My boyfriend is an artist with pesky deadlines which sadly has ruled out another trip like our Cincinnati/Pittsburgh excursion a few years ago. However, we still want to check out some new (to us) parks so we’ve decided to hit up anything accessible by public transit because I am one of those crazy New Yorker types who’s never driven and he let his license lapse after moving to the area. Newark was our first stop because I love love love Tim Raines.
In case you weren’t aware: Just across the river in Newark there is an independent league team called the Bears (a legacy name taken from the AAA teams that played in the city).
It’s a very, very easy trip to Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium from New York. Hop on an NJ Transit train to Newark Broad Street and the park is literally across the street. The street wasn’t so easy to cross thanks to confusing stoplights that didn’t change but we made it there in one piece. Our train ride there was slower than usual because of congestion on the tracks (according to the conductor) and it still only took about half an hour to get there.
The park itself is pretty nice, not mindblowing but I really do love brick built parks so I was charmed by the outside appearance of the stadium right away.
Atlantic League baseball isn’t really the best around, it might not even be as good as AAA. But it is a good place to see some people you forgot existed who put some time in at the MLB level. The Bears most notably have Scott Spezio playing for them this year, which I was taken aback by because I thought he was in jail after his last DUI brohaha. Other members of the team this year include Nook Logan, JR House and Armando Benitez (boooooo). Yankees fans may recognize Chris Malec as well, who is keeping his dreams alive and all that.
There’s really a dearth of pitching at this level, which isn’t shocking. The game wound up running much longer than we expected and the final score was 16-5 (I might be wrong because it’s off the top of my head).
It was “Pasta in the Park Night” and we got a free small bowl of pasta with Prego sauce or whatever to kick off the game. While it was like your typical lazy home dinner, it wasn’t very filling so we hit the concessions area. The prices are about what you expect at a non-MLB park ($3 for a hot dog, $3.50 for french fries and so on), and while the selection wasn’t amazing it was good enough and we were happy with our ballpark dogs and fries. The park staff was very friendly and I felt extremely welcome there.
The park itself was pretty empty, but I’m told this is normal. I purchased the tickets in advance, and I really liked the ticketing system (you pick out your exact seats from the inventory) I’d recommend just walking up to the box office and saving the fees.
Even though the quality of the actual baseball wasn’t the greatest–and it never is unless you’re at Yankees-Rays games or something–we had a great time. My boyfriend and I enjoy just going to baseball games more than the average fan but we’re definitely planning on going again. Easy to get to, cheap in all respects and the opportunity to make angry faces at Armando Benitez make for a good night out. Even if it is in Newark.
Scott SPEZIO is in Newark? Oh, that ALONE will make it worth the trip.
My brother-in-law takes my niece and nephew here and they apparently do a great job with kids. They are always jazzed up after seeing games here. And I always talk about going here but never do.
It’s really a chill, fun time there. I recommend it! Definitely will go again.
[...] The Girl Who Loved Andy Pettite seemed to have a good time, but wasn’t impressed with the quality of baseball. [...]
No Tim Raines sightings?
Oh, and if you’re looking for places to go later in the season, Dutchess Stadium is just a couple miles from the Metro-North station in Beacon.
He was hanging out in the dugout and didn’t come out really so I didn’t get much stalking in
Chris might be getting his driver’s license back (it lapsed, not suspended or anything) in which case we’ll definitely be hitting up some more NYPL parks.