Big Leaguers In New Jersey

Wednesday was a perfect day to play baseball and it was a memorable one
for many in the shore area. Hundreds of young kids got an unexpected thrill at FirstEnergy Park where their school trip to a BlueClaws game allowed them to see Ryan Howard put on a Lakewood uniform for the first time since 2002. The Phillies slugger did not disappoint the crowd of 8,063…many who bought tickets after it was announced that the National League MVP would make a pair of rehab starts in Ocean County. Howard belted a three-run homer in his final at-bat to lift the BlueClaws to a 7-4 win over Hagerstown. The opposite field blast was well over 400 feet and it capped a day in which he also doubled in a run, walked and struck out.

The stadium was filled with fans sporting the Phillies #6 uniform that Howard now wears as well as the #29 jersey from his BlueClaws days. While many of the school kids didn’t pay particular attention to the hoopla over Howard’s appearance, each of his four at-bats provided the kind of excitement not normally found at a minor league game, especially one that started at 11AM.

I’m sure there were fans that left Lakewood and then traveled to Trenton for the Roger Clemens circus. A record crowd of 9,134 turned out at Waterfront Park, where tickets were being scalped for as much as $200 to see the 44-year old future Hall of Famer make his second minor league appearance in this latest comeback. Clemens threw 102 pitches over 5 1/3 so-so innings and it’s not known if he’ll make another minor league start or pitch for the Yankees in Toronto next week.

The two minor league games not only drew 17,200 fans but an incredible amount of media attention. The BlueClaws had nearly 40 requests for credentials for their game, including 7 TV crews. That was nothing compared to Trenton, who gave out well over 70 press credentials for their game with some 15 TV crews on hand. BlueClaws fans get one more chance to see Howard as he’ll be in the lineup for tonight’s game.

There was good and bad news for Marc Fink Wednesday. The former Jackson slugger saw his Shore Conference record of 27 career home runs surpassed by Ocean’s Keith Weinkofsky. However Fink, in his first year as a Jaguar assistant coach, was in uniform as his alma mater topped Toms River South 1-0 to advance into the quarterfinals of the Shore Conference Tournament.