Somerset Patriots

Somerset Patriots
Team logo Cap insignia
League	Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (Liberty Division)
Location	Bridgewater Township, New Jersey
Ballpark	TD Bank Ballpark
Year founded	1997
League championships	6 (2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2015)
Division championships	10 (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015)
Colors	Navy blue, maroon, silver, white
Ownership	Steve Kalafer
Manager	Brett Jodie
General Manager	Patrick McVerry
Media	Bridgewater Courier-News Home News Tribune MyCentralJersey.com talkinball.net NJ.com Franklin Reporter Advocate Recorder Newspapers Packet Publications WCTC
Website	www.somersetpatriots.com

The Somerset Patriots is an American professional baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. They are a member of the Liberty 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 six Championship Series titles in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, and most recently, 2015.

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. 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.^[1]

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 Current Somerset Pitching Coach & former major league pitcher Brett Jodie will become the new manager with Lyle becoming Manager Emeritus.^[2]

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 Under Armour 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 includes maroon piping and the "Patriots" wordmark centered across the front in navy blue and maroon. The away jersey also features 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 former Miami Hurricanes Play by Play announcer and new "Voice of the Patriots" Justin Antweil. Antweil has drawn many comparisons to CBS sport's Ian Eagle for his quick wit and fun, but informative, approach to play calling.

TV

The Somerset Patriots created their own media network, SPN.tv., in 2014. SPN.tv covers 20 live-steam home games during the season, along with various original programming that features the players, team, front office, fans, community involvement and more. The network is live all year long on www.spn.tv so everyone can enjoy the Somerset Patriots 365 days/year.

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 first manager, Sparky Lyle.^[3] 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.^[4] A mascot named "TD" (after the stadium's sponsor) debuted in the June 30th, 2010 game against the Camden Riversharks. Also the team has 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.

Season-by-season records

Somerset Patriots - 1998 to 2015[5][6]
Season	W - L Record	Winning Percentage	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)
Totals (1998–2015)	1288-1066	.541	-	41-31

Current roster

Somerset Patriots roster
Active (25-man) roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers -- Matt Bywater -- Jeremy Horst 23 Jon Hunton -- Kyler Newby -- Arik Sikula -- Brandon Sisk 7 Mickey Storey		Catchers Infielders -- Eric Farris 16 Matt Fields 2 Scott Kelly -- Bryan LaHair -- Darwin Perez -- David Vidal Outfielders 91 Aharon Eggleston -- Carlos Guzman -- Mycal Jones -- Trayvon Robinson -- Brad Snyder		Manager 29 Brett Jodie Coaches 44 Fox Beyer (First Base) 11 Cory Domel (Pitching) -- Glen Barker (Hitting) Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list Roster updated March 24, 2016 Transactions

Retired numbers

42 (Jackie Robinson)

2B, Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997

28 (Sparky Lyle)

MGR, Retired by the Patriots on June 14, 2014

References

1. Spring training to take place in New Jersey
2. http://www.somersetpatriots.com/
3. Sparkee the mascot
5. Atlantic League information
6. http://atlantic.bbstats.pointstreak.com/standings.html?leagueid=174&seasonid=12585 Atlantic League Standings

External links

• Somerset Patriots (official website)
• Atlantic League of Professional Baseball