Roger Clemens - Bridgeport Bluefish Guest Manager

Autographed 2016 Bridgeport Bluefish Dot Generation Team Set

On August 5^th, 2016, seven-time Cy Young Award winner and 350-game-plus game winner Roger Clemens returned to the Atlantic League and served as guest manager for the Bridgeport Bluefish in a Friday night game against the Long Island Ducks.

The event gained national media attention from MLB.com, Yahoo Sports, CBS sports and other newspapers and newsroom across the nation as Clemens joined the list of previous high-profile sports names to serve as guest managers for the ‘Fish including Pete Rose, Paul O’Neill  and Jennie Finch.

It was Clemens second year being listed on an Atlantic League roster as he pitched two games for the 2012 Sugar Land Skeeters; being able to form a battery with his son Cody who was on the Skeeter roster as a catcher the that year.

On the evening of Clemens’ guest managerial appearance, the Long Island Ducks defeated the Bluefish 6-2.

Bryant Nelson - All-Time Atlantic League Hit King!



Autographed 2012 Long Island Ducks Choice Team Set #10
Autographed 2013 Long Island Ducks Choice Team Set #19

Drafted in the 1993 MLB amateur draft by the Houston Astros, Bryant Nelson would achieve the Major League level with 25 games with the Boston Red Sox in 2002.

Nelson would enter the Atlantic League in 2006, and throughout the next 11 seasons would be a staple of the league with tenures in Bridgeport (2006/15), Long Island (2008/12/13), Lancaster (2010/15), York (2011/14), Camden (2009/14) and Southern Maryland (2015/16).

Far from being just a hired journeyman, the switch-hitting Nelson had instrumental roles with the 2011 York Revolution and back-to-back 2012/13 Long Island Ducks championships earning three Championship rings.

In 2011, Nelson hit a walk-off homerun in the first game of the Freedom Division Series against Lancaster to set the stage for York moving onto the Championship Series and eventually the 2011 Atlantic League Championship trophy.  

Likewise, Nelson was an instrumental player in the 2012 & 2013 Long Island Ducks' championships. The Crossett, Arkansas-native launched a 2-run, eighth-inning home run while the Ducks were trailing Southern Maryland and facing elimination in the 5^th game of the 2012 Liberty Division Championship; propelling the Flock to the Championship Series they would eventually win.

In 2013, Nelson had the game-winning hit in game two, and drove in the championship winning RBI in game five, against the Somerset Patriots to bring the second, consecutive Championship to Long Island in what is arguably the most classic, intense Championship Series in Atlantic League history.

Nelson joined the Atlantic League 1,000-Hit Club on June 2, 2016, joining only Jeff Nettles (7/27/2012) and Ray Navarrete (8/3/2013) to achieve this career league milestone.

On August 3rd, 2016, Bryant Nelson replaced Jeff Nettles as the All-Time Atlantic League Hit King with career league hit 1,053 off of Lancaster pitcher Bryan Evans in Waldorf.

Nelson’s consistency and value to a roster has had him achieved at least 100 career hits with five different Atlantic League teams (Bridgeport, Camden, Lancaster, Long Island and Southern Maryland).

The fan-favorite Nelson was selected by the Long Island Ducks organization as the 3rd baseman for the team's 15^th Anniversary Team in 2014.

Roger Clemens - All-Time Baseball Great - Seven Cy Young Awards

Autographed 2012 Sugar Land Skeeters Scorecard Lineup Insert

Considered one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League history, Roger Clemens established a legendary 24-year career from the mound with 354 wins, 4,672 strikeouts and more Cy Young Awards than any other pitcher in MLB history - seven.

In 2012, the ‘Rocket” came out of retirement and donned the imperial blue uniform of the Sugar Land Skeeters after not pitching professionally for five years.

Clemens thrilled 7,724 Constellation Field fans by taking the mound on August 25, 2012, and pitching 3.1 scoreless innings against Bridgeport while striking out two Bluefish batters. 

On September 7, Clemens faced the Long Island Ducks also not allowing a run in 4.2 innings while registering a strikeout in front of 8,597 fans -- which established a home attendance record for the franchise.

On this September date, Clemens also formed a sentimental, father-son battery with his son Koby, who was signed as a catcher with Sugar Land and would play with them through the 2014 season.

Brian Adams - 2007 Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year

Autographed 2007 Somerset Patriots Multi-Ad Team Set #1 (Pitch/YR Card)

Arguably the greatest left-handed pitcher in Atlantic League history, Brian Adams is inarguably the greatest starting pitcher ever to toe the rubber for the Somerset Patriots.

Pitching as a reliever in the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers’ farm systems, Adams joined the Pat’s in 2007, and made an explosive transition into a starting pitcher role and the rotation by putting up a 15-2 season (incorporating a perfect 11-0 home record) with 117 K’s while seizing the Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year Award for that season.

