Sussex County Miners

Sussex County Miners
Sussex County Miners
Information
League	Frontier League (2020–present) (East Division)
Location	Augusta, New Jersey
Ballpark	Skylands Stadium
Founded	2015
League championships	1: (2018)
Division championships	3: (2018, 2019, 2020)
Former league(s)	Can-Am League (2015–2019)
Colors	Gold, black, white;
Mascot	Herbie the Miner
Playoff berths	5 2017 2018 2019 2020 2023
Ownership	Al Dorso
Manager	Chris Widger
Media	New Jersey Herald
Website	sussexcountyminers.com

The Sussex County Miners are a professional baseball team based in Augusta, New Jersey. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division, and have played their home games at Skylands Stadium, originally known as Skylands Park, since 2015. The Miners are not currently affiliated to any Major League Baseball teams, but are official MLB Partners since 2020. They were originally members of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am League) until 2020. They joined the Frontier League for the 2020 season when it absorbed the Can-Am League.

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.^[1]

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,^[2] but folded in 2010.^[3]

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.

Sussex County Miners

In 2014, after purchasing Skylands Stadium the year before, Dorso officially announced the arrival of the Miners, who began play the following season. The Miners struggled their first two seasons, finishing last and second-to-last in the league and missing the playoffs both season.

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 Québec Capitales. The following season, the Miners won their first regular season title, placing first in the league. On September 9, 2018, the Miners defeated the Trois-Rivières Aigles in the opening round series 3-2 to advance to their first championship round in franchise history. The following series, they defeated the Québec Capitales 3-1 in the championship series to earn their first league championship, winning on a dramatic walk-off home run by Martin Figueroa. The Miners were almost able to replicate their success the following season, finishing first in the regular season standings and winning their opening round series against their rival Rockland Boulders. In the championship series, however, they lost 3-1 to their in-state rival New Jersey Jackals, also owned by Dorso.

Following the 2019 season, it was announced that the Can-Am League, along with five of its six teams, would be absorbed by the Frontier League. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the Frontier League announced there would be no season this year. Instead, the Miners would play in the local All-American Baseball Challenge, a six-team league introduced to entertain fans during the pandemic. Skylands Stadium hosted the Miners and the Skylands Cardinals, a team introduced for the challenge that referenced the area's baseball history. The Miners had a stellar regular season in the Challenge, finishing first in the league's standings, but fell to the New York Brave in the opening round, eliminating them from the championship game. The Miners finished third in the Challenge after beating the Jersey Wise Guys in the third place game.

In 2021, the Miners officially began Frontier League play, but missed the playoffs after finishing second in the Northeast Division. As of 2024, the Miners play in the League's East Division, along with the Québec Capitales, New Jersey Jackals, Trois-Rivières Aigles, Tri-City ValleyCats, New York Boulders, Ottawa Titans, and New England Knockouts.

Following the 2022 season, it was announced that Field Manager Bobby Jones would become the Vice President of the New Jersey Jackals. The Miners announced that former Major League catcher Chris Widger would manage the ball club in 2023.^[4]^[5]

Rivalries

New Jersey Jackals

Considered by some to be the best rivalry in the FL, also known as the ''Battle of New Jersey''. The New Jersey Jackals–Sussex County Miners rivalry began in 2015 when the Miners were introduced in the Can-Am League. The rivalry exists both due to divisional alignment and geographic location, as both teams play in New Jersey. They've faced each other in the playoffs three times, the last time being the 2023 East Division Wild Card Game.

New York Boulders

The Boulders–Miners rivalry is due to both teams located within a distance of 50 miles, as well as playing in the same league/division for several years. The Miners are one of the three FL teams located in the New York metropolitan area, along with the Boulders and the Jackals. The rivalry is similar to the Jackals–Boulders rivalry, also known as the ''Battle of the Hudson River''.

Season-by-season records

Sussex County Miners (2015–present)
Season	Record (place)	Win %	Playoffs
Can-Am League
2015 (6 Teams)	38–59 (6)	.392	Did not qualify
2016 (6 Teams)	39–61 (5)	.390	Did not qualify
2017 (6 Teams)	45–54 (4)	.455	Lost Opening Round vs. Quebec Capitales 3–0
2018 (6 Teams)	63–38 (1)	.624	Won Opening Round vs. Trois-Rivières Aigles 3–2 Won Championship vs. Quebec Capitales 3–1
2019 (6 Teams)	61–33 (1)	.649	Won Opening Round vs. Rockland Boulders 3–1 Lost Championship vs. New Jersey Jackals 3–1
All-American Baseball Challenge
2020 (6 Teams)	16—6 (1)	.727	Lost Opening Game vs. New York Brave 5-1 Won Third Place Game vs. Jersey Wise Guys 5-1
Frontier League
2021 (14 Teams)	49–46 (2)	.516	Did not qualify
2022 (16 Teams)	54–41 (4)	.568	Did not qualify
2023 (16 Teams)	55–40 (3)	.544	Lost East Division Wild Card Playoff Game to New Jersey Jackals 5-0
Totals	420–378	.519	—

Current roster

Sussex County Miners roster
v
t
e
Active (24-man) roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 14 Jimmy Boyce 23 Kellen Brothers 19 Angel Cespedes 4 Bobby Curry 27 Robbie Hitt 13 Jose Ledesma Jr. 18 Tyler Luneke 24 Mark Moclair 11 Billy Parsons 39 Mike Reagan 12 Matt Stil 21 Eston Stull 33 Tyler Thornton 25 Ronnie Voacolo Utility players 44 Gavin Stupienski		Catchers 20 Jason Agresti 29 Kyle Richards Infielders 9 Cory Acton 2 Willie Escala 8 Evan Giordano 3 Tony Gomez Outfielders 15 Oraj Anu 10 Gabriel Maciel ‡ 7 Edwin Mateo 6 John Mead 17 Alec Sayre		Manager -- Chris Widger Coaches 44 Gavin Stupienski (hitting) -- Simon Walters (assistant) Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list updated June 12, 2024 Transactions

Notable alumni

Reggie Abercrombie (2015)
Ray Sadler (2015)
Robb Paller (2016)
Adron Chambers (2017)
David Rollins (2018)
Kalian Sams (2019)
Nick Shumpert (2019–2020)
Cito Culver (2019–2022)
Vin Mazzaro (2020, 2022)
Tyler Danish (2020)
Todd Frazier (2021)

References

^ Augenstein, Seth (December 10, 2014). "Introducing the Sussex County Miners, N.J.'s newest pro baseball team". NJ.com.
^ "League Champions". CanAmLeague.com – Official Website of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018.
^ "Sussex Skyhawks". CanAmLeague.com – Official Website of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010.
^ Barbati, Carl (October 27, 2022). "Bobby Jones Joins Jackals". New Jersey Jackals (Press release). Retrieved May 29, 2023.
^ Barbati, Carl (November 1, 2022). "Chris Widger Named Sussex County Manager". Frontier League (Press release).