Summer of Baseball: Somerset experience gives good vibes

I have known about the Atlantic League for a while. If you are a baseball fan, you likely have as well. After all, the league isn’t afraid to do things slightly differently to make it a fan-friendly environment.

When the Baseball Pass-Port Program added an Atlantic League book this year, I quickly grabbed it and knew I wanted to hit several this season. Somerset was the first of four planned trips (so far three … and hopefully the fourth a few days after this has published) and it was a good introduction to the Atlantic League.

The stadiums have the same sort of feel to them, but there are definite differences, which makes it a solid all-around experience. Somerset was also a decent down-and-back trip (give-or-take three hours each way), so it was nice in that regard.

TD Bank Ballpark, built in 1999, has held its name since the 2009 season. With a seating capacity of a bit more than 6,000 it’s an intimate setting for a park. You are close to the action, which is always nice. As many stadiums are now, it’s an open concourse, so when you get up to grab a bite or drink, you can see the game.

The sight lines are good as it didn’t appear there were many places where you’d miss any of the action.

The one thing about this place – they lined up early! We got there a bit earlier than planned and parked. It was a warmer day, so we chilled in the car with the AC. A little before the gates opened, we decided to wander up and see why there was such a long line. Maybe we had missed a giveaway? Nope. People were just lined up getting ready to get into the stadium.

Overall, the atmosphere was pretty decent. People seemed into the game, which is a good thing. The players seemed engaging before the game started, which is always a good thing.

There’s a pretty good team store here and the food selections are solid. As with many places, I try and have something more “local” and I ended up trying a steak sandwich with bacon and ranch, which turned out to be a pretty good choice.

The seats in the stadium were fold down and a tad wider, so there was plenty of room.

It was easy to get out of the park after the game, which was nice. Overall, I enjoyed checking out a game at TD Bank Ballpark and could see myself going again.

Park Notes:  

TD Bank Ballpark
Bridgewater, NJ
Home of the Somerset Patriots (Independent – Atlantic League)
Visited on: May 9, 2015
Opponent: Bridgeport Bluefish

Ratings (out of 10)

• Stadium: 8/10
• Concessions: 8/10
• Parking: 8/10
• Ambiance: 7.5/10
• Friendliness: 9/10

I am continuing the Summer of Baseball from 2014 and hope to blog about each new stadium I visit in 2015. Ones visited in the past can be viewed linked up in the 2014 version.

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