Adams would follow up his 2007 campaign with two more back-to-back double-digit wins seasons for Somerset with records of 11-7 in 2008 and 13-8 in 2009. In these 3 seasons, Adams had close to a .700 winning percentage.

In his four-year tenure with Somerset, the Clemson alumnus was instrumental in leading Somerset to post-season berths in each year and a major contributor to two Atlantic League Championships for the franchise (2008/2009).

Adams finished his career as the Patriots all-time career win leader with 43 wins which also places him in 8th place on the Atlantic League all-time career wins list, but in first place for all-time career wins in the league by a southpaw.

Adams was voted the 6^rd greatest Patriot of all time in a 2012 polling of fans, players, coaches and team officials and was also so honored on the poll by having the highest ranking of any Somerset pitcher in their history.

Jimmy Hurst - 2002 Atlantic League Player of the Year

(L) Autographed 2001 Nashua Price WMUR9 Team Set
(R) 2002 Newark Bears Choice Team Set (MVP Card)

Out of Butch Hobson’s hometown of Tuscaloosa, AL, Jimmy Hurst was drafted in the 12^th round of the 1990 Amateur Draft by the Chicago White Sox.

With a professional baseball career that spanned seventeen seasons reaching the Triple-A level with four different organizations and the major leagues in 1997 with the Detroit Tigers, the 6’6” power-hitting outfielder landed in the Atlantic League with Hobson’s Nashua Pride in 2001, but it would be his second year in the league with Newark that would be his season for the record books.

2002 could not have been a more perfect season for Hurst or more of a monster year. Hurst led the league in hits (150), home runs (35), RBI’s (100), total bases (288), batting average (.341) and slugging percentage (.655) while playing in only 113 games on his way to becoming the Atlantic League’s first ever Triple Crown winner.  Hurst’s slugging average mark that year still stands as the Atlantic League single-season record. It was only a formality that Hurst was to be named the 2002 Atlantic League Player of the Year.

In the post season that year, Hurst continued his perfect season, leading his Newark Bears to their first league Championship ever sweeping the Bridgeport Bluefish and being named the championship series MVP as well. 

Glenn Murray - 1999 Atlantic League Player of the Year & All-Time Home Run King

Autographed 2003 Atlantic League All-Star Game Team Set
2000 Nashua Pride WMUR Team Set 

Out of Manning, SC, outfielder and 1989 second-round draft pick Glenn Murray reached the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996, after spending time in the Expos’, Red Sox and Phillies’ farm systems.

Three years later, in 1999, Glenn Murray would enter the Atlantic League with an explosion as a member of the Nashua Pride belting 29 home runs, 102 RBI’s and a .528 slugging percentage that season claiming the Atlantic League Player of the Year Award in his first year.

In the following year, 2000, the fan-favorite Murray led Nashua to their only Atlantic League Championship with a .559 slugging average for the season.

During his seven seasons with the Pride, Murray would average 23 home runs and 75 RBI’s a year and a .512 slugging average marking his power legacy and consistency.

Nashua ended its affiliation with the Atlantic League and Murray in 2005, leaving Murray as the Atlantic League All-Time Home Run King with 158 round trippers. Murray also places favorably on the current all-time Atlantic League career leader boards as well with RBI’s (529; third) and runs (484; seventh).

In a 2008 Bob Wirz interview, Bridgeport Bluefish manager Willie Upshaw cited Glenn Murray as the best ballplayer that he had seen in the first decade of Atlantic League play.

On August 27, 2006, the Nashua Pride retired Glenn Murray’s uniform number 34 hanging it on the press box mezzanine in Holman Stadium.

Justin Jensen - 1999 Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year

Autographed 2004 Somerset Patriot Multi-Ad Team Set #15

Voted the greatest lefthander starting pitcher in Somerset history in their 10^th season anniversary poll, Justin Jensen was the most impactful pitcher in the first 10 years of the franchise.

The Cabrillo College alumnus, and product of the Detroit Tiger farm system, first took the mound for Somerset in the 1999 season and finished the year leading the league in ERA (2.76) compiling a 12-3 record with 111 strikeouts. This effort was rewarded by Jensen being named the 1999 Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year.

Jensen’s championship with the Patriots would come in 2003, when after helping Somerset get to the postseason with a 9-3 regular-season record, he paired with fellow mound mate Brett Jodie pitching back-to-back shutouts sweeping the Riversharks in the divisional playoffs. Somerset would eventually go on to defeat Nashua that year 3 games to 2 in the championship series for their second league title.

Jensen is Somerset’s career leader in innings pitched (527) and second in franchise history in wins (35-24) and strikeouts (385); yielding a 3.62 ERA for his tenure at Somerset.

Jensen was voted the 14th greatest Patriot of all time in a 2012 polling of fans, players, coaches and team officials.

