MERCH

I thought about coming to the team store here a few times before the game, but never did as it felt rather inconvenient; I thought about combining it with a return to Shoretown Ballpark, but the two are close to an hour away from each other (also I later learned that the BlueClaws team store is apparently only open for games now). However, once I saw it, I was curious as to how it operates outside of games due to its somewhat unusual location: the store is fully on concourse level with its entrance inside the gates, meaning that if you're coming here outside of game time, you actually have to go into the stadium and climb up to the concourse to get to the store.

Inside, the most notable thing I found here (i.e. something outside of the standard merchandise items most teams sell) were dog toys (playing into the bat dog tradition). Sadly, not only were all the jerseys sublimated, but the home jersey (i.e. the one I would've been most interested in) was a shirsey with only the top two buttons...

One thing that may be important if you're thinking of collecting hats (like I've been doing for 20 years): MLB Draft League teams all wear flexfit hats made by a company called Outdoor Cap (because apparently New Era fitteds are only for affiliated teams). However, not only does the team still have some smaller 5950s from the old days, but the team recently struck a deal with a manufacturer for a line of fitted hats. I wasn't really that interested in them after trying them on, however, so I stuck with getting the on field flexfits. I will note that this ended up driving a decision I made later in the year - something I'll probably talk about in a few months...

---

[^1]: This is changing in 2026, as the Fredrick Keys (the other non-NYPL team in the MLB Draft League) is moving to the South Atlantic League, and the Aberdeen IronBirds (who were an NYPL team pre-2020 before joining the SAL) are joining the Draft League.
[^2]: Lord help us all if the Altoona Curve bring back their "Altoona Pizza" alt identity...
[^3]: This is basically a genericized trademark situation as a specific company (Taylor) has been the main manufacturer of the product for a long time. However, people in New Jersey go back and forth on whether the product is/should be called “Taylor Ham” or “Pork Roll”...


AKA "How to recover after a truly shocking breakup"

Trenton Thunder (MLB Draft League) @ Trenton Thunder Ballpark (Trenton, NJ)


_\*This trip occurred on June 28, 2025. I was initially on the fence about how to write about this, as it’s a return to a place I’d already been to this year for a separate event; ultimately, I decided to make it its own post. As [I’ve already been here for the FerryHawks](2025-08-14_siferryhawks), I won’t talk about the facilities (for the most part), as they obviously haven’t changed since my last visit a month prior, but I’ll instead focus on the event itself. Also, as the focus was on the event itself more than its teams (after all, neither team technically calls the stadium “home”), I’ve listed the event and then the matchup in the title._

Wiffle®[^1] Ball is a “variant” of baseball that’s been played in backyards and public parks since it was invented in 1953. Originally intended as a way to play baseball in smaller spaces, Wiffle Ball has seen a rise in popularity on social media recently. For example, several Wiffle Ball competitions have popped up on YouTube - many of which are more similar to baseball than the “official rules” of Wiffle Ball posted on the Wiffle Ball company’s website. While some of these online leagues do have more viewers than others, one of the biggest ones is also one of the oldest ones: MLW.

MLW Wiffle Ball (that's the name they use everywhere)[^2] was started by a group of (then) kids in their backyard somewhere in Michigan in 2010. It eventually grew into a social media phenomenon, being featured on ESPN with their YouTube channel sitting at half a million subscribers as of 2025. In case you’re looking for a more in-depth breakdown of the rules of MLW, I’d recommend checking out the league’s website, as they have a full set of rules there. Some of the rules are rather interesting, such as a speed limit for pitches (if the pitch clocks in over 72 MPH, it doesn’t count/is an automatic ball), rules for baserunning and plays at the plate, and how lineups work (the league’s eight teams don’t all have the same size rosters due to the fact that this is very much not a “professional” league).

However, while their videos do feature game action, said videos are NOT full games - instead, only the final pitch of each at-bat is shown. In addition, they don’t appear to have any type of live stream, so for most people, these videos are the only glimpses into the league itself (unless you live near/visit the public park they play at in Brighton, MI). The league has been branching out over the past few years by playing games in other stadiums (I’m not sure when they started doing this), and one of those games happened to be close to me on Staten Island (They had an event at Maimonides Park in Brooklyn last year, but I didn’t realize it until THIS year).

For the longest while, the thing that made me apprehensive about getting tickets for this was the $25 ticket price combined with their ticket site implying that the $65 meet and greet was the only opportunity to buy merch (a not-so-secret reason I’ve been going to these stadiums). However, when I went to buy tickets on the morning of the game, the price had dropped to $19 - still kinda high, but more in line with what you’d expect for a NYC minor league stadium (Brooklyn Cyclones games are usually around this price, but some games are notably higher). As for the merch, I’ll get to that at the end like I usually do with these posts.

Despite a bit of haze, clear skies made the view of NYC much clearer for this event - a three game series between the Pacific Predators and the Midwest Mallards. The field layout for MLW is interesting: it’s much, MUCH smaller than a baseball field, there are only two fielders (plus the pitcher), and there’s basically NO outfield (which ends up leading to a lot of WILD baserunning you'd NEVER see in baseball). To fit this into the baseball stadium, the “pitchers mound” was at the edge of the “dirt” portion of the home plate area (behind where the home plate umpire stands), and the batter hits towards home plate with the fans all in the “outfield” (essentially the reverse of the baseball layout). Also, some of the players gave signatures to fans alongside the field between games (and sometimes even innings), and perhaps most interestingly, one ball was used for the whole game (seemingly). My guess is that this is partially due to the nature of the league and its roots as a “backyard game”.

