New York City is home not only to the Mets and Yankees but also to two of their minor league affiliates: the Brooklyn Cyclones and Staten Island Yankees. This gives the five boroughs an unmatched four professional baseball teams. The City’s minor league clubs offer fans a chance to see future stars in action, feature low prices that make it easy to bring a family to the game and often use off-the-wall promotions to get attention and draw crowds (more on that below).
The Cyclones and Yankees, each of whom plays in the single-A New York–Penn League, traditionally open up their seasons against each other—and will do so in 2019, as the Baby Bombers cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to visit the Cyclones on June 14 and the Cyclones return the favor on June 15. Want to become an instant expert? Take a minute to read the comparison chart below and choose your favorite team.
Team
Brooklyn Cyclones (tickets)
Staten Island Yankees (tickets)
Home stadium
MCU Park, Coney Island
Richmond County Bank Ballpark, St. George
Distinguished alumni
Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo
Brett Gardner, Dellin Betances
Mascots
Sandy and Pee Wee (seagulls)
Scooter and Red (cows), Effa (bear)
Representative promo day
Seinfeld Night (No date announced yet for 2019)
Staten Island Pizza Rats name change (Saturday home games in 2019)
Ballpark views
Thunderbolt and Cyclone roller coasters, the beach
Lower Manhattan skyline, New York Harbor
For history lovers
Outside the ballpark, there’s a statue of Jackie Robinson—who broke the MLB color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers—standing next to teammate Pee Wee Reese.
The Professional Baseball Scouts Wall of Fame, on the first-base side of the park, pays tribute to an underappreciated group of baseball heroes who spotted talent early.
Do they play baseball?
Yes! It’s fantastic.
They do! You’re going to have a great time.