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In 2021 and beyond, 11 of the 12 teams that previously had been part of the Eastern League will operate in the Double-A Northeast League. The lone newcomers are the Somerset Patriots, set to debut as a New York Yankees affiliate.
In 2021 and beyond, 11 of the 12 teams that previously had been part of the Eastern League will operate in the Double-A Northeast League. The lone newcomers are the Somerset Patriots, set to debut as a New York Yankees affiliate.
The Patriots, a charter team of the independent Atlantic League, spent their inaugural 1998 season entirely on the road. Their home of TD Bank Ballpark opened in 1999 in Somerset County's Bridgewater Township. After more than two decades in the Atlantic League, the team has replaced the Trenton Thunder as the Yankees' Double-A affiliate. (The Thunder, also a central New Jersey entity, are now part of the MLB Draft League.)