Here’s a game-by-game breakdown of the series. Each game was three innings long, and for what it’s worth, the Mallards were the “home” team for games 1 and 3, with the Predators as the “home” team for game 2:

> **GAME 1**<br>
> After giving up a home run to the leadoff batter in the top of the first, the Mallards promptly took the lead in the bottom of the frame. In the second inning, the Mallards pitcher got out of a bases loaded jam and then promptly hit a 2-run home run to secure a 4-1 win.

> **GAME 2**<br>
> It’s appropriate that the Predators pitcher was wearing number 10 - as that’s how old he looked (though he’s actually 15 - still rather young compared to his teammates). He instantly became a fan favorite, but unfortunately, he was a bit erratic throughout his outing - missing a lot and throwing a few “too fast fastballs”. Despite that, he only gave up three runs; however, those three runs were more than enough for the Mallards as they secured the series with a 3-0 shutout (using the same pitcher from game 1).

> **GAME 3**<br>
> This game featured two controversial calls on the bases which required review (i.e. watching back the footage on the cameras and the guy running the show donning a striped referee shirt to announce the call). This was also the closest game, as a first inning run for the Predators ended being the only thing separating the two teams after both teams scored twice in the second (with a Predator baserunner being thrown out at home); the 3-2 win allowed the Predators to avoid being swept.

On a somewhat unrelated note, most of the concession stands and the FerryHawks team store were closed for this event (likely to cut down on the required number of staffers). They did sell alcohol, though, which was interesting - especially at an event geared toward young children (at least more so than your standard baseball game)…

If you want to watch (parts of) the action yourself, you can do so <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f88rpImGEik" target="blank">here</a>. I am in this video an uncomfortable (for me) number of times, so have fun if you’re trying to find me!<br>
(If you think about the stadium, though, you’ll realize just how easy finding me is…)

### MERCH

A video of MLW’s previous stadium visit (somewhere near St. Louis, MO) implied that, despite what the ticket site said, merchandise would be available outside of the meet and greet...and sure enough, that was true!

As you’d probably expect for something like this, merch was just sold at a table on the concourse (remember, the team store was closed). There was a very limited selection of items available: a MLW Stadium Tour shirt (from CustomInk), A rally towel for $10 (which was too much for a towel IMO), MLW trading cards, and most importantly (for me at least): the official hats for both teams (but strangely, no hats featuring the MLW logo on the front). Jerseys were not sold at the game, though I believe that’s due to how they’re actually sold (direct from the manufacturer); however, the MLW shop has player tees available, but none were at the game (possibly due to having to travel “light” - they are a small business after all).

Oddly, the merch table shut down (everything was packed up and moved out) when the actual series started, and while it did reopen after the series, I THINK they had run out of Mallards hats by that point (I didn’t hang around long enough to confirm, but they seemed to imply being low on those pregame and I didn’t see any afterwards). Thankfully, I had the foresight to get everything I was looking for when it was available pregame, so I was able to go home with the two team hats (plus a shirt).

---

[^1]: I feel like I should mention that the word “Wiffle” is TECHNICALLY a trademark of The Wiffle Ball, Inc.
[^2]: I originally wrote that I thought "MLW Wiffle Ball" was the league's legal name, but in finding the video of the game I went to, I found out that there's another "MLW" on YouTube: Major League Wrestling. Interestingly, however, the "MLW Wiffle Ball" name dates back to 2010 - though there are a couple of reasons that might be.


A return to Staten Island to watch backyard sports gone semi-pro

MLW Wiffle Ball (Pacific Predators vs. Midwest Mallards) @ SIUH Community Park (Staten Island, NY)


_\*This trip occurred on July 3, 2025. For more on the Cape Cod Baseball League, I wrote about it [here](ccbl_overview), and I personally recommend you check it out._

![Veterans Field in Chatam as viewed from the nearby street](/images/chatham.jpeg)

Chatham, MA was one of the four founding members of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 1923. Four years later, needing a place to play, Veterans Field was built, and has hosted baseball ever since (though strangely, the team claimed to have played “100 Years of Baseball at Veterans Field” in 2023). They’ve won five league titles, but their last title is starting to collect a lot of dust as it came in 1998 - a team featuring players whose MLB careers ended in 2010.

The team went through several names before settling on “Athletics” in the 1970s. However, a trademark “dispute” with Major League Baseball in 2010 forced the team to choose a new name; they went with “Anglers” as a reference to fishing (a common hobby on Cape Cod) and Chatham’s location at the point where Cape Cod angles northward (as well as keeping the “A’s” nickname). I should note, however, that one of my visits here (in 2022) saw me purchasing an old “Chatham Athletics” jersey here (and then wearing it while sitting in the front row during a game a year later). As an aside, they were the first Cape League team to broadcast games; in fact, one of their original broadcasters is Vegas Golden Knights radio voice Dan D’Uva - who still works with the Anglers’ broadcasting department!

This is, far and away, my favorite Cape League stadium; in fact, I once visited this field in mid-August (i.e. the offseason) and took photos from the field and dugouts. It sucks, however, that it’s also the furthest from “mainland Massachusetts”, ‘cause it meant that I was only able to squeeze one visit a year in for the three years I went to Cape League games (save for me having two in-season visits in 2022 - though one only lasted ten minutes). Why do I like it so much? That’s easy: the grandstand. The bleachers here were renovated at some point during the 2010s, and are built into a hill with concrete sidewalks on top and at the bottom, so it really feels like the closest thing to a “mini minor league stadium” (not to mention the “private suite”[^1]). Another one of the more notable features of Veteran’s Field is that the press box is on the third base side of the grandstand as opposed to right behind home plate (as it is at the other nine parks); given that scouts are usually at the top of the bowl in Chatham, this means that pretty much all of the bleachers are available for fans (most league stadiums have smaller bleachers, and the sections behind home plate are reserved for MLB scouts).

