The state of New Jersey is certainly not at a loss for quality minor league baseball entertainment. Affiliated teams like the Lakewood Blue Claws and the Trenton Thunder as well as the independent Atlantic League’s Camden Riversharks and Somerset Patriots are constantly on the top of the list for not just being innovative but for running smart and effective businesses with respected brands. Just to the north the Rockland Boulders of the Can-Am League have spent marketing and media dollars trying to impact not just New York state but adjacent Bergen County as well, drawing some affluent families for a night of fun at Provident Bank Ballpark.
However in the middle of all that fun remains a minor league stalwart with a unique partnership in the New Jersey Jackals. The Jackals, also in the Indy Can-Am League now (they have spent time in the short-lived Northeast league and the Northern League as well) have called the growing area in and around Montclair and Little Falls home for an amazing 17 years now, drawing fans to Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University with the promise of affordable fun, free parking, and a great day enjoying baseball, usually at a pretty fast pace. This past Wednesday, an 11 am start had stands full of young campers and groups of all kinds, with mascot Jack the Jackal keeping people entertained between innings. Those who turned out for the early start even got to witness baseball history of sorts, as Jersey swiped 11 bases, a Can-Am League and team record, in a two hour, 20 minute rout of the visiting Fargo-Morehead Redhawks.
While there are many similarities between the Jackals and their minor league counterparts around the state, the differences are what really stand out. Yogi Berra Stadium remains the rarest of rare facilities, one with a public/private partnership where the stadium sits within the confines and use of Montclair State but still provides quality public entertainment in the form of professional baseball, with no burden on the local community. The facility also houses the well-done and state of the art Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, which, for an extra 30 minutes, gives fans of all ages a deep look into the past of the man who is arguably sports’ first “brand,” as well as baseball’s greatest living player.
Then there is the community itself. Now labeled by many as “The Brooklyn of New Jersey,” Montclair is fast-becoming the bedroom community of choice for young families being priced out of New York City. A growing and vibrant arts community is one that also enjoys a day out at the ballpark, and The Jackals continue to provide the most affordable, and closest form of sports entertainment to the quickly expanding younger crowd in and around Montclair.
Now of course independent baseball is not without its issues. While team management insists the margins for financial success are greater in Indy than affiliated ball, the teams of the Can Am League, as well as their partner the American Association, also have greater risk in many ways, since they are responsible for all costs on and off the field. Affiliated teams worry about the profit/loss above the dugout, and also enjoy the association of being connected to a Major league franchise, giving them the chance to effectively market the “future stars” of the game. However in many instances Indy ball is higher quality and not without some recognizable names of the past, giving it a throwback charm to days when almost every local minor league team controlled much of its on field performers.
The other thing the Jackals have going for them is the great sense of community. For 17 years little has changed other than the promotions and the players, and the quality and consistency of entertainment, and usually the level of baseball, has remained the same or in many ways improved with the needs of the community and its fans. Ownership too has stayed consistent throughout that period, a rarity especially in the sometimes volatile world of Indy baseball.
In the end, a day with the Jackals gives a family, and probably its partner businesses, a solid ROI on what is put out; solid, affordable food, friendly service, a safe environment and a few extras like the Yogi Museum. In a world where sports business is constant change, the Jackals’ song has remained the same, and that is certainly worthy of praise and more than a few trips around the bases of baseball business.
