This week, I am back in New Jersey for work (ABF Freight) and decided to check out some local NJ baseball experiences.  As I typically do, I opened Google Maps and searched the area around my hotel to see what, if anything, looked baseball-interesting.  Hoboken, West New York, and Paterson all had interesting places, so I decided to start my New Jersey baseball experience journey in West New York.  Which is “sort of” right near that other New York we all know and love.  Can you see where I am referring to based on this photo?

I’m not great with directions or maps or compass settings typically, but this city name is absolutely spot on – the city is directly due West of NYC.  West New York, New Jersey is literally on the other side of the Hudson River from the actual New York we all know – New York City, New York.   So, why did I decide to visit West New York, NJ – Miller Stadium.  Miller Stadium has been a sporting event structure in West New York for nearly 100 years.  Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig played there.  Bruce Springsteen (aka The Boss) filmed his famous “Glory Days” video there.  The Boss stood on the mound at Miller Stadium and fired a few speedballs against a wooden backstop, firing strike after strike before rocking a busy bar with his E Street bandmates in the video.  The original grass field, dirt mound, dirt infield – all gone and replaced now with a modern turf system.  The field looks tremendous, and I was able to walk the stadium, walk the field, and grab these photos of a vacant Miller Stadium.

After chatting with a West New York parks and recs worker, I hopped in my rental car and headed south or east (not really sure) to Hoboken, New Jersey for some baseball history.  Hoboken is said to have hosted the first ever baseball match, not baseball game, baseball match.  The match featured the Knickerbockers vs. the New Yorks and it was played at Hoboken’s Elysian Fields.  The Elysian baseball fields are long gone and have been replaced by the very beautiful Elysian Park, which features a children’s playground, dog park, and gardens right there on the corner of Hudson and Frank Sinatra Drive.  The historical marker is up the street a bit in a flower garden closer to Washington St, which is a busy street in the Hoboken busy section of town.  Here are some photos of the park, the plaque, and the street named after Ole Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra.

It was a beautiful pre-fall, still summer day in West New York and Hoboken, New Jersey for this very interesting NJ baseball experience.  I loved walking around Miller Stadium, standing on the mound where the Boss threw a bunch of speedballs and BP to his video son (maybe his real kid I don’t know), and chatting with the park attendant about the new vs old stadium features.  I love seeing old photos of heroes like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig from their barnstorming days.  Hoboken is a really cool city; I wish I had more time to walk around and check out non-baseball stuff.  I loved the view of Manhattan from the seaport area at the end of 11th St.  And to check out Elysian Park now and read about the first baseball match of baseball via the commemorative plaque.  Knickerbockers vs. New Yorks sounds very New York, and I’m sure it was a great game, and fans loved the pitching, hitting, fielding, and whatever else they did in 1846.  I love being up close and personal with the history of baseball.  And I have to say it was an amazing New Jersey baseball experience.  Heck, I even reached back into my “glory days of baseball” vault to remember a few games I played when I was a kid.