The outfield isn’t bad either. Yes, there’s no actual seating and you’re on a steep hill, but you can stand on the sidewalk on top of the hill and get some neat views of the game. Additionally, since you can’t see the regular scoreboard well, there’s a secondary scoreboard on top of the press box that relays all the important numbers! Speaking of scoreboards, my memory is a little hazy on this, but Chatham was the first of the ten Cape League fields to install the large pitch clock when the league instituted it a few years ago.

I ended up pivoting away from plans to see the Indoor Football League up in Lowell, and instead sat in pre-July 4th Cape Cod traffic to make this visit. I ended up only staying for four innings, however, as it was PACKED - according to the box score, over 4,000 fans were in attendance (it should also be noted that Chatham typically leads the league in attendance each year). I didn’t end up staying for super long, however, due to the aforementioned distance from Boston (where I needed to head for the night). Chatham ended up losing the game, but similar to what happened in the Lehigh Valley, the game actually ended shortly after I left due to rain, which actually leads into…

### MERCH

I will admit that the other reason I chose to come here was because I was trying to get their new 2025 player hat (it’s different from the one I have), but when I got here, they only had small sizes available. I did end up going with their Fourth of July hat, however, plus a league ball with the new (as of 2024) commissioner’s signature as well as an old (potentially) game used jersey - something a fair number of teams in the summer collegiate leagues sell (but not all of them).

Chatham does have an online store, but I have no clue how up to date it is, so if you’re interested in shirts or hats, be forewarned of that. Also, if you’re busy buying merchandise (in the press box) or concessions (down the first base line) during the game and can’t see the field, you can still follow the action as the team plays their broadcast at these locations. I find this quite interesting - especially because it didn’t seem to have any delay (as opposed to the standard 30-second delay most internet broadcasts have).

I also tried to check out the Harwich Mariners merch selection after leaving Chatham (part of why I left early), but that game was ended by the rain before I could get there - I had barely left Chatham when the Harwich game was delayed, and by the time I got to their field, players were packed up and walking out.

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[^1]: There’s a privately owned house that backs onto Veterans Field, and the owners built a little viewing area to watch Anglers games from the backyard - in fact, I’m pretty sure I saw people there during this game.


One of the crown jewels of pre-professional baseball IMO

Chatham Anglers (Cape Cod Baseball League) @ Veterans Field (Chatham, MA)


_\*This trip occurred on August 17, 2025 - yes, that's right, YESTERDAY. I've decided to post about it it now rather than waiting to catch up with the rest of my backlog partially because there's a GOOD chance this won't be the only time I do this (just as a heads up)._

_Also, I’m sure at least some of you out there understand what I’m referencing in the subtitle - I couldn’t stop thinking about it after hearing how the “Barre” in Wilkes-Barre is pronounced…_

![The hills beyond the outfield of PNC Field](/images/swb.jpeg)

In 1989, Lackawanna County Stadium opened in Moosic, PA - a town just south of Scranton, and a bit north of Wilkes-Barre. The new stadium was built to accommodate the Phillies AAA team, who had just moved in from Old Orchard Beach, Maine (fun fact: they played at a stadium historically and currently known simply as “The Ballpark”). The new team was called the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons as a nod to two previous minor league teams from the area. Before you ask...Ryan Howard played here during parts of the 2004 and 2005 seasons; as mentioned previously, he did NOT spend a single day working for Dunder Mifflin (though the Office character was apparently named after him).

In 2007, the stadium’s name changed to its current name of PNC Field. The affiliation also changed, as the Phillies entered an agreement with the team that eventually became the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The Red Barons became the new AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees[^1]…sorta: because George Steinbrenner couldn’t resist going on an ego trip (or something like that), the team was renamed the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (or as I like to call them: the Scrankees). Why’d they change it I can’t say; maybe people just liked it better that way[^2], but it may also have to do with the fact that one of the teams the Red Barons were named after was a team called…the Red Sox[^3]. In 2012, massive renovations to PNC Field forced the team to spend the whole season as a traveling team (as the Mets nixed a temporary stay in Newark, NJ[^4]). When the team returned to their rebuilt stadium, they opted to rebrand again - this time becoming the RailRiders we know today.

I was never really sure if I wanted to come here as it’s kinda far; Google estimates it’s between 90 minutes and two hours away without traffic (plus the whole “being an affiliate of the Yankees” thing). However, while looking into them, I found out about a deal with the local trolley museum: for $25, you can get a ticket to a game (seating type not listed) AND a trolley ride to and from the local trolley museum (the only “catch” with this is that you have to do something known as “making a phone call” to book it). However, I realized that this would put me at the mercy not only of baseball’s lack of concrete timing, but whatever their schedule would entail, so that made me pause a bit (may do it next year though). In addition, I contemplated just visiting the team store and not seeing the rest of the ballpark by combining this visit with a Little League World Series trip (it’s more or less on the way to/from Williamsport though still about 90 minutes away), but once I decided the likely three+ hour drive one way wasn’t worth it (especially without any company)[^5], a game here ended up back on my radar. In the end, I was thankfully able to find a way to go to this game, and it’s a good thing I opted to skip the trolley - I ended up leaving WAY too late to have caught it thanks to a surprising amount of traffic.

