My trip to watch the Somerset Patriots

I’ve always been a baseball fan, but as I have gotten older I have found it harder to just drop everything and make the trek to the Bronx, Queens, or Philly to catch a major league game. Fortunately, New Jersey is home to several minor league teams, so I can still catch a game being played at a high level.

Saturday night, I went to see the Somerset Patriots, the New York Yankees’ AA affiliate, play the Erie Seawolves (you gotta love minor league team names). The weather cooperated for the most part; there were a few minor sprinkles, but other than that, it was a beautiful night for baseball. I wasn’t the only one looking for a baseball fix, either; the crowd was listed at 6,005, and they were treated to relatively easy win for the home team.

I won’t recap the entire game, but the Patriots got on the board early, courtesy of a Donny Sands two-run homer in the bottom of the first; Erie never really challenged after that, and Somerset tacked on four more runs while limiting Erie to just six hits in a 5-0 shutout.

I can’t recreate all the sights and sounds of the ballgame, but here are a few pictures to give you a feel for the experience: