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

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

*This trip occurred on April 30, 2025.

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 one¹, 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 League², 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).