Play Ball! Somewhere!

Hoboken has a rich baseball history. It's the home to the first ever baseball game, June 19, 1846, at least that's what the purists think (take that Doubleday and Cooperstown!). This Saturday, the Hoboken Historical Museum is reenacting that game which took place at Hoboken's Elysian Fields, believed to be somewhere near the Maxwell Place apartment complex, using rules, and equipment, from 1873.

It's unfortunate this is how we have to whet our appetites with baseball in this town. Sorry Stevens Ducks, but nobody ever knows when you play. About year ago Councilwoman Beth Mason had an idea of bringing a minor-league baseball team—an affiliate of the Yankees, Mets, or (perish the thought) the Red Sox—to the Mile Square's underdeveloped and gritty northwest zone. Of course it did not go over well, even though her plans included a convention center, retail shops, and an ice skating rink.  

But maybe the city should rethink the proposal. I understand there are already several minor or independent league baseball teams already within driving distance of Hoboken—Trenton Thunder, Somerset Patriots, Staten Island Yankees, Lakewood Blueclaws, Brooklyn Cyclones, Newark Bears, Sussex Skyhawks, New Jersey Jackals, Camden River Sharks, and the Atlantic City Surf— which might have people rethink about why do we need one more team. However, Hoboken, unlike several of these towns, is a destination. It has the waterfront, great restaurants, and reality television stars.  

I wrote in my very first column for Patch that Hoboken needs something other than eating and drinking as a social activity. A baseball game has the grub and grog, plus entertainment. Have you ever been to a minor league baseball game? Your seats are closer to the field, tickets and concessions are less expensive, and in addition to seeing top prospects and sometimes major league stars on rehab assignments, the games are always family and kid friendly, which is perfect for a city where more and more parents are staying to raise their families. Otherwise all of these day care and early learning centers would be obsolete.

Last summer I was in Cape Cod so my buddy and I went to see a game from the renowned Cape Cod League, the oldest amateur baseball league in the country (1885). They pride themselves on showcasing the countries top college players. The atmosphere had an energy that's not felt at other sporting events. Families from the neighboring towns, both locals and tourists, came to cheer on these talented kids who love to play the game, as if they were rooting for their own children at little league. Fans brought their own chairs or blankets and locals sold hot dogs and hamburgers and soft drinks for a dollar each on grills from their backyard. While major league scouts stood behind the fence at home plate, kids sought after foul balls like they were golden tickets into Willy Wonka's factory. The whole evening was more than just a game.

Finally, I find the reenactment being Father's Day weekend appropriate as baseball has always bonded fathers with their children, from picking out a glove together and playing catch in the yard, to teaching how to choke up on a bat, and instills, when at the plate, to always, always keep your eye on the ball. It's those fundamentals by young and innocent children that are on display at minor league games every night. You wouldn't just be bringing baseball back to Hoboken, but a level of purity and refreshing excitement this town never wanted to see leave 164 years ago.

The reenactment is Saturday, June 19, at 1:00 p.m. at Stevens Institute of Technology's Dobbelaar Baseball Field.