As a Yankee affiliate, they’ve seen their fair share of prospects become Yankees (to varying degrees of success); however, they’ve never really been a “draw” in terms of fan attendance (even in the later Phillies days): a report on Minor League Baseball attendance in 2025 indicated that they had the second largest year-over-year dropoff in attendance behind the Buffalo Bisons. While I don’t know how attendance has been since this report came out, I can tell you that attendance for this particular game was…light. I’m not sure if that was because of the drop-off or if it was because of the weather (it was rather cloudy and a rainstorm did pass near but not over the stadium), but there were large swaths of empty seats.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area is rather hilly, and driving around nets you some very nice mountain views. However, the stadium is built INTO the side of a hill, so you don’t see a ton in and around it if you’re just looking at the game - but I think it’s still pretty cool. Seeing the cliffside in the outfield is kinda neat, and there’s a grassy area (sold as general admission) with trees INSIDE the stadium (the stadium has a concourse/walkway that completely circles the field, and there's a "kids area" in the outfield). High above the outfield, there’s a hotel which appears to have a view of the field; I obviously can’t confirm as I didn’t go to it, but given that I almost didn’t notice it until taking picture, I’d imagine it doesn’t have the same issues the SkyDome hotel does[^6].

One thing I think you should be aware of if you’re thinking of coming here: like the Yankees and Hudson Valley Renegades, the team uses TicketMaster for its ticketing (interestingly, however, the Somerset Patriots do NOT). It is possibly because of this that I ended up paying LESS for the ticket I got at the box office than I would have if I had bought it online (and I even bought it day of, which usually incurs a charge). I ended up going with a bleacher ticket, which entitles you to a section in right field of metal-back bleachers that go all the way down to field level. One seat in the front row of these bleachers can only be described as “the best seat in the house” - assuming you’re willing to try and spend a whole game trying to peek around a light pole.

The game was…mildly interesting: the #DamnScrankees won off the back of one singular huge inning, but I will note that their opponent for this game was the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates (they’re from Indianapolis, but their name is mildly controversial so I won’t say it here - it’s the name of their state with the last letter replaced with an "s"). I won’t go much further than that for now, but it’s something to keep in mind should I return to the area in the near future (though sadly, it’ll be after that Red Robin coupon they gave away expires).

### MERCH

There's...honestly not much to say about merch. The store is decently sized (though it feels like it's the smallest among the AAA stadiums I've been to), and doesn't really stray too far from what you'd expect a minor league baseball team to have (outside of them having a few adjustable hats for non-Yankee MLB teams hidden in a shelf - including the Cleveland [REDACTED IN 2022]).

Most of the jerseys were sublimated, and the ones that weren't were mainly fashion jerseys. There was one that I was at least mildly interested in, but I didn't like that it was kinda short and it had the number 99 on it (stupid sexy Aaron Judge...).

One thing that was kept in the Red Barons to Yankees transition, however, was the classic "SWB" cap logo. I got two versions of this cap (fitted and flexfit), plus a fitted version of their "home" cap (featuring the letter R) as well as a logo ball (with both cap logos) and a mini helmet (that came with ice cream of course; I also ended up geting Chickie's & Pete's Crabfries again).

Finally, I MUST show you one of the most horrifying caps I have ever seen a Minor League Baseball team (attempt to) sell:

![The horror that is the "Baby Bombers" logo](/images/babybomber.jpg)

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[^1]: In the process, the Yankees moved their AAA operations out of Columbus, OH - a city they had been in since 1979.
[^2]: Shout out to all y’all out there who understand this reference.
[^3]: Well screw you too George!
[^4]: Despite my relative disdain for the Yankees, as someone who was going to college in Newark at the time, I can’t help but think that this would’ve been cool…
[^5]: There's also the factor of LLWS crowds/traffic being MUCH larger than I had anticipated based on a YouTube video I saw.
[^6]: MULTIPLE guests of the hotel at the SkyDome (screw Rogers) have been caught doing things you probably shouldn’t do in public because they didn’t realize people could see INTO their windows.


Old friends and new friends in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (International League) @ PNC Field (Moosic, PA)


_\*This trip occurred on the morning of July 4th, 2025._

![A photo I took ON THE FIELD at Holman Stadium back in 2022](/images/nashua.jpeg)

Holman Stadium is quite historic: opened in 1937, it's seen a lot of teams and a lot of leagues come and go - from affiliated minor league teams to independent leagues. In 2011, the (then) newly created Futures Collegiate Baseball League became the newest tenant with the Nashua Silver Knights, and they've been there ever since. In fact, they're the most successful team in the Futures League, having won the most championships (six as of 2024) and being the only team from the original FCBL season to still be in the league.

The stadium is similar to the one in Hudson Valley - you enter under a grandstand that blocks the field from the entrance, but once you get inside, the concourse (or, to be more accurate, the main walkway) extends past the grandstand. The seating areas are split into upper and lower areas like Trenton and Somerset, but one thing that should be noted if you’re looking for the “best” views: there’s an aisle right behind home plate (at least in the upper seating bowl), so you can’t really get a "head-on" view of the pitcher without standing (unless you’re in the press box). Also, most of the lower bowl is in the sun during day games, so it can be pretty hot if you’re sitting there (even on a day when it was “cool” like this one). I honestly really wish I could say more about this place, but I really don’t know what else there is to say (remember, the stadium is approaching 90 years old).

If you’re looking for something to entertain kids outside of the game itself, there’s a family area down the left field line with a bunch of activities. In addition to a pair of concession stands under the grandstand, there's a second stand down the right field line that actually has a different selection from the main stand (for example: they had cheese curds). This is also where the Silver Knights bullpen is, and the players often end up talking to folks across the fence. This particular day also featured a video game truck in right (with someone in an Eevee costume) and a dunk tank in left with a few of the players who weren’t scheduled to appear. These areas are at field level, which is below the stadium's walkway, so you actually climb down the lower bowl to get to them from inside (though the outer concourse does slope down to them).

The nice thing about the summer leagues: tickets are usually very inexpensive (the Cape League being technically free and the Futures League usually not being more than ten dollars on average) and parking is free in most places (exceptions: ex-minor league teams). In fact, the ticket for this game was free, as it's an annual Fourth of July promo! The only “catch” is that it’s an 11 AM game that got moved to 10:30 AM, but that doesn’t really change much.

…or at least it wouldn’t if it hadn’t also shortened the game to seven innings. This was done to accommodate a Fourth of July “block party” that was being set up on the road the entrance to the stadium is on. I had seen this information before, but completely forgot about it until Nashua broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh and celebrated like they won (because they had). Also, said seventh inning also featured the visiting team’s only hit - but their run came in an earlier inning.

Crowds here are fairly decent by New England Summer Collegiate standards (especially with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats only 17 miles away - though that’s a bit of a different story). I've been here quite a few times, and the thing that always strikes me about this place is the fans - quite possibly the rowdiest fans in all of New England. The most notable of these fans is the “Mad Dog”: a dude who’s constantly yelling at the players (usually trying to induce bad play from the opponents) and beating a drum for big plays (and his birthday just so happens to be July 4th). I remember hearing about a “two outs” tradition the team had back in the day, but for whatever reason, they didn’t have it when I went this year (despite the fan who leads it being present I THINK); my guess is that the umpires’ association felt it constituted harassment of their umpires…

### MERCH

As a collegiate summer league team, merchandise isn't really one of their strong suits (this is the case for most summer league teams - especially the New England ones). They do have a stand with a few items, but most times I've tried to find a hat, I've found myself out of luck (the main exception being going to their second home game one year - but even then, they were MOSTLY out of hats). One thing that separates them from a lot of other teams in New England: they DO have online ordering available, though it’s a little weird and I’ve never ordered anything from them online.

Alas, my hat luck continues to be just a bit off, as they only had small and XL sized hats (one of which I ended up getting), but I did get a program for free - something I hadn’t seen before here. Also, I didn’t see ANY baseballs on sale, making this one of the few stops where I didn’t buy any baseballs (the second one was this same day BTW). They also had an homage to a previous independent baseball team (the Nashua Pride) that I was interested in, but they only had small hats available...

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A historic stadium with a high-ish profile team

Nashua Silver Knights (Futures League) @ Holman Stadium (Nashua, NH)


_\*This trip occurred on the evening of July 4th, 2025. For more on the Cape Cod Baseball League, I wrote about it [here](ccbl_overview), and I personally recommend you check it out._

_Also, you may have noticed that I went and added a bunch of photos to some old posts. I do have some photos of Wareham that I could put here, but they're from 2022 (pre-renovation) and I don't think it's fair as the stadium has changed fairly significantly since then._

Baseball has been played on and off in Wareham since 1927, but the current team was formed in 1952. The town has a pretty good history with nine league championships (most recently in 2018); however, Wareham is notable amongst the Cape League towns for…not being on Cape Cod. It’s a few miles west of the Bourne Bridge on what I like to call “mainland Massachusetts” (the cape is separated by a canal) and, being located in Plymouth County, is also not part of Cape Cod’s county (Barnstable)[^1]. As such, it doesn’t really get the visiting fans/tourists many of the other teams enjoy, and Wareham consistently ranks at or near the bottom of attendance each year.

Honestly…it’s kind of a shame ‘cause I think Clem Spillane Field is pretty good. Not the best, mind you, but I think it’s better than others (though that also depends on your opinion on port-a-potties, as there seem to be no public bathrooms nearby). It’s a combination baseball/football configuration, but unlike Hinchliffe Stadium in New Jersey, the diamond is far enough away from the opposite sideline to have a normal distance down both lines (in this case it would be the left field line). Spillane also features the Cape League’s first ever video scoreboard; I don’t know when it was installed (it was there by 2021 though, as that was my first visit), but only one other team (the Cotuit Kettleers) have a video board (the rest use good ol’ electronic scoreboards). Notably, the field was upgraded in 2025; it previously (infamously) featured gray gravel base paths, but now has more traditional dirt.

Quite possibly my favorite seating section in the entire Cape League is here: thanks to the field’s status as a combination baseball/football stadium, the bleachers used for football line the outfield (as well as one of the bullpens - for a long time it was the visitor’s bullpen, but in 2023 it became the home bullpen). "Good" outfield views in the Cape are rare, as where you do get them they’re usually at field level (or the grassy berm in Chatham), so it’s a great way to get a unique view of the game (especially as you can get a rather elevated view in Wareham).

The story of this visit can be summarized in one sentence:

**The night after the lights went out in Wareham.**

My original plan was to stop here briefly to check out the "team store" before heading up to Brockton to see Rox 2.0, but after the Nashua game, I saw that this game had been moved from 6 PM to 7 PM. Thinking that It’d be REALLY awkward to try and get to the Rox game after it started, I figured I’d pivot to this game, as I really like the outfield seats (my second favorite seats in the Cape after Chatham’s grandstand). In doing so, I ended up deciding to go to Cape Cod itself (traffic was basically nonexistent thankfully), where I spent a little bit of time in Brewster and then Falmouth looking for various merchandise items before heading over to Wareham.

When I got to Wareham, I found out why the game was moved: an intense thunderstorm had knocked out power to the field the day before, and initial indications were that the power would be back between 6 and 7 (thus the pushback). However, that ended up NOT being the case, so the game started at 7 with no lights, but with a contingency plan should the power not return in time. Fortunately, those plans ended up being unnecessary, as the lights came on during the third inning. UNfortunately, the Gatemen ended up giving up a 1-0 lead in the sixth and went on to lose 5-2 (I left during this sixth inning with Bourne having loaded the bases with no outs in a then tied game).

