2007 Atlantic League All-Star Game - Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Autographed 2007 Atlantic League All Stars Choice Set

During the 10^th-anniversary season of the Atlantic League, Lancaster's Clipper Magazine hosted the 2007 Atlantic League All-Star Game on July 11^th, treating the 7,361 fans in attendance to a slug fest featuring home runs by Javier Colina (NW), Kevin Haverbusch (LI), Jeremy Todd (LA), Dominick Ambrosini (LA), Denny Abreau (CM) and two home runs by game MVP and Bridgeport outfielded Bobby Malek.

The 14-run/21-hit game, featured Long Island’s Ray Navarrete earning the game-winning RBI in the fifth and Newark pitcher Gary Knotts gaining the victory before inclement weather ended the game in the 8^th with the win going to the North Division who was leading 8-6 at that time.

Former Major League, 288-win veteran Tommy John skippered the North Division team while Lancaster Manager Frank Klebe managed the South Division.

A 29-card set was produced commemorating this occasion featuring such Atlantic League greats as Jeff Nettles (who did not play in the game because he was signed a week earlier by the Kansas City Royals), Ray Navarrete, Dwight Maness, and 2007 Pitcher of the Year Brian Adams with 2007 Co-Player of the Year Victor Rodriguez.

Atlantic League 1,000 Hit Club Autographed Baseball

Here is a nice piece of Atlantic League memorabilia; an official baseball signed by all three members of the Atlantic League 1,000 Hit Club!

At TD Bank Ballpark on Friday, July 27, 2012, in the sixth inning of the first game of a doubleheader, Patriot 3^rd baseman Jeff Nettles singled to left-center off Southern Maryland pitcher Nick Green to become the first player in Atlantic League history to reach the 1,000-hit milestone.

Click here to watch the video.

Barely over one year later, on August 3, 2013, Long Island Duck Ray Navarrete hit a home run to left field off of York Revolution pitcher Michael Wuertz to become the second player in league history to join the 1,000 Hit Club.

Click here to watch the video:

On June 2, 2016, at Regency Furniture Stadium, Bryant Nelson became the third member of this hit club playing for Southern Maryland, driving a hit off Somerset pitcher Darin Gorski on his way to becoming the Atlantic League All-Time Hit King.
Click here to read the story:

2003 Atlantic League All-Star Game - Nashua, New Hampshire

2003 Atlantic League All-Star Card Set Selections

To celebrate the 2003 Atlantic League All-Star Game at Holman Stadium, the Nashua Pride put out a 52 card set detailing both the rosters of the North (red borders) and South (blue borders) Division teams. This set, although not high-end production, is a great time capsule of the early days of the Atlantic League.

Some of the players representing their clubs that year in this card set are: Hall of Famer and Stolen-Base King Rickey Henderson; Atlantic League Home Run King Glenn Murray; Somerset greats Jeff Nettles and Michael Warner; Rivershark greats Ben Simon, Brad Strauss , Francisco Morales and Linc Mikkelsen; past and present managers Kevin Baez, Butch Hobson and Wayne Krenchicki; and Long Island’s Justin Davies.

The South Division won the game that year 2-1, with Rickey Henderson driving in the game-winning RBI.

2005 Somerset Patriots' "Future Stars"

Autographed Jeff Nettles 2005 Somerset Patriots Multi-Ad Team Set #21
Autographed Ray Navarrete 2011 Long Island Ducks Choice Team Set #16
Autographed Jeremy Owens 2005 Somerset Patriots Multi-Ad Team Set #23
Joe Gannon 2008 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Updated Choice Team Set #2

Along with winning their third Atlantic League Championship in franchise history, the 2005 season marked a very special Somerset Patriots’ roster which was loaded with “Future Stars’ that would collectively have a significant impact on the history of the Atlantic League.

Jeff Nettles was entering his third season with the team and would go on to have the greatest career the Atlantic League has even seen eventually setting the career marks within the league for Games (1,006), At Bats (3,715), H’s (1,052) and RBI’s (667) and earning two championship series MVP’s.

Although not featured in the 2005 team card set, a Seton Hall Alumnus was entering his first year in the Atlantic League, the only season he would play for Somerset, and he would go on to become the league’s career leader in runs scored (635) and doubles (243). The Somerset rookie was Ray Navarrete who went on to have the greatest Long Island Duck career on record.

To date, both Nettles and Navarrete remain the only players to enter the Atlantic League’s 1,000-Hit Club.

Also in his first year with both the Atlantic League and Somerset that year was outfielder Jeremy Owens who would lead the team with at bats (525) in 2005. Owens would eventually go on to become the premiere franchise player for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs setting the club’s career marks in games played (734); runs scored (422); hits (601);  home runs (105); stolen bases (96); walks (318) and RBI’s( 337).

To underscore the historic significance of this team’s roster and the future impact these players would have on the League, these three aforementioned players own three out of the top four slots on the Atlantic League career home runs list. Imagine a lineup that would have featured Navarrete batting second, Nettles third and Owens fourth for close to the next decade if this Somerset team had stayed intact.

Position players were not the only significant consideration for “Future Stars” on this roster. A right-handed knuckleballer out of Buffalo was also in his first year with the Pat’s and started in two games. Joe Gannon, also not in this card set, would go on to pitch a no hitter (8/17/04) for the Newark Bears and currently stands 3^rd in all-time innings pitched (853.2), fourth in all-time wins (47) and fourth in all time strikeouts (479) in Atlantic League history.

Jeff Nettles - Atlantic League and Somerset All-Time Great

Autographed Atlantic League Baseball
(r.) Autographed 2004 Somerset Patriots Multi-Ad Team Set #9
(l.) 2012 Somerset Patriots Choice Team Set #21 (Unsigned)

A few days before Christmas in 2002, a concerned father called a former teammate and friend to inquire whether he had a roster slot open for his son to allow his son to continue his professional career after being abruptly released from affiliated ball. Manager Sparky Lyle told Graig Nettles his son was welcomed at Somerset.

As history would unfold, it was actually Graig Nettles who did the favor for an old friend that winter day.

Jeff Nettles went on to become, as the Wall Street Journal titled him, “…the most recognizable fixture in the Atlantic League” and accomplished the greatest career the Atlantic League has ever seen accumulating more at bats (3.715), hits (1,052) and RBI’s (667) than any other player in history at the time of his retirement while finishing in second place all-time for career home runs, runs and doubles as well.

Nettles’ ability to compile career stats was also met with his ability to elevate his play when it counted. Nettles remains the only player in Atlantic League history to be recognized with league championship MVP awards in two different years.

During his first year with Somerset, the great defensive third baseman hit .450 with a home run and five RBI’s while scoring four runs in the 2003 postseason to bring the Patriots their second league title; defeating Nashua in a five game series in the championship series.

In the 2009 Atlantic League Championship Series, Jeff Nettles hit .375, while hitting three home runs and driving in six runs in four games to bring Somerset their fifth title defeating Southern Maryland.

In all, Jeff Nettles led Somerset to three championship titles while on their roster (2003/05/09).

To quantify Jeff Nettles’ consistency and prominence at the plate during his days with Somerset, if you break out his career stats to average 125 games a year played, his average offensive year would calculate to 131 H’s, 27 DB’s, 19 HR’s and 83 RBI’s per season.

In 2012, Nettles was voted the greatest Patriot in franchise history when polling fans, players, coaches and team officials.