All-American Baseball Challenge
The All-American Baseball Challenge is a six-team recreational baseball league formed in July 2020 in the New York City metropolitan area.[1] Local ownership quickly organized this pop-up league in response to the cancellation of the 2020 Frontier League season, which was to feature three of the teams involved, due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Games were played at Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls, New Jersey, Skylands Stadium in Augusta, New Jersey, and Palisades Credit Union Park in Pomona, New York. Each stadium featured two teams, which included the New Jersey Jackals and Sussex County Miners each playing in their home parks. The owners of the New York Boulders also fielded a team in their stadium, but the team kept the franchise’s former name of Rockland Boulders for the season.
Major leaguers Vin Mazzaro and Taylor Motter played in the league.
Teams[]
| AABC Team | Manager | Home Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey Jackals | Jimmy Efre | Yogi Berra Stadium |
| Jersey Wise Guys | Scott Iselhart | Yogi Berra Stadium |
| Rockland Boulders | Albert Gonzalez | Palisades Credit Union Park |
| New York Brave | Andrew Romanella | Palisades Credit Union Park |
| Sussex County Miners | Simon Walters | Skylands Stadium |
| Skylands Cardinals | Vladimir Fontalvo, Jr. | Skylands Stadium |
The league features players from independent, affiliated minor league, and college baseball.[4]
Rules[]
Initially, a 32 game, 8-week regular season was reported.[5] Official schedules released by each team list a 28 game, 7-week regular season beginning July 23, ending September 6. This will be followed by a postseason.
All games are scheduled for 9 innings and are held on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Some of the venues include Palisades Credit Union Park, Skylands Stadium, and Yogi Berra Stadium.
No new inning will be started after 3 hours have elapsed since first pitch unless it is the 9th inning.
Contests tied after nine innings will use a home run derby to decide the winning team. A player on each team will take five batting practice swings and the player with more home runs wins the game for his team.
Games not played due to inclement weather are canceled.
Two umpires are used to officiate contests.
GameChanger is the official scoring/statistical tracking platform for the league.[6]
Season Results[]
| Final Regular Season Standings | Wins | Losses | % | gb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex County Miners | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | - |
| Rockland Boulders | 14 | 9 | 0.609 | 2 1/2 |
| New Jersey Jackals | 12 | 10 | 0.545 | 4 |
| New York Brave | 11 | 13 | 0.458 | 6 |
| Jersey Wise Guys | 10 | 13 | 0.435 | 6 1/2 |
| Skylands Cardinals | 6 | 18 | 0.250 | 11 |
AABC Championship - Playoff Bracket
Round 1 Sept. 11, 2020
Results:
1 seed vs. 4 seed at Skylands Stadium, New York Brave 5 Sussex County Miners 1
2 seed vs. 3 seed at Palisades Credit Union Park, New Jersey Jackals 11 Rockland Boulders 2
5 seed vs. 6 seed at Yogi Berra Stadium, Jersey Wise Guys 3, Skylands Cardinals 0
Round 2 Sept. 12, 2020
Championship game at Yogi Berra Stadium, New Jersey Jackals 3 New York Brave 2
3rd place game at Skylands Stadium, Sussex County Miners 5 Jersey Wise Guys 1
5th place game at Palisades Credit Union Park, Skylands Cardinals 7 Rockland Boulders 6
Postseason notes: Highest seed is the home team.
| Final Postseason Standings | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| 1st New Jersey Jackals | 2 | 0 |
| 2nd New York Brave | 1 | 1 |
| 3rd Sussex County Miners | 1 | 1 |
| 4th Jersey Wise Guys | 1 | 1 |
| 5th Skylands Cardinals | 1 | 1 |
| 6th Rockland Boulders | 0 | 2 |
References[]
- ^ Tredinnick, Andrew (July 16, 2020). "Independent minor-league All-American Baseball Challenge heading to Skylands Stadium". Daily Record (Morristown). Gannett. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ Rapay, Eugene. "All-American Baseball Challenge recreational league opener returns live sports to Rockland". The Journal News. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ "Palisades Credit Union Park to host All-American Baseball Challenge Weekend schedule to begin July 23. – Frontier League". Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ "PressRelease". New York Boulders. NewYorkBoulders. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "The All-American Baseball Challenge". New Jersey Monthly. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
- ^ "Game Changer - All American Baseball Challenge- July 23, 2020 - September 12, 2020". GameChanger. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- Independent baseball leagues in the United States
- Baseball leagues in New Jersey
- Baseball leagues in New York (state)
- Sports leagues established in 2020
- 2020 establishments in New Jersey
- 2020 establishments in New York (state)