There will be professional baseball in New Jersey this summer

The pandemic has turned the sports world upside down. Earlier this month it was announced that minor league baseball teams’ seasons were wiped out, but now there is a ray of hope!

The Somerset Patriots, of the independent Atlantic League, have revealed that they will play baseball this summer. The Patriots announced this week that they will be hosting the Somerset Professional Baseball Series at TD Bank Ballpark. The series will feature 12 games between two teams, the Patriots and the New Jersey Blasters. The Blasters are also run by the Patriots’ organization.

Players for both teams will be locals so as to limit both travel and the risk of players from coming from other parts of the country. Games will be played on Fridays and Saturdays starting July 17th and going through August 22nd. Tickets are $10 and are general admission. The Somerset Patriots will only sell the number of tickets approved for outdoor gatherings by state and local government and health officials. That number is currently around 450 people with potential of increases over the next several weeks. Season ticket holders will be contacted directly via email by the Patriots ticket office regarding options on how they can attend games this summer.

Taking Care of Business: Wednesday at 7 p.m., Eric Scott leads a discussion on how to support businesses — and how they can keep you safe as they reopen in the pandemic. Listen on New Jersey 101.5 FM, the NJ 101.5 app or NJ1015.com, and join the discussion in real time at Facebook.com/NJ1015.

Patriots Chairman Emeritus, Steve Kalafer, says, “This is a plan that has been vetted by health care professionals, meets the CDC guidelines, and New Jersey’s executive orders. We are going to have baseball for our community.” Team President/GM Patrick McVerry adds, “We have worked hard to do that the best and safest way possible to give our community something to cheer for once again. We are excited to do our part to put smiles back on people’s faces.” For more information, check out the Somerset Patriots website.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.