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

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

*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).