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

A borough often scorned gets a second chance at baseball

*This trip occurred on May 29, 2025.

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.