Jeremy Owens - All-Time Southern Maryland Blue Crab Great

Autographed 2011 Southern Maryland Blue Crabs DAV Team Set #304

Reaching the AAA Level with three different organizations (San Diego, Boston and Tampa), Jeremy Owens began his Southern Maryland career with the team’s inception year of 2008, and went on to become the greatest position player in Blue Crab history.

Becoming Crustacean Nation’s face of the franchise by wearing the Columbia and navy blue for eight consecutive seasons (2009-14), Owens  went on to set the career Blue Crab franchise records across the offensive categories for: games played (734); runs scored (422); hits (601);  home runs (105); stolen bases (96); walks (318) and RBI’s( 337).

In 2009, the center fielder from Tennessee known for his hustle was distinguished by being named by Butch Hobson the first team captain in Blue Crab history.

Owens followed this honor by having his best year in Waldorf the following year (2010) where he led the Atlantic League in home runs with 28.

Owens finished his career with 129 home runs and 414 RBI’s which earns him fourth and eighth place in Atlantic League history respectively.

Tim Cain - Atlantic League All-Time Career Wins and Strikeout Leader

2000 Newark Bears Citation Graphics Team Set #11 (Unsigned)
Autographed 2004 Bridgeport Bluefish Subway Team Set #8

Achieving the level of Triple-A in both the Red Sox and Blue Jays organizations, Tim Cain entered the Atlantic League in its 1998 inaugural year and went on to become the League’s all-time career leader in innings pitched (1150 2/3), wins (74) and strikeouts (737).

With a career that spanned 10 seasons in the Atlantic League, the former UCONN Huskie, had double-digit-win seasons a total of five times toeing the rubber for Newark(’98-’01), Bridgeport (’02-’05),  Long Island (’06-’07)) and Camden (’07) during his tenure. The Springfield, MA native is the only Atlantic League pitcher to win 10 games in each of his first four seasons.

Cain’s Atlantic League signature season came with the Bridgeport Bluefish in 2004, finishing the season 12-3 with a 3.12 ERA and averaging 7.8 hits and less than one home run per nine-inning game.

Butch Hobson - Boston Red Sox Third Baseman & Winningest Atlantic League Manager

Autographed 2000 Nashua Pride WMUR9 Team Set;
Autographed 2014 Lancaster Barnstormers Choice Team Set # 27
(Championship Managerial Cards)

Being a Crimson Tide baseball standout at Alabama, as well as in the football program under Bear Bryant, Butch Hobson was signed in the 8th round of the 1973 amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. By 1976, Hobson was the starting third baseman for the Boston Red Sox.  The Tuscaloosa-native’s MLB career went on to span eight years with additional stops at the California Angels and New York Yankees and featured a stand-out year in 1977 where Hobson put up 30 home runs and 112 RBI’s.

After managing the Boston Red Sox (1992-94), Hobson launched his Atlantic League managerial career with the Nashua Pride in 2000, and lead them to the league championship.  

For the next 15 years, Hobson would be at the helm of Atlantic League teams (Nashua 2000-2007; Southern Maryland 2008-10; Lancaster 2011-15) on his way to becoming the most prolific manager in league history with over 1,031 wins and two League Championships.  (Nashua 2000/Lancaster 2014).

Hobson has been named the Atlantic League Manager of the Year four times

Sparky Lyle - 1977 American League Cy Young & 5x Championship Manager

Autographed Atlantic League Baseball (Center)
Autographed 2004 Somerset Patriots Multi-Ad Team Set # 28 (Top)
Autographed 2015 Somerset Patriots Choice Team Set #32 (Right)
Autographed 2013 Somerset Patriots Choice Team Set #30 (Bottom)
Autographed 2012 Somerset Patriots Choice Team Set #1 (Left)
2015 Somerset Patriot Yearbook

As a 15-year Major League Veteran, Sparky Lyle fired his nasty slider in high-pressure situations at wincing American League hitters to become the premier relief closer of the 1970’s.

The two-time, back-to-back New York Yankee World Champion (1977,78), two-time American League Save Leader (1972, 76) and three-time All-Star ( 1973,76,77) won the 1977 American League Cy Young Award – becoming the first relief pitcher to win the award in the junior circuit.

Lyle’s signature moment came in the Game 4 of the 1977 ALCS where, with the Yankees facing elimination, Lyle stretched his pitch count out over 5 1/3 shutout innings in long relief allowing the Kansas City Royals only 2 hits.

Sparky’s success transitioned well into the Atlantic League.  As the very first employee of the Somerset Patriots (1997), Lyle’s personality and recognition was instrumental in establishing a successful franchise for Somerset.  With no prior professional managerial experience, Lyle went on to lead the Patriots to 5 Atlantic League Championship (2001,03,05,08,09) in 15 years at the helm and retired the winningest manager in Atlantic League history overseeing 1,025 victories.

Lyle transitioned into Somerset's Manager Emeritus in 2012, allowing him still to promote the team; eventually having his number “28” retired with the Patriots in 2014.