The Sussex County Miners are a professional independent league baseball team based in the Augusta section of Frankford Township in

Sussex County, New Jersey Sussex County is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. Its county seat is Newton.Frontier League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

. They were originally members of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am League) and joined for the 2015 season. They joined the Frontier League for the 2020 season when it absorbed the Can-Am League. The Miners' home stadium is Skylands Stadium, in Augusta near the Sussex County Fairgrounds. 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 The Glens Falls Redbirds were a minor league baseball team that played in the New York–Penn League for the 1993 season only and played their home games at East Field located in Glens Falls, New York. The Redbirds were affiliated with the St. ...

, who at the time were the St. Louis Cardinals'

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

affiliate and were playing in

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,7 ...

at East Field. The team was relocating for the second time in as many years after playing in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

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 University Park (also referred to as Penn State University Park) is the name given to the Pennsylvania State University's main campus located in both State College and College Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The campus post office was ...

, where it became known as the State College Spikes. Skylands Stadium

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 Jersey Jackals are an American professional baseball team based in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, Sk ...

, the new team was named the Sussex Skyhawks after a contest where fans submitted names. The Skyhawks won the league championship in 2008, but folded in 2010. Skylands Park was also a temporary home for the Newark Bears of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

in their inaugural season; the Bears played their first 20 home games there while Riverfront Stadium in Newark was being built. In 2014, after purchasing Skylands Stadium the year before, Dorso officially announced the arrival of the Miners, who began play the following season.Westhoven, William
"Miners to fill major baseball void in Sussex"
in ''The Daily Record'' (December 10, 2014). Accessed July 25, 2022. 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

Quebec Capitales Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

. 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

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 the Rockland Boulders. In the championship series, however, they lost 3-1 to their in-state rival

, also owned by Dorso. Can-Am Championship

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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, 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 2022, the Miners play in the League's East Division, along with the Capitales, Jackals, Aigles, Tri-City ValleyCats, New York Boulders, Ottawa Titans, and

Empire State Greys The Empire State Greys were a professional baseball team in the United States. The Greys were a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league that is an official MLB Partner League. The Greys were formed p ...

Season-by-season records

Current roster

Notable alumni

Reggie Abercrombie Reginald Damascus Abercrombie (born July 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins and Houston Astros. Professional career Abercrombie graduated from Columb ...

(2015) * Ray Sadler (2015) * Robb Paller (2016) * Adron Chambers (2017) * David Rollins (2018) *

Kalian Sams Kalian Rivalino Sams (born August 25, 1986) is a Dutch professional baseball player for L&D Amsterdam of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He played for Team Netherlands in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, and at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qua ...

(2019) * Nick Shumpert (2019–2020) * Cito Culver (2019–2022) * Vin Mazzaro (2020, 2022–present) * Tyler Danish (2020) * Todd Frazier (2021)

References

External links

* {{NewJerseysports 2015 establishments in New Jersey Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball teams Frankford Township, New Jersey Baseball teams established in 2015 Professional baseball teams in New Jersey