The Rockland Boulders debuted this past June in the Can-Am League, but I have spent very little time covering the team. In a town that has two major baseball franchises, minor league teams in Coney Island and Trenton, and the Long Island Ducks, it’s difficult to generate press even in humble quarters like this site. […]

Every Friday I discuss the latest Independent Baseball news and history. Yesterday, I contributed my thoughts on the “state of Independent Baseball” over at the Perpetual Post. I wanted to share it with you here at NYBD.  I believe independent baseball has an important place in the game today. First, from a standpoint of continuing […]

Every Friday we talk about Independent Baseball news, features, and history. Today we look at a brawl between two former Major Leagues in a game between the Yuma Scorpions and Chico Outlaws of the North American Baseball League. Mike Marshall and Tony Phillips faced off in the 1988 World Series. On Monday, the two faced off again in […]

Every Friday we take a look at Independent Baseball. Today we do a smorgasbord of Independent news, history, and facts.  Darryl Strawberry would play an important role on the 1996 Yankees. In a little less than half a season he hit 11 homers and drove in 36 runs. He hit .417 with 3 homers against the […]

Every Friday we look at Independent Baseball. Today, I take a look at the now defunct Northern League, which is arguably where independent baseball began. Both the Northern and Frontier Leagues were born in 1993, but it was the success of the Northern League that paved the way for other independent leagues to crop up […]

Every Friday we take a look at what is going on with Independent Baseball. This week a Hall of Famer makes a visit to Long Island. It’s not often you get to see a former Hall of Famer at the ballpark, but Tony Gwynn visited Bethpage Park on Thursday night to help launch Diamond Gear, the official […]

Every Friday I take a look at what is going on with Independent Baseball. Today, I took at look at the Newark Bears and wonder if there still is a future for this troubled Can-Am League team. Baseball in Newark has a rich tradition that dates back to 1902. There were the Newark Indians, Newark […]

We talked about the Mets placing a bid for a $50 million dollar ballpark as part of the referendum on a new arena for the Islanders in Nassau County. Originally, only the Atlantic League had a bid on the project. But the Mets came in at the eleventh hour to force the County to decide […]

Every Friday I take a look at what is going on with Independent Baseball. Today we take a look at members of the Long Island Ducks who made it back to the big leagues.  Ever go to a game at Bethpage Park and wonder how many times a Long Island Ducks player makes it back […]

A day late with this, but it’s still great news. The Long Island Ducks defeated the York Revolution 7-4 yesterday night at Sovereign Bank Stadium, clinching the First Half Liberty Division Title. It’s the Ducks seventh trip to the Atlantic League Playoffs in their history. What a great start for Ducks manager Kevin Baez. In his first […]

Every Friday I take a look into what is going on with Independent Baseball. Today, I discuss the success of the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League. Recently, I spoke to an agent who had a client released from Double-A. It was early May, a terrible time to get dumped, as many teams were still […]

Every Friday I take a look at a story from Independent baseball. Today, Jeff Nettles is front and center. You probably know the last name. His dad, Graig, starred for the Yankees during their back-to-back titles in the late seventies. Obviously, having a famous dad - especially one that played for the Yankees- means living in […]

Every Friday, we look at the world of Independent Baseball. Today, we get an update about how Jose Canseco‘s comeback is going with the Yuma Scorpions of the North American Baseball League. Canseco is the player manager for the Scorpions, and although he is off to a slow start with the bat (.250, 0 HR, […]

Every Friday, I take a look at an interesting story from independent baseball. Today, I catch up with former Mets prospect Bill Pulsipher. A couple of winters ago I was flipping through the channels, and came across a familiar lefty pitching for a Venezuelan team. It turned out that lefty was none other than Bill […]

It was September 3rd, 1990 and the Mets needed a shortstop to replace the injured Kevin Elster. A 23 year old kid from Brooklyn by the name of Kevin Baez was called up from the Mets Double-A team in Jackson, Mississippi. The Mets were in St. Louis that afternoon, and when he came on the […]