2001 ~ Twentieth Anniversary ~ 2021
BROOKLYN CYCLONES
New York-Penn League Champions
2019
It's been a long 508 days since the Brooklyn Cyclones last took the field. On Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019, they defeated the Lowell Spinners to capture their second-ever championship. Afterwhich, baseball and society came to a grinding halt due to the COVID pandemic. Major League Baseball then overhauled and realigned all of MiLB during the most recent off-season, completely changing the landscape. Unless the league is restarted in the future, the Brooklyn Cyclones go down as the last New York Penn League champion.
Brooklyn is now a long-season high-A affiliate. One of the benefits, as a fan, is the higher level of competition and, of course, more games - 120 games to be exact. Sadly, the days of Brooklyn versus Staten Island are over. The Hudson Valley Renegades are now a New York Yankees affiliate, making the Dutchess County club Brooklyn's newest and biggest rival. That is if you haven't already singled out as a next rival, the newly rebranded Jersey Shore Blue Claws (formerly Lakewood). Joining Brooklyn and Hudson Valley from the former New York Penn League is the Aberdeen Ironbirds.
HIGH-A EAST North Division:
- Brooklyn Cyclones (New York-Penn League)
- Hudson Valley Renegades (New York-Penn League)
- Aberdeen Ironbirds (New York-Penn League)
- Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League)
- Jersey Shore Blue Claws (South-Atlantic League)
HIGH-A EAST South Division:
- Ashville Tourists (South-Atlantic League)
- Greensboro Grasshoppers (South-Atlantic League)
- Hickory Crawdads (South-Atlantic League)
- Rome Braves (South-Atlantic League)
- Greenville Drive (Carolina League)
- Winston-Salem Dash (Carolina League)
- Bowling Green Hot Rods (Midwest League)
Due to COVID, this year's travel schedule is being limited to Hudson Valley, Jerse Shore, Aberdeen, Asheville, Greenville, and Wilmington.
SEASON OPENER
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
McCormick Field
North Carlina
Lefty Josh Walker Hurls a Gem
With Brooklyn staked to a 6-0 lead, Asheville finally connects for its base first hit in the sixth.
So starts the 2021 regular season at the historic near-century old McCormick Field, the third-oldest minor league ballpark in America.
Receiving the privilege of making the season-opening start, Brooklyn manager Ed Blankmeyer hands the ball to southpaw Josh Walker who yields no hits through five innings pitched while walking only one and fanning eight. Right-hander Eric Orze throws a scoreless sixth in relief of Walker but in the seventh, yields a lead-off home run to shortstop Freudis Nova.
Third baseman Bret Baty spearheads the charge. His first-inning single delivers home two runs. But it's catcher Hayden Senger who strikes the mighty blow, a second-inning home run giving Brooklyn a 3-0 lead. Center fielder Scott Ota's base hit in the third drives home second baseman Luke Ritter; then, with Senger at the plate and Ota standing at third, a balk is called, giving the Cyclones a five-run advantage. Bret Baty follows with a double in the fourth driving in his third run of the game.
The Ashville Tourists finally get on the board on first baseman Scott Schreiber's seventh-inning home run against reliever Mitch Ragan. However, in the top of the eighth, Tourists' reliever Yeremi Ceballos unleashes consecutive wild pitches allowing two more Brooklyn base runners to score. But in the bottom of the eighth, Mitch Ragan surrenders a home run to left fielder Colin Barber. Mitch Ragan pitches himself into more trouble in the ninth by loading the bases. But he regroups to strike out the side, the last Asheville batter being Colin Barber.
Starter Josh Walker earns the victory. Shortstop Ronny Mauricio is 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Brooklyn batters amass eleven hits while three Cyclones pitchers join to strike out 15 batters.
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