Major League Baseball

New York Yankees affiliate overcomes flooding with local community in mind

Updated Sep. 16, 2021 1:05 p.m. ET

By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Michael Beltre stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 12th inning with the winning run at second base.

The 5,500-plus fans were eager to see their Somerset Patriots clinch a victory as they push toward the postseason in their first year as a New York Yankees minor-league affiliate. This would seem to be a pretty standard Friday night at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, where the Patriots have established themselves as a significant part of the local community, known for their top-notch fan experience and consistently successful on-field product.

Yet just nine days earlier, this same ballpark was almost completely underwater. Record-setting rainfall from Hurricane Ida caused dramatic flash flooding of the nearby Raritan River, submerging the playing field, most of the parking lot and the first few rows of seats in more than six feet of murky water.

Overhead video of the ballpark began to circulate on Twitter.

When the storm hit, the team was on the road for a series in Bowie, Maryland. Back home, Pat McVerry, who has been with the Patriots since their inaugural season in 1998 and has been team president since 2004, was monitoring the situation closely.

Early Thursday morning, the night after the heavy rain, everything seemed relatively fine.

"At 7:30 [a.m.], there was very little water on the field," McVerry told FOX Sports. "Our groundskeeper sent me a picture and said, ‘We have some work to do.’ Then, literally 15 minutes after he sent that picture, water began pouring into the facility and the field. We had it on security footage, so that’s why I know the exact times.

"At 7:42, there was no water on the field. By 8:20, there was about three feet of water, and by 10 a.m., it was probably five or six feet."

"I live two miles from the ballpark, and I couldn’t get there because of all the water," said VP of Communications and Media Relations Marc Russinoff, who has also been with the Patriots for more than 20 years. "I tried to walk, but there was just no route to get there."

Images of the flooding shocked local residents and outside observers all the same. "The first thing you think of is the community," Russinoff said. "You think of the people in the community where this ruined their lives and you see all the damage. That’s the real tragedy. You’re hoping that they can rebound.

"We think of getting ourselves able to play because it’s important for the community that we’re able to come back. We’re in the process of figuring out things we can do to raise money and help those in need."

By Friday morning, the water had receded, and it was time to start the clean-up process, led by head groundskeeper Dan Purner. The first step was cleaning the grass "blade by blade" of all the mud and general debris left from the floodwater. The warning track had considerable damage and ultimately had to be filled in with new rocks and dirt. Much of the outfield advertising signage had been destroyed and needed replacing.

Incredibly, by Tuesday, the team felt comfortable committing to host the final three games of the scheduled homestand vs. Hartford beginning Friday. Hartford graciously hosted the games Tuesday through Thursday while the Patriots got their ballpark in order.

Ida wasn’t the first hurricane the Patriots have had to deal with in their brief franchise history. TD Bank Ballpark opened in 1999, and that September, Hurricane Floyd flooded the ballpark in a similar manner. McVerry recalled, "Somebody told me, ‘This area floods once every 100 years,’ and I thought, ’Wow, what are the chances it floods in our first year?’"

Then, in 2011, Hurricane Irene flooded the ballpark, albeit not as much as Floyd or Ida. The organization has some experience dealing with this kind of emergency, though Ida did appear to be the toughest task yet.

This monumental challenge came toward the end of what has already been a historically significant season for Somerset, which became the Yankees' Double-A affiliate after 22 years in the independent Atlantic League, of which it was a founding member in 1998. The Patriots were revered as one of the most successful independent teams in the country, winning six league championships and 10 division titles during their Atlantic League tenure and regularly leading the league in attendance.

When MLB drastically restructured the minors in 2020, the Yankees targeted Somerset as a possible new affiliation.

Interestingly, the Patriots never had any ambitions of being an affiliate before the Yankees called. "We just wanted to be the best at what we did," McVerry said. "We accomplished that with our championships and the attendance, and we were very happy as an independent and being nationally recognized as one of the best independents. So when this opportunity presented itself, it did come as a surprise — and a very welcome surprise."

Independent league rosters can vary depending on the league, but the key is that these players do not belong to any major-league organization. Some indy ball leagues, such as the Frontier League, attract a younger demographic of players, guys fresh out of college who might not have been drafted but want to play professionally. Others, such as the American Association and the Atlantic League, skew older and often include former big-league players or guys with extensive experience in affiliated ball.

The unifying theme among the top independent leagues is the players’ desire to find their way back into affiliated ball, but that happens for only a select group of players each season. It’s not impossible, and MLB teams have become much better in recent years at identifying talent in indy ball. But in general, as a Double-A affiliate for an MLB team, the Patriots' roster has seen exponentially greater turnover than it ever experienced as an independent-league team.

"We’ve built a brand around being accessible with the players and family fun, but it became a community because the players were here for the whole season," Russinoff said. "The goal was to get their contract purchased, but this became home to a lot of guys. Our fans became friends and really cared about the players. We had the same guys for five, seven, nine years for some guys. There was a familiarity with everything. Your roster would be the same, so you would be rooting for the same guys all year.

"Now they’re here to develop for a short period of time."

The Patriots' front office might not pick the players anymore, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoying the new level of talent on display at TD Bank Ballpark. Two of the Yankees’ top prospects, shortstop Oswald Peraza and right-handed pitcher Luis Medina, spent much of the season in Somerset and wowed the fans and staff alike.

"It’s extraordinary. You see these guys throw triple digits. They’re fast. They’re strong. They hit the ball harder than you’d ever see," Russinoff said. "We loved watching previous versions of the Patriots, but you do see this excitement of ‘This is the next guy that could be with the Yankees.’"

McVerry said he had never seen anyone throw 100 mph in all his years with the Patriots before this season. "Medina hit 102! I had never seen anybody throw that fast live. It was incredible."

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While there are plenty of new faces, one figure has been a constant in Bridgewater from Day 1 all the way to this new chapter of Patriots baseball: Sparky Lyle.

The 1977 AL Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion with the Yankees was hired as the first manager of the Patriots before their inaugural season in 1998 and held that position until 2012, when he transitioned into a role as manager emeritus. Long before the Patriots became affiliated with the team he starred for, Lyle had established himself as a pillar of the franchise.

The day I was in Somerset happened to be Lyle’s 77th birthday. He was in the press box telling stories and laughing with every level of Patriots employee, from the broadcasters to the summer interns. In Somerset, Sparky is king. The mascot is named Sparkee. Even at 77, he remains a big part of the organization, attending as many games as he can.

"He loves this community," Russinoff said. "It’s a second home."

With the ballpark properly restored, the Patriots took the field in Bridgewater on Sept. 10 and played a thrilling game against Hartford that went all the way to the 12th inning. Then the 26-year-old Beltre stepped into the box.

You can probably guess what happened next:

Of course.

After the damage a week prior, it was never a guarantee that baseball would be played at TD Bank Ballpark again this season. But knowing his staff — many of whom have been around for years — McVerry always liked his chances to make this walk-off moment possible.

"If we were all new and we saw that field Thursday morning, having not gone through it before, maybe we would have said, ‘This is something we can’t pull off.’ But we had a completely different mentality, like, ‘OK, we’re gonna get this done,'" he said.

"With COVID and floods and the Yankees coming in, all these things, it’s been a whirlwind. But I wouldn’t want to go through it with anyone else but the guys here."

Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball analyst for FOX Sports. He lives in Maryland but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.