### MERCH

Like a lot of other teams in the Cape League (seven before 2025, six this year), the Gatemen merchandise “store” is basically in/next to the press box. There’s also a small concession stand here that mainly serves drinks and light snacks, but the main concession stand at Wareham is behind the left field foul pole/home bullpen.

In the past, the team sold old hats that they were looking to “offload” (which is why I REALLY wanted to come here). This was no different for this trip, and I was able to get an old hat, a current hat, and the Fourth of July hat - but only after they got their credit card reader working (which thankfully happened before the lights came back). I didn’t get a baseball here, as the only baseballs they had were Cape League balls (this is sadly rather common on Cape Cod), and they had the former commissioner’s signature on them (I have WAY too many baseballs signed by him BTW).

Like Chatham, I went against my better judgment and bought a jersey as well; in fact, they actually let me into a section of the press box as that’s where they keep the jerseys. However, I should mention that the most interesting piece of Cape League merch I ever got was from here: A dugout jacket! Before you question the usefulness of a jacket during the summer, you have to understand that June nights in New England can be rather cold - especially on the Cape and South Coast (which is technically what Wareham is part of), where temperatures tend to be lower than the rest of Massachusetts.

Also, another thing that separates Wareham from the rest of the Cape League: Each team in the league publishes a yearbook/program…except Wareham. They stopped publishing their yearbook in 2022, but I will note here that I got a yearbook at every other Cape League stop I made this year (Chatham, Brewster, Falmouth, plus one other stop which I'll get into in a future post).

As for Brewster and Falmouth, I actually intend to talk a little bit more about them later in the year.

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[^1]: This also means that, based on what I remember about Cape Cod’s laws, Wareham is the only team in the league that can sell bottled water…the other teams sell water in cans.



Cape League baseball - off Cape Cod

Wareham Gatemen (Cape Cod Baseball League) @ Clem Spillane Field (Wareham, MA)


_\*This is something I’ve had in my notes app for YEARS, but never did anything with (this trip occurred on June 24, 2023). With the NCAA soccer season starting today (according to Google), the Green having just won the USL2 national championship, and in honor of the old Internet tradition of "Throwback Thursday", I figured this’d be something fun to read/post. A lot of it is LARGELY unedited from when I left it in 2023, but I did feel a few updates were needed (plus I added a merch section)._

There are many collegiate summer leagues for college baseball across America, but I tend to follow three in particular as they’re exclusively based in the six New England States: the Cape Cod Baseball League, the New England Collegiate Baseball League, and the Futures League.

In 2021, I visited all ten teams of the Cape League plus one other team in Worcester, MA over a two week vacation[^1]. The following year - now living in Massachusetts - I visited more teams from the other two leagues, but not all of them. After that summer, I decided that the next year (2023), I’d visit all the teams in the three leagues (mainly for merch, as many of these teams do not sell merch online).

I eagerly awaited the three leagues to release their schedules, and when they did, two things happened:

1. I found out one team from the NECBL folded (RIP Winnipesaukee Muskrats - fun fact: I was at their final game)
2. I began planning out travel schedules for the summer - trying to line up teams that were geographically close to each other so I could visit both on the same day

As part of that second point, I knew that planning out certain visits would definitely be interesting (case in point: booking a ferry ticket in JANUARY to get to Martha's Vineyard with my car in JULY), but one state would be the most daunting for me: Vermont.

Three teams call the state of Vermont home: one in White River Junction (the Upper Valley Nighthawks[^2]), and the other two in Montpelier (the Vermont Mountaineers) and Burlington (the Vermont Lake Monsters). The capital and largest city of Vermont (respectively) are about 30-40ish minutes from each other…but north of 3 hours from where I lived at the time[^3]. Plus, with games starting around 6 PM and the prospect of driving home on unlit, winding mountain roads while dead tired, a single day trip to and from is pretty much impossible to do; you really have to spend the night somewhere close.

Here’s the thing: hotels in Vermont ain’t cheap. I tried to look at hotels for the trip and found that most hotels were at least $200 a night. I brought up that I wanted to go to Vermont with my parents, and they mentioned that they wanted to go there too (they had planned a vacation with my mom’s cousin), but the weekends wouldn’t really line up plus, again, hotel prices. We ended up lucking out however: my dad found an inexpensive interval unit somewhere between the two cities for a week. Originally, I planned on only being there for a few days; however, I decided that the time in Vermont was too good to pass up (save for leaving on Friday so I could do other things on Saturday), so I arranged to spend the entire week at the hotel/unit[^4].

As the trip approached, I noticed that a potential issue came up: the weather. I’m a bit of a weather geek, so I would check the forecasts to see what weather to expect…and the theme of the week was going to be rain literally the whole week (the summer of 2023 featured MANY rainy weekends). Baseball games cannot be played in the rain, so my goals of visiting the teams I wanted to see were in jeopardy.

The day I left for Vermont, guess what happened?

It rained!

I found out early in the morning that the Mountaineers had cancelled their game, so I figured I’d just go to Burlington to see the Lake Monsters - after all, they seemed like they wanted to soldier on with their game. I made my way to Burlington, trying to check for updates from the Lake Monsters regarding their game whilst driving (DON'T DO IT KIDS). Eventually, I found out that the game had been postponed…when I was almost to Burlington and well past where I was staying.

You might be expecting me to simply turn around, go check in at the unit, figure out a place to get dinner, and then discuss the next day when “better” weather plus a Lake Monsters doubleheader on Sunday allowed me to visit both the Lake Monsters and Mountaineers on the same day. Here’s the thing, though: this story is not about baseball.

