At The Ballpark: Somerset Patriots

TD Bank Ballpark, Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, NJ, June 4, 2023. Photo credit Scott Greene

The Premise

Prospects1500 site President, Scott Greene, and I have been planning on hitting up a game for the longest time and, through a simple text the other day, we planned to meet at TD Bank Ballpark in Somerset, NJ on June 4th. The park is only an hour away from me, but I’ve never been there, so I was excited to check it out. It was a perfect spring day with the weather at 70 degrees and no chance of rain at all. Scott secured tickets for a suite and the seats were great. How else was the day? Well, read more about our day AT THE BALLPARK.

The History

TD Bank Ballpark’s hosted its first game on June 7, 1999 for the Somerset Patriots. The organization was celebrating 25 years at TD Bank Balhis past weekend. The park hosted the Atlantic League All-Star games in 2000, 2008 and 2017.  The park has won numerous awards naming it Best Ballpark in the Nation. It has hosted other sports such as soccer and lacrosse, along with a few concerts over the years.

The Notable Alumni

Eric Anthony
Harrison Bader
Oswaldo Cabrera
Josh Donaldson
Giancarlo Stanton
Anthony Volpe

The Driving and Parking

The park is located about an hour’s drive northeast of Philadelphia and about an hour’s drive southwest of New York City with easy access off I-95. Parking is plentiful and inexpensive – only $5 for cars and $10 for buses and other oversized vehicles. One can try to park in the Bridgewater Promenade Lot across the street that houses a Target, Home Depot, Costco and other stores but Somerset’s site says parking there is prohibited and your car may be towed, so I don’t recommend it unless you want the hassle of trying to find your car after the game.

The Food and Concessions

As with all ballparks, food is plentiful here at TD Bank Ballpark. The standard baseball options are here – hot dogs, fries, and chicken fingers, but there are quite a few other options. If you’re looking for something different, turn right when you walk in and head for the tents by the right field seats. You will find Oink and Moo BBQ, Premio Sausage, Let’s Have a Ball, State Fair and other options. The sausage sandwich was great, as it had the right amount of peppers and onions and was prepared perfectly. State Fair has more snacks than food such as Oreo churros, popcorn and roasted cashews. The MVP of the night was Let’s Have a Ball. They have 8 different types of rice balls that were out of this world. This is the only ballpark I’ve been to that serves them. Becky was working the tent and was so friendly, as were everyone else we met that day.

We had seats in a suite and they have food servers who take your order and can bring the food right to your suite. Nikki was so friendly and prompt and informative. The only caveat about ordering from your seat is that their options don’t include the tent or concourse options listed above, but a quick walk down the stairs gets you right there.

The Promotions

Our game’s promotion was a mini Somerset Patriots baseball bat giveaway to the first 1,000 kids who entered the park. Thinking ahead to obtain the bat, I brought my son to the game. The bat is the normal type of mini bat you see at all parks. They stopped giving out bats to my hometown Citizen Bank Park years ago, so this was a nice surprise. Also, as with all Sundays, kids get to run the bases after the game. The line was very long after the game to participate, so if you bring a kid and he or she wants to run the bases, head for the main concourse behind section 217 after the bottom of the 8th. Looking ahead at other promotions, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake is set to make an appearance next month along with Black Panther on Superhero Day. There are also bobblehead giveaways, fireworks nights and other great promotions throughout the season.

The Entertainment

The team’s main mascot is Sparkee, a dog named after the team’s first manager, Sparky Lyle. He wears their home jersey and debuted on July 11, 1998. The team also has a cat named Slider who was introduced in 2007 and wears their road jersey. There was a race between a carrot, a blueberry, and a hamburger, with the carrot pulling out the win. I love mascots! There is also a nice section of arcade games by the restrooms in the upper area where you can test your video game skills.

The Prospects

Eight of Boston’s Top 50 prospects appeared in the game we attended.

Marcelo Mayer (#1) 3-4, R, 2 RBI, 2 SB (his first AA hits and RBIs)
Ceddanne Rafaela (#3) 2-5, R
Niko Kavadas (#13) 0-5, 5 K (the ol’ Golden Sombrero)
Matthew Lugo (#15) 0-5
Tyler McDonough (#24) 1-4, RBI
Ryan Fernandez (#26) L, IP, 2 H, 0 ER
Stephen Scott (#43) 0-3, BB
Ryan Miller (#46) BS, 1.2 IP, 4 H, K


Five of New York’s top 50 prospects played.

Austin Wells (#2) 3-5, RBI
Jasson Dominguez (#3) 1-4, R, RBI
Trey Sweeney (#7) 1-5, R, HR, RBI
Richard Fitts (#31) 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 6 K
Tyler Hardman (#37) 0-4, RBI

The Game

Lugo and McDonough made one error each which led to a Somerset run early in the game. The game was pretty evenly matched throughout with each team scoring 2 runs in the 7th inning to tie it up at 4. After 9 innings, we went to extra innings with Mayer being placed on 2nd base, but Portland was unable to get him home. In the bottom of the 10th, Somerset placed Hardman on 2nd base but was replaced by pinch-runner Max Burt, who was driven home by T.J. Rumfield to win the game. His teammates immediately exited the dugout and doused him with Gatorade celebrating right behind the pitcher’s mound.

The War

I’ve heard about baseball card Box Wars but have never been in one, so when Scott brought out two boxes of 2023 Bowman Baseball I was eager to try my luck.  The rules of the game can vary but we did pack by pack. The best card in each participant’s pack wins all the cards of both packs. Each player opens one pack at a time and they determine which pack has the best card in there. I won most cards (the war) but Scott won the two best cards (the battle) pulling out our 2nd ranked Oakland Athletic prospect Zack Gelof /150 and our 18th ranked Detroit Tiger prospect Abel Bastidas Purple.

Watch the Box War At The Ballpark here:

The Summary

One sentence from my son will sum up the visit to TD Bank Ballpark. “This was the best ballpark I’ve ever been to.” Coming from a 12-year-old who has visited about 10 parks, that says a lot. Coming from someone a little older who’s visited about 30 parks, I may have to agree with him. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the park if you’ve been there!

Tony Bps Spina is a lifelong baseball fan hailing from the City of Brotherly Love - Philadelphia! Tony has loved baseball since 1980 and has followed the Phillies through good and bad times. Tony is married with 3 kids and works for a financial institution but has enough free time to play in 20 fantasy baseball leagues with 75% of them being Dynasty Leagues. He lives a few blocks away from Citizens Bank Park and attends many Phillies games per year in addition to their minor league teams in Lehigh Valley and Reading. He can be reached on Twitter at @TonyBps1.




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