All-American Baseball Challenge

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The All-American Baseball Challenge was 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 COVID-19 pandemic. [2]

Contents

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 TeamManagerHome Stadium
New Jersey Jackals Jimmy Efre Yogi Berra Stadium
Jersey Wise GuysScott IselhartYogi Berra Stadium
Rockland Boulders Albert Gonzalez Palisades Credit Union Park
New York BraveAndrew RomanellaPalisades Credit Union Park
Sussex County Miners Simon Walters Skylands Stadium
Skylands CardinalsVladimir Fontalvo, Jr.Skylands Stadium

[3]

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] but as games not played due to inclement weather were canceled, teams wound up playing fewer games. All games were scheduled for 7 innings and are held on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Contests tied after 7 innings used a home run derby to decide the winning team. A player on each team took five batting practice swings and the player with more home runs won the game for his team.

GameChanger was the official scoring/statistical tracking platform for the league. [6]

Season Results

Final Regular Season StandingsWinsLosses %gb
Sussex County Miners1660.727-
Rockland Boulders1490.6092 1/2
New Jersey Jackals12100.5454
New York Brave11130.4586
Jersey Wise Guys10130.4356 1/2
Skylands Cardinals6180.25011

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 StandingsWL
1st New Jersey Jackals20
2nd New York Brave11
3rd Sussex County Miners11
4th Jersey Wise Guys11
5th Skylands Cardinals11
6th Rockland Boulders02

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References

  1. Tredinnick, Andrew (July 16, 2020). "Independent minor-league All-American Baseball Challenge heading to Skylands Stadium". Daily Record (Morristown) . Gannett . Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  2. Rapay, Eugene. "All-American Baseball Challenge recreational league opener returns live sports to Rockland". The Journal News. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  3. "Palisades Credit Union Park to host All-American Baseball Challenge Weekend schedule to begin July 23. – Frontier League" . Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  4. "PressRelease". New York Boulders. NewYorkBoulders. July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  5. "The All-American Baseball Challenge". New Jersey Monthly. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  6. "Game Changer - All American Baseball Challenge- July 23, 2020 - September 12, 2020". GameChanger . Retrieved 5 August 2020.