It’s about association football (commonly referred to in the United States as soccer), because as it turns out, there’s a soccer team in Burlington: Vermont Green FC. They’re in what’s considered the fourth level of soccer in the US (USL League 2), and many of their players are collegiate athletes looking to keep their legs fresh for the upcoming fall NCAA season; in fact, the Green play at the same stadium as the University of Vermont (UVM) soccer teams. However, the team is probably more notable for the culture they’ve created: their main motto is “Climate Justice is Social Justice”, and they do what they can to truly involve themselves in the community. This is also reflected in their supporters group, who call themselves the "Green Mountain Bhoys" (a nod to a Revolutionary War-era milita and a famous soccer team from Scotland) and are known for their social outreach (and political banners at games for better or worse).

When I first heard about Vermont Green from an email from the Men in Blazers, I immediately checked if they’d be home when I was in Vermont, and lo and behold, they were! I had to rearrange the schedule I had made a bit, but committing to being in Vermont the whole week made it much easier. However, nervousness about the super rainy forecast made me question whether I still wanted to check out the Green, since I really wanted to prioritize the baseball teams. When both teams cancelled their games, however, I figured that since soccer games rarely get cancelled by rain, watching the Green would be a “safe bet”. However, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to spend two hours in the elements, so I remained indecisive before eventually deciding to see what a soccer game was like - after all, the last time I had attended a soccer game, I was seven years old and playing in it!

It was still pouring when I arrived and made the genius decision to park on the roof of the nearby parking garage (I was able to move my car, however, as I arrived well over an hour before game time). A game between (more) amateur teams from Vermont and New Hampshire was going on when I arrived, and I watched the end of that from a nearby sidewalk with a giant overhang protecting spectators from the rain. When the time for the “big game” came up, I ended up spending most of the hour between the gates opening and the match starting under the bleachers to get some cover from the rain before opening the umbrella I had brought and moving up to the stands to see the match.

I spent most of the first half standing very close to the “hardcore” supporters’ section (thankfully, I bought a jersey and scarf before the game to “blend in”). They were what you’d expect from soccer fans: loud, rowdy, and having a great time (they were constantly trying to chat up one of the opposing players and even tricked him into “claiming” his teammate was bad). During the game, the PA announcer did more than just announce who scored goals and who was being subbed on/off: he occasionally did some play-by-play of the game action, and to be fair to just about everything else involved with the club…he’s the best part of the game BY FAR.

By about halftime, it stopped raining. I thought about putting my umbrella and jacket away but didn’t want to miss too much (though in retrospect I totally should have). The Green ended up winning the game in an absolute goal fest, and afterwards, fans were allowed onto the field to mingle with the team and get autographs (something which is really awesome IMO).

While Vermont Green was definitely a fun experience, I learned after my vacation that it’s probably the best experience in their division by many, MANY miles. I tried going to another game in the same division about a week later (the Boston Bolts, who were playing in Newton, MA at the time[^5]), and it was basically the complete opposite of what the experience was in Vermont. The best part about it was that I got in for free…because nothing was being sold: no tickets, no food, and no merchandise. Also, there were probably less than 50 spectators at the game, and I use the term “spectators” because I’m pretty sure most of them were there to support individual players as opposed to the team as a whole.

As an after script to my trip, I ended up seeing the Green again the following year - this time as visitors to a "smaller" team just north of Boston: Boston City FC. I legitimately cannot tell you much about them, as information about them on the internet is HARD to find. What I do know is that they seem to have two teams: the USL2 side in the States, plus some team in Brazil; somehow, the Brazilian team seems to get more attention online than the American team. The game itself was rather unremarkable: the Green won 3-0, and it really seemed like there were more Vermont Green fans there than home fans in the intensely sparse crowd. What was neat, however, was getting up close and personal with the Green's players once again; I was kinda nervous about trying to talk to any of them, but they seemed like a cool bunch.

In the first three years of the club’s existence, Vermont Green finished third each year. Two of those years saw the team make the playoffs, but both playoff runs ended in the round of 16. However, in 2025, they put it all together - winning the USL2 National Championship without losing a game in the process (something that hadn’t happened since 2010). The championship game was played at Virtue Field (less than three weeks ago as of this being posted), and is estimated to have drawn close to 5,000 fans - nearly double the number of official seats available. In addition, the success of the Green has spilled into the UVM men's soccer team - who won the NCAA championship nine months prior to the Green's triumph - as I saw a report that their ticket sales had picked up.

It's crazy to think that in three short years, Burlington, Vermont has become one of the de facto soccer capitals of the United States. What Vermont Green (and to a certain extent UVM) has done is incredible: by focusing on ingraining themselves into the community, they've built a fanbase that doesn't just support the club, but draws people in as well. Now that the "secret" is out with them winning a championship, it's going to be VERY interesting to see where they go from here (as debate about whether or not USL2 is "right" for them continues to rage on among other things).

### MERCH

One of the founders of Vermont Green is a well known graphic designer for his work with sport teams (his most notable work being the current look of the Minnesota Twins). Each year, he designs a new jersey for the team to wear for most of their matches (as few of their opponents wear green), and it's usually VERY good.

When I first thought about making this trip, I looked into buying a jersey online and was slightly saddened to find out that their 2023 jersey - widely regarded as one of the most unique jersey EVER in soccer - was sold out. I ended up getting a cream colored jersey with green sleeves and a collar (which I'm fairly sure the team no longer sells) plus a scarf (a common accessory worn at soccer matches). However...these weren't the jersey and scarf I mentioned wearing during the match.

At the match, I lucked out: the team had just restocked their primary jersey, and I ended up getting it plus one of their training shirts (as they feature Ben and Jerry's on the front), as well as a hat and a different scarf (which has become my go-to for the Green).

If you're ever in Burlington and are looking to snag some Vermont Green merch, there's a store in the area run by someone who has played for the team in recent seasons (I visited once and got another scarf and training shirt, as the jerseys/shirts change each year). Just be forewarned, however: with the team SOARING in popularity (even BEFORE winning it all), he's had trouble keeping things on the shelves[^6]...

