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Somerset Patriots

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Somerset Patriots
Minor league affiliations
ClassDouble-A (2021–present)
Previous classesIndependent (1998–2020)
LeagueDouble-A Northeast (2021–present)
DivisionNortheast Division
Previous leagues
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (1998–2020)
Major league affiliations
TeamNew York Yankees (2021–present)
Previous teamsIndependent (1998–2020)
Minor league titles
League titles (6)
  • 2001
  • 2003
  • 2005
  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2015
Division titles (14)
  • 1999
  • 2000
  • 2001
  • 2003
  • 2005
  • 2007
  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2013
  • 2015
  • 2016
  • 2017
  • 2018
  • 2021
Team data
NameSomerset Patriots (1998–present)
ColorsNavy blue, maroon, gray, white
       
MascotSparkee[1]
BallparkTD Bank Ballpark (1999–present)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
The Kalafer Family[2]
General managerPatrick McVerry[2]
ManagerJulio Mosquera
MediaWCTC 1450 AM and MiLB.TV

The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Double-A Northeast and were previously members of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball from 1998 to 2020. The Patriots have played their home games at TD Bank Ballpark since 1999.

The Patriots were the winningest franchise of the Atlantic League, capturing six championship series titles in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2015. Their most recent playoff appearance was in 2018 when they lost in the semifinals against the Long Island Ducks.

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 13-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.[3] 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 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.[4]

The Somerset Patriots, and then manager Sparky Lyle, won their 1,000th game on July 24, 2012. The Patriots defeated the Sugar Land Skeeters with a score of 6–5, in the day game of a day/night doubleheader.

On November 27, 2012, it was announced Somerset's pitching coach and former major league pitcher, Brett Jodie, would become the new manager with Lyle becoming manager emeritus.[5]

Former professional football player Donald Jones briefly played for the Patriots during his recovery from a kidney transplant.[6]

In November 2020, the Patriots were announced as the new Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, replacing the Trenton Thunder.[7] They were organized into the Double-A Northeast.[8] Somerset began competition in the new league as a Yankees affiliate on May 4 with a 6–0 victory over the Harrisburg Senators at TD Bank Ballpark.[9] They won the 2021 Northeast Division title with a first-place 72–47 record.[10] Despite winning the division, their record was third-best in the league, and only the two teams with the highest winning percentages in the regular season competed for the league championship.[11] Oswaldo Cabrera won the league's Most Valuable Award.[12]

Season-by-season results

Somerset Patriots[13][14]
Season W–L record Win % Finish Playoffs
1998 40–59 .404 4th Overall Did not qualify for playoffs
1999 60–60 .500 3rd Overall 0–3 (lost league championship)
2000 74–66 .528 1st in South Division 0–3 (lost league championship)
2001 83–43 .659 1st in South Division 3–2 (won league championship)
2002 65–60 .480 4th in South Division Did not qualify for playoffs
2003 67–59 .532 2nd in South Division 3–2 (won league championship)
2004 68–58 .540 3rd in South Division Did not qualify for playoffs
2005 78–62 .557 3rd in South Division 5–1 (won league championship)
2006 65–61 .515 3rd in South Division Did not qualify for playoffs
2007 75–51 .595 1st in South Division 3–4 (lost league championship)
2008 74–66 .528 1st in Freedom Division 5–1 (won league championship)
2009 86–54 .614 1st in Freedom Division 6–2 (won league championship)
2010 75–65 .535 1st in Freedom Division 2–3 (lost in division final)
2011 49–74 .398 3rd in Freedom Division Did not qualify for playoffs
2012 65–74 .468 3rd in Freedom Division Did not qualify for playoffs
2013 90–49 .647 2nd in Freedom Division 6–4 (lost league championship)
2014 85–55 .607 1st in Liberty Division 2–3 (lost in division final)
2015 89–50 .640 1st in Liberty Division 6–3 (won league championship)
2016 77–63 .550 1st in Liberty Division 2–3 (lost in division final)
2017 74–65 .532 2nd in Liberty Division 3–4 (lost in division final)
2018 72–54 .571 1st in Liberty Division 2–3 (lost in division final)
2019 69–69 .500 4th in Liberty Division Did not qualify for playoffs
2020 6–4 .600 1st in Somerset Professional Baseball Series N/A
2021 72–47 .605 1st in Northeast Division Did not qualify for playoffs
Totals (1998–2021) 1,507–1,240 .549 — 45–37

