The Yankees were on the west coast when Hurricane Ida hit the northeast earlier this week…unfortunately, so were the Double-A Somerset Patriots, and because of that, many players and staff lost everything when TD Ballpark was submerged underwater by the storm’s rains.
Isiah Gilliam, an outfielder for the Patriots, tweeted as such Friday morning, explaining that because the team is on the road (they are in Bowie, Maryland this week), many lost their cars, their spare equipment, and even personal belongings because of the flooding in Bridgewater, N.J.
The Patriots are due to return home on Tuesday for their final homestand of the season, a six-game set with the Hartford Yard Goats, but it remains to be seen when or if TD Ballpark will be in condition to be used.
"Don't know where we're at. Some of our staff went in today to do what cleanup they can. There’s still water on the field and in the basement areas," Marc Russinoff, the Patriots’ Senior VP of Media Relations, told MLB.com Thursday. "Once the water recedes, we’ll clean up as much as we can and get ready for business again. We haven’t been able to assess the damage yet. We’re just starting the process. It’s going to take some time before we’re able to evaluate everything from the field and basement levels and the parking lots.”
Somerset’s GM also released the following statement:
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Russinoff told MLB.com that the ballpark was able to get back in shape quickly after feeling the effects of Floyd in 1999 and Irene in 2011, but he isn’t sure this time will be as smooth.
"We’ll see what it looks like this time, if we can pull off another miracle and get it together. It looks bad, but we’ve done it before," Russinoff said. "We’ll evaluate to see if it’s safe, that the ballpark is ready and the field is playable. We’ll make the decision with as much information as we have, keeping safety in mind. We can’t control Mother Nature. But there are things we can control, and we’ll do our best to do those."
As of Friday morning, however, Patriots co-chairmen Josh and Jack Kalafer released the following statement:
“The Somerset Patriots organization, and the Kalafer family, have been truly touched by the outpouring of support and concern following Tropical Storm Ida’s unprecedented impact on our region. We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation this storm has caused for so many.
We count our blessings that our families, and those of our team, are all safe. The flood waters have receded and work is already underway getting our field ready to ‘play ball’ and finish the season.
We are inspired by our community’s strength and commitment to each other in the face of adversity. Just like baseball, it reminds us of who we are as Americans, and we have never been more proud to be Central Jersey’s home team.
As we’ve always done, we will get through this together.”
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If the Patriots are unable to play part or all of their series in Bridgewater, their options include playing the series in Hartford as the home team, or perhaps moving one or more games to another local park; for instance, ARM & HAMMER Stadium in Trenton, the Yankees’ former Double-A home, hosted both the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and part of the MLB Draft League this year, and could be an option.
Somerset is scheduled to end their season on the road, playing a six-game set in Akron from Sept. 14-19.
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