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### ON DECK:

Remember how I mentioned the summer baseball leagues WAY back at the beginning of this post? Well, tomorrow's post features a team that recently "left" one of those leages to return to its independent "roots" (it's also a return to 2025 trips).

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[^1]: Said trip should have included a visit Brockton but didn't - something that ended up costing me a LOT of time in the coming years...
[^2]: I may have to post about my trip to see the Nighthawks sometime, as it ended up becoming a WEEK LONG ORDEAL.
[^3]: I was living near Boston at the time.
[^4]: Vermont has been my family's main vacation spot since I was born, but this trip was not at the place we usually stay at (we go to the Trapp Family Lodge or whatever they supposedly changed their name to recently in Stowe). For some reason, I always get a kick out of explaining the existence of the lodge to people even though I haven't seen "_The Sound of Music_" in its entirety in a LONG time...
[^5]: They were at the Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst, but have since moved to Brandeis University in Waltham.
[^6]: Case in point: I was looking for the team's 2024 jersey when I visited the store, but they didn't have it in my size.


A look back at the first soccer game I attended (without playing in it)

Vermont Green FC (USL League 2) @ Virtue Field (Burlington, VT)


_The Cape Cod Baseball League (also known as the Cape League or CCBL) is one of my favorite baseball leagues as all of its teams are so close to one another (plus a much BIGGER reason I'll get into in a sec), so I figured I should give you a big picture view of the league._

The Cape Cod Baseball League has been long regarded as the top summer league for college players looking to become pros - after all, its catchphrase is "Where the Stars of Tomorrow Shine Tonight". It features an EXTENSIVE list of notable alumni, including current MLB stars such as Aaron Judge, Pete Alonso, and Paul Skenes among others. In fact, from 2018-2024, the first overall pick in the MLB Draft for all but one year spent time playing on Cape Cod (the exception being Jackson Holiday being drafted out of high school in 2022 - though his grandfather was managing a Cape League team at the time).

Major League Baseball has long been a partner of the league; I'm not sure entirely what this parnership entails mind you, but there was one notable "brush-up": Prior to 2009, six of the league’s ten teams shared names with MLB teams. However, MLB opted to enforce its trademarks that year, thus forcing the teams to either comply with or change their names. Three of the teams - the Chatham Athletics, Hyannis Mets, and Orleans Cardinals - changed their names to the Anglers, Harbor Hawks, and Firebirds respectively. The Bourne Braves and Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (who, coincidentally, share names with Boston’s two historical MLB teams) kept their names (I forget why they were allowed to do this), while the Harwich Mariners were “immune” to this dispute as they were founded LONG before the Seattle PILOTS, let alone the Mariners.

I've been to all ten Cape League fields at least three times each (a minimum of one visit each year between 2021 and 2023, though the baseline number is probably four or five), and they're largely community and/or school fields where a lot of the "bells and whistles" you find in the Minor Leagues are beyond nonexistant; in fact, three stadiums don't have lights and thus can see games end early due to darkness. However, the nature of being community fields does mean that a few of them do have nearby playgrounds, and a number of them allow you to walk completely around the field (and even get up close and personal with the players in the bullpens). However, the community aspect of the Cape League, plus its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, leads to its most notable feature: with a singular exception (the annual All Star Game), admission to games is free! In fact, it’s because of this free admission that I spent two summers wandering around the Cape almost every day after work (it is a large time and gas investment after all).

The ten teams collect donations/do a 50/50 each game, and all sell concessions and merchandise. However, alcohol is not served at Cape League games, though given that there are no “gates” to be found at any of the stadiums, you could feasibly bring your own drinks into the stadiums (as well as your own food; check Reddit/Yelp for recommendations). I have no clue if the Cape League has policies on food or drinks (one team mentioned bringing your own picnic), though remember: this is technically an NCAA environment, so NCAA rules do apply. I don’t recall seeing a lot of fans bringing alcohol this year for what it’s worth.

One thing to keep in mind, however: parking situations generally range from okay-ish (i.e. Bourne and Harwich) to downright AWFUL (looking at you Cotuit). For the most part, it's fine if you're there early enough (though think CAREFULLY before parking next to the field), but if you're getting there close to game time (or after the game has started), be prepared to be searching for a LONG time (this is important to know if you intend on attending multiple games in a day, as they all start relatively close to each other). Of course, that entails you driving down to Cape Cod see games: if you're thinking of doing a day trip from Boston to check out the League on a weekend, don't forget to factor in 495 to 25 to the Bourne/Route 3 to the Sagamore to Route 6 traffic - most especially the latter as it's the main route to get to seven of the league's ten stadiums!

Also, most of these teams do not sell merchandise online. This is a common thing across New England’s summer collegiate leagues unfortunately, but it does mean that if you’re looking for things like hats, you’re almost certainly going to have to come down here to get them. Throw in that a lot of these teams have limited supplies of a lot of things due to their need to avoid cost overruns, and merch hunting is a rather difficult ordeal (and another reason I kept going to Cape League games in 2022 and 2023). 


Sportventures

Wareham Gatemen (7/4/25 PM)

Nashua Silver Knights (7/4/25 AM)

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (8/17/25)

Chatham Anglers (7/3/25)

MLW Wiffle Ball (6/28/25)

Trenton Thunder (6/4/25)

Staten Island FerryHawks (5/29/25)

New York City FC (5/25/25)

New Jersey Jackals (5/18/25)

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (5/8/25)

Hudson Valley Renegades (5/1/25)

Brooklyn Cyclones (4/30/25)

Jersey Shore Blueclaws (4/12/25)

Leading Off: An Introduction