Somerset Patriots

Somerset Patriots
Founded in 1997 Bridgewater Township, New Jersey
Team logo	Cap insignia
League affiliations
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Freedom Division
Name
Somerset Patriots (1998-present)
Other nicknames
The Pats
Team Colors
Navy blue, maroon, silver, white
Ballpark
TD Bank Ballpark
Championships
League titles: 5 (2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009) Division titles: 8 (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009)
Owner(s)/Operated By: Steve Kalafer
General Manager: Patrick McVerry
Manager: Sparky Lyle
Media: Bridgewater Courier-News
Website: www.somersetpatriots.com

The Somerset Patriots are an American professional baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. They are a member of the Freedom Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 1999 season to the present, the Patriots have played their home games at TD Bank Ballpark.

The Patriots are the winningest franchise of the Atlantic League, capturing five Championship Series titles in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, and most recently, 2009.

The "Patriots" name refers to the Middlebrook encampment where the first official flag of the United States was unfurled, after a law to adopt a national flag had been passed by Congress on June 14, 1777. By special order of Congress, a thirteen star flag is flown 24 hours a day at the Washington Camp Ground, part of the former Middlebrook encampment, in Bridgewater Township.

History

The Somerset Patriots were one of the founding members of the Atlantic League in 1998. However, the team spent its inaugural season as a road team while TD Bank Park was being constructed. In the 1999 season, the Patriots opened their ballpark, where they quickly became one of the most successful franchises of the league in both of the win and attendance columns.

For spring training in 2009, the Somerset Patriots became the first Atlantic League team to hold its spring training in its own locale, at the Jack Cust Baseball Academy in nearby Flemington, instead of the traditional site in Lakeland, Florida. The Lancaster Barnstormers and the York Revolution followed suit in 2009, primarily because of the 2008 economic recession.

Logos and uniforms

The Somerset Patriots official colors are navy blue, maroon, and silver. The primary logo depicts a Continental soldier in navy blue with white stars on his shoulder and maroon stripes flowing to his left, a reference to the U.S. flag. Centered below the soldier is the wordmark in navy blue underlined by a silver baseball bat outlined in navy blue. The word "Somerset" is centered above the wordmark in maroon.

The Patriots wear caps produced by The Game Headwear and uniforms by Majestic Athletic. The caps are navy blue throughout with the cap logo centered on the front. The cap logo consists of the Continental soldier's head outlined in white and maroon. The Patriots also have an alternate cap that has a navy blue crown with a maroon brim and button. The cap logo on the alternate cap consists of a scripted "S" in maroon with white outline and the Patriot-head cap logo superimposed. The home jersey is sleeveless with maroon piping and the "Patriots" wordmark centered across the front in navy blue and maroon. The away jersey features full sleeves with maroon piping and the "Somerset" wordmark. The belt, socks, and undershirt are navy blue.

The Patriots alternate jersey is navy blue with silver piping. The "Patriots" wordmark is centered on the chest in maroon with white outline, and a white star in the underscore. |-

Radio

All of the Patriots' games are broadcast on WCTC 1450 AM, with the "Voice of the Patriots" Adam Amin.

Mascots

One of the Somerset Patriots' official mascots is an anthropomorphic dog named Sparkee. He wears the team's home uniform with white sneakers. The mascot debuted on July 11, 1998 at the Atlantic League's first All-Star Game at Bernie Robbins Stadium in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Sparkee's name refers to the Patriots manager, Sparky Lyle. The team also employs another character of unknown species (although many speculate it to be either Felidae-cat or Ursidae-bear) named Slider. After training with Sparkee for several months, he debuted in the 2007 season. Slider wears the Patriots' navy blue alternate jersey with gray pants. A mascot named "TD" (after the stadium's sponsor) debuted in the June 30th, 2010 game against the Camden Riversharks.

Current roster

Somerset Patriots roster
Active (25-man) roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers  1 Casey Cahill 11 Derrick Gordon 15 Ben Grezlovski 34 Ryan Houston 30 Jeff Kennard 27 Jim Magrane 33 Derell McCall 12 Brian McCullough 24 Chris Oxspring 37 Kevin Reese 18 Luke Sommer 32 Nic Ungs 38 Ron Villone		Catchers 35 Yusuf Carter 13 John Pachot Infielders 21 Elliott Ayala  5 Joe Burke  2 Fernando Cortez  4 Daniel DeGeorge 39 Matt Hagen 26 Justin Huber  9 Jeff Nettles 31 Josh Pressley Outfielders  3 Joe Holden 22 Norris Hopper		Manager 28 Sparky Lyle Coaches 29 Brett Jodie (Pitching) 23 Travis Anderson (Hitting) Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list Roster updated 2011-08-11 Transactions

Retired numbers

Jackie Robinson

2B Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997

External links

Official websites

• Somerset Patriots
• Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

Blogs

• Ryan Dunleavy's Patriots Blog
• Atlantic League Baseball
• Atlantic League Independent

Mobile Apps

• iPhone
• Android

Achievements
Preceded by Somerset Patriots 2008	Atlantic League Champions Somerset Patriots 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009	Succeeded by
Preceded by Camden Riversharks 2004	South Division Champions Somerset Patriots 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007	Succeeded by
Preceded by	Freedom Division Champions Somerset Patriots 2008, 2009, 2010	Succeeded by