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 and uniforms produced by New Era. 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 a white outline and the Patriot-head cap logo superimposed. The home jersey includes pinstripes and the "Patriots" wordmark centered across the front in navy blue and maroon. The away jersey resembles the New York Yankees' away jersey with the "Somerset" wordmark. The belt, socks, and undershirt are navy blue.

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

Radio and television

All of the Patriots' games are broadcast on WCTC 1450 AM, as well as MiLB.TV with the voice of the Patriots Marc Schwartz.

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. Sparkee's name refers to the Patriots' first manager, Sparky Lyle.[15] The team also employs another character, a cat (according to Somerset Patriots staff (sometimes mistaken for a 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.[16] The team had a mascot named "TD" (after the stadium's sponsor) debuted in the June 30, 2010, game against the Camden Riversharks. Also, the team had a live mascot known as "General Admission" who wears the traditional uniform donned by those fighting for the colonies during the American Revolution complete with the three-cornered hat and musket.

Roster

Somerset Patriots roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

Catchers


Infielders

  • 10 Rafael Flores
  • 36 Tyler Hardman
  •  2 Kiko Romero
  •  3 Alexander Vargas

Outfielders


Manager

  • 52 Raul Dominguez

Coaches

  • 93 Aaron Bossi (defense)
  • 50 Brett DeGagne (pitching)
  • 32 Kevin Martir (hitting)


7-day injured list
* On New York Yankees 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated November 19, 2024
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Eastern League
 → New York Yankees minor league players

Retired numbers

28 (Sparky Lyle)
Manager, Retired by the Patriots on June 14, 2014
42 (Jackie Robinson)
Second baseman, Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997

References

  1. ^ "Sparkee". Somerset Patriots. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Front Office Directory". Somerset Patriots. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  3. ^ "About the Somerset Patriots".
  4. ^ Spring training to take place in New Jersey
  5. ^ http://www.somersetpatriots.com/
  6. ^ Sambrotto, Anthony. Alumni Rewind: Donald Jones' pursuit of endless opportunities. BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  7. ^ "New York Yankees announce new Minor League affiliation structure". MLB.com. November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  8. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  9. ^ "Senators vs. Patriots Box Score 05/04/21". Minor League Baseball. May 4, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  10. ^ "2021 Double-A Northeast". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Heneghan, Kelsie (July 1, 2021). "Playoffs Return to the Minor Leagues". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  12. ^ "Postseason All-Stars". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  13. ^ Atlantic League information
  14. ^ http://atlantic.bbstats.pointstreak.com/standings.html?leagueid=174&seasonid=12585 Atlantic League Standings
  15. ^ Sparkee the mascot
  16. ^ [1]
Achievements
Preceded by Atlantic League champions
Somerset Patriots
2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Atlantic League champions
Somerset Patriots
2008, 2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Atlantic League champions
Somerset Patriots
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Atlantic League champions
Somerset Patriots
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Atlantic League champions
Somerset Patriots
2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Somerset Patriots
South Division
2007
 Freedom Division champions
Somerset Patriots
2008, 2009, 2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by South Division champions
Somerset Patriots
2007 		Succeeded by
Somerset Patriots
Freedom Division
2008
Preceded by South Division champions
Somerset Patriots
2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by South Division champions
Somerset Patriots
2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
South Division Created
 South Division champions
Somerset Patriots
2000, 2001 		Succeeded by

Template:Somerset Patriots

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