Sussex County Miners

Sussex County Miners
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
League Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball
Location Augusta, New Jersey
Ballpark Skylands Stadium
Year founded 2015
League championships 1: (2018)
Division championships 1: (2018)
Colors Black, gold, white
              
Mascot Herbie the Miner
Playoff berths
2
2017
2018
Manager Bobby Jones
Media New Jersey Herald
Website Official Website

The Sussex County Miners are a professional independent league baseball team based in the Augusta section of Frankford Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States.[1] The Miners belong to the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am League) and were founded in 2014. The Miners and the Ottawa Champions joined the Can-Am League in time for the 2015 season.

The Miners' home stadium is Skylands Stadium, located at 94 Championship Place in Augusta near the Sussex County Fairgrounds.

The team is owned by Sussex Professional Baseball, LLC. The Miners mascot is Herbie the Miner.

History of professional baseball in Sussex County

Skylands Stadium, originally called Skylands Park, opened in 1994. The stadium was built for the relocating Glens Falls Redbirds, who at the time were the St. Louis Cardinals' New York–Penn League affiliate and were playing in Glens Falls, New York at East Field. The team was relocating for the second time in as many years after playing in Hamilton, Ontario in 1992.

The team became known as the New Jersey Cardinals after moving to Sussex County and played there until 2005. Following the season, the Cardinals announced they were relocating their New York–Penn League affiliate to University Park, Pennsylvania, where it became known as the State College Spikes.[2]

Skylands Stadium

The Can-Am League announced shortly after the Cardinals' move was made official that they would be expanding for the 2006 season and adding a team in Sussex County. Owned by the same ownership group that held the New Jersey Jackals, the new team was named the Sussex Skyhawks after a contest where fans submitted names. The Skyhawks won the league championship in 2008,[3] but folded in 2010.[4]

Skylands Park was also a temporary home for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in their inaugural season; the Bears played their first 20 home games there while Riverfront Stadium in Newark was being built.

In the 2017 season, the Miners qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. However, they got swept 3-0 in the opening round by the eventual champions, the Quebec Capitales. The following season, the Miners won their first division title, placing first in the league. On September 9, 2018, the Miners defeated the Trois-Rivières Aigles 3-2 in the game and won the opening round series 3-2 to advance to their first championship round in franchise history. In addition, they defeated the Quebec Capitales 3-1 in the championship series to earn their first league championship.

Season-by-season records

Sussex County Miners (2015–present)
Season Total Finished Playoffs
2015 (6 Teams)38-59 (6).392Did not qualify
2016 (6 Teams)39-61 (7).390Did not qualify
2017 (6 Teams)45-54 (4).455Lost Opening Round to Quebec Capitales 0-3
2018 (6 Teams)63-38 (1).624Won Opening Round vs. Trois-Rivières Aigles 3-2
Won Championship over Quebec Capitales 3-1
Totals185-212.465Totals

Roster

Sussex County Miners roster
Active (22-man) roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 98 Brandon Barker
  • 99 Geoff Broussard
  • 14 Edward Cruz
  • 17 Jordan Cummings
  • 20 Martire García
  • 19 Kevin Grendell
  • 24 Cory Jones
  •  7 Kenny Koplove
  • 15 Matt Kostalos
  • 32 El'Hajj Muhammad
  • 10 Andrew Vinson
  • 30 Michael Wagner
  

Catchers

  • 18 Luis Alen

Infielders

  • 28 Audy Ciriaco
  • 22 Martin Figueroa
  • 11 Daniel Mateo
  •  3 Jarred Mederos
  •  2 Mikey Reynolds

Outfielders

  • 21 Breland Almadova
  • 16 Connor Crane
  • 25 Nick Zaharion
  

Manager

Coaches

  •    Steven Chen (Trainer)
  •  5 Simon Walters (Hitting Coach)
  • 26 Vladimir Fontalvo Jr. (Bench Coach)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

Roster updated October 8, 2018
Transactions

References

  1. ↑ "The Sussex County MINERS to Play at – Skylands Stadium". SkylandsStadium.
  2. ↑ "Introducing the Sussex County Miners, N.J.'s newest pro baseball team". NJ.com.
  3. ↑ "CanAmLeague.com – Official Website of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball". canamleague.com.
  4. ↑ "CanAmLeague.com – Official Website of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball". canamleague.com.
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