This past week, I was in the Meadowlands region of New Jersey for work (ABF Freight). As always, upon checking into my hotel, I surveyed the nearby areas for any cool baseball games, places, events, and potential experiences. I found two very interesting ballparks that peaked my interest that were within a short distance. So, when it came time for some personal time, I filled up my coffee mug and headed out into the busy streets and highways and U-Turns that make up New Jersey travel.

My first stop was the campus of Montclair State University and Yogi Berra Stadium. The driveway leading up to the campus was a sharp incline, dog leg left and right set of turns to the parking lot adjacent to the baseball field. And the Yogi Berra Museum. I parked in the museum lot spaces and walked over to the museum to find out that it wasn’t open on Mondays. No problem, the stadium was probably open, right? Wrong, that was locked too. No problem, there were plenty of cool views of the field and all the Yogi Berra plaques throughout the front gate area. Here are a few photos of Yogi Berra Stadium from the outside looking in…

Fun fact for those who didn’t know it, Yogi Berra was not born in New Jersey, nor New York. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri but spent most of his adult life as a professional baseball player in and around the New York City area with the NY Yankees and the NY Mets organizations. Montclair, New Jersey was his home for nearly 5 decades and thus the incredible tributes of the ball field and the connecting Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center. Pretty cool experience just being there and reading more about the life of Lawrence Berra, aka Yogi.

The next stop was a short ride north (I guess, maybe it was west) to Patterson, NJ and a chance to check out historic Hinchliffe Stadium. Hinchcliffe was a major entertainment and sports complex for decades in Patterson. It’s tenants and guests included the Negro Baseball League’s New York Black Yankees and New York Cubans, boxing matches, auto racing, and in later years football and soccer. It’s newest tenant is the New Jersey Jackals, a Frontier League Independent professional baseball team that brings back the rich tradition of baseball at Hinchcliffe. Here are a few photos of the stadium and I want to note that the front gate was unlocked and open…

I took a walk outside Hinchcliffe down to a park I spotted on the ride in. As I walked outside of the park, I noticed the pennants of several Negro Baseball League teams flying high above the stadium. The Newark Eagles, the New York Cubans, the New York Black Yankees – all on display each and every day for conversation purposes and memories for those who remember their play at Hinchcliffe. As I was walking towards the park located at the bottom of a hill, I stopped to speak to a security guard who pointed out a museum at the stadium. The Charles J. Muth Museum at Hinchcliffe Stadium, well I will let their website words speak for it –

“The Charles J. Muth Museum is a treasure trove of baseball’s past found on the hallowed grounds of historic Hinchliffe Stadium. The newest cultural center focusing on baseball history, located inside one of the last remaining Negro League ballparks. It’s so much more than just a museum. It’s a functional piece of history that offers a truly interactive experience. A sport sanctuary, where the echoes of cheering crowds and the crack of bats still resonate.” That too was closed, but I hope to be back in NJ at some point to visit and immerse myself in this very special and interactive experience.

It was an amazing day of baseball experiences in and around the Montclair and Patterson sections of New Jersey. I have read up a lot over the years about Yogi Berra, so I was a little bummed his museum was closed. The stadium was awesome and I loved all the tributes of Yogi throughout the outside of the front gates. His museum is definitely on my list, should I ever return to that area. Hinchcliffe was a wonderfully, unexpected surprise and I loved walking into the stadium and checking out the renovations. And walking down Larry Doby Lane to see the exterior and all the Negro Baseball League pennants atop the stadium. Hinchcliffe Stadium now hosts the New Jersey Jackals and continues its legacy as an amazing baseball stadium and experience. If you cut out the U-Turns and the traffic congestion and the mostly unmarked exits I was supposed to take, it really was a very positive New Jersey baseball experience. And so, my baseball adventures continue and like Yogi said, “it ain’t over, till its over.”