New Jersey Jackals
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| New Jersey Jackals Founded in 1998 Little Falls, New Jersey |
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Northeast League (1998-1999, 2004) |
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| Owner(s)/Operated By: Floyd Hall | |||
| General Manager: Greg Lockard | |||
| Manager: Joe Calfapietra | |||
| Media: Newark Star-Ledger | |||
| Website: www.jackals.com | |||
The New Jersey Jackals are a professional baseball team based in Little Falls, New Jersey, in the United States. The Jackals are a member of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 1998 season to the present, the Jackals have played their home games at Yogi Berra Stadium, on the campus of Montclair State University.
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[edit] History
The club was formed in 1998, and they posted the best record in the Northeast League in their inaugural season under manager Kash Beauchamp. They went on to sweep two playoff series and win the league championship, capturing the final game at Heritage Park in Colonie, New York, over the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs.
From 1999 to 2002, the Northeast League was in partnership with the Northern League. The Jackals won the combined league championship in 2001 and 2002 under manager George Tsamis, defeating the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the final series both years. The deciding game was played at CanWest Global Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2001 and at home in 2002. After the 2002 series, Tsamis resigned to take the St. Paul Saints managerial position, and Joe Calfapietra took over.
Former Atlanta Braves second baseman Mark Lemke pitched for the Jackals as a knuckleballer in 1999. Pete Rose, Jr. spent half of the 1998 season on the team, as well.
The leagues went their separate ways in 2003, and the Jackals qualified for the Northeast League playoffs once again but were turned back by the eventual league champion Brockton Rox in the first round. However, the Jackals continued their winning ways in 2004, rebounding from two home losses against the North Shore Spirit to win the championship by capturing the final three games at Fraser Field in Lynn, Massachusetts, two of which required extra innings to decide.
On August 28, 2002, Jeremy Callier pitched the first no-hitter in Jackals history. He completed nine no-hit innings but had to wait to celebrate because the game remained scoreless. In the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Kane hit a home run to left field, giving the Jackals a 2-0 victory over the Berkshire Black Bears and making Callier's no-hitter official. Aaron Myers also threw a no-hitter on August 6, 2006 against the Worcester Tornadoes.
The mascot for the Jackals is an anthropomorphic Jackal named Jack. He entertains the fans and has some trademark game antics, such as wiggling his tail, the cha-cha slide, the YMCA, etc. Jack is very popular with little kids that attend the games, as well as the community.
The Jackals play at Yogi Berra Stadium, which is located on the Little Falls side of the Montclair State University campus and named for Hall of Fame ex-Yankee catcher Yogi Berra, a longtime Montclair resident. Also located at the stadium site is the Yogi Berra Museum, a baseball-themed educational attraction which also contains a stadium luxury box (only used when major league scouts or Berra himself attends the games, which he does at least twice a year during special theme nights where he signs autographs for fans).
[edit] Logos and uniforms
The official colors of the New Jersey Jackals are red and black. The primary logo incorporates several elements, including the initials "NJ" for New Jersey with the "Jackals" wordmark following the "J." A stylized baseball in white with red threading and black outline dots the "J", with a depiction of a jackal's head in red with white shadowing and black outline is centered above the wordmark.
The Jackals wear a black cap for home games and red for away. The road cap has the "NJ" cap logo centered on the front, with a baseball dotting the "J." The home cap is black with the "jackal" cap logo centered on the front with a baseball incorporated with the logo to the left. The home jerseys are white with black pinstripes with the "Jackals" wordmark centered across in red with black outline. The away jerseys are grey with the "New Jersey" wordmark arched across the front in red letters with black outline. An alternate jersey is black with red piping with the "Jackals" wordmark centered across in red with white outline. The batting practice jersey is red with black sleeves, with the "NJ" cap logo centered on the left-side chest.
[edit] Season records
| Season | Manager | First Half Record | Second Half Record |
| 1998 | Kash Beauchamp | 30-12, 1st place South | 23-19, 2nd place South |
| 1999 | Kash Beauchamp | 23-19, 1st place South | 22-21, 2nd place South (tie) |
| 2000 | Kash Beauchamp | 17-25, 4th place South | 14-27, 4th place South |
| 2001 | George Tsamis | 20-25, 3rd place South | 25-20, 2nd place South |
| 2002 | George Tsamis | 30-15, 1st place South | 32-12, 1st place South |
| 2003 | Joe Calfapietra | 28-17, 1st place South | 24-20, 1st place South |
| 2004 | Joe Calfapietra | 26-21, 1st place South | 28-18, 1st place South |
| 2005 | Joe Calfapietra | 25-21, 2nd place South | 23-23, 3rd place South |
| 2006 | Joe Calfapietra | 25-20, 2nd place (tie) | 18-28, 7th place |
| 2007 | Joe Calfapietra | 31-15, 1st place | 18-29, 10th place |
[edit] Post-Season records
- 1998: Defeated Allentown Ambassadors, 2 games to 0; def. Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, 2 games to 0, for league championship
- 1999: Defeated Allentown Ambassadors, 3 games to 0; lost to Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, 3 games to 1, in championship round
- 2001: Defeated Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, 3 games to 0; def. Elmira Pioneers, 3 games to 2, for league championship; def. Winnipeg Goldeyes, 3 games to 1, for championship of combined Northern League
- 2002: Defeated Elmira Pioneers, 3 games to 2; def. Adirondack Lumberjacks, 3 games to 2, for league championship; def. Winnipeg Goldeyes, 3 games to 1, for championship of combined Northern League
- 2003: Lost to Brockton Rox, 3 games to 1, in opening round
- 2004: Defeated Bangor Lumberjacks, 3 games to 1; def. North Shore Spirit, 3 games to 2, for league championship
- 2007: Lost to Nashua Pride, 3 games to 2, in opening round
[edit] Current roster
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New Jersey Jackals roster
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Pitchers
Catchers
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Infielders
Outfielders
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Coaching Staff
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[edit] Broadcast homes
The Jackals' original radio outlet was WSOU, Seton Hall University's radio station. After spending their first season on the airwaves there, the radiocasts were moved to WMTR, a Morristown, New Jersey based AM radio station. After leaving WMTR, the Jackals moved back to the FM dial, first landing on local station "Jukebox Radio 103.1 FM", and then moving to WPSC-FM in 2003. After the 2005 season, Jackals games were moved strictly to webcasts. For 2008, the Jackals began offering radiocasts again at 87.9 FM, but the broadcast range is limited to the stadium itself and does not carry past it.
Jim Cerny was the original play-by-play man for the Jackals from 1998-2002. He was replaced by Darren Cooper for the 2003 season, who in turn was replaced by Joe Ameruoso (his color commentator) in 2004. Cody Chrusciel took over the position in 2008.
[edit] External links
- New Jersey Jackals (official site)
- http://www.myjackals.com (fan site)
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| Atlantic City Surf | Brockton Rox | Nashua Pride | New Jersey Jackals | Ottawa Rapidz | Quebec Capitales | Sussex Skyhawks | Worcester Tornadoes | |
| Former teams: Aces | Adirondack | Albany-Colonie | Allentown | Bangor | Elmira | Grays | New Haven County | North Shore | |
| Other Independent Baseball Leagues: American Association | Atlantic | Continental | Frontier | Golden | Northern | United | |
