To mark the team's 20th season, the Somerset Patriots and AT&T are joining in a promotion to count down the top 20 Patriots in team history.
BRIDGEWATER - To mark the team's 20th season, the Somerset Patriots and AT&T are joining in a promotion to count down the top 20 Patriots in team history.
A group of 60 Somerset Patriots players from 1998 through the 2016 season have made the final list for fans to vote on their top 20 picks through Fan Fest on April 8. Voting will take place exclusively online during that time.
"It certainly wasn't an easy task to narrow down the 503 players that have come through Somerset since we began play in 1998," said Somerset Patriots President and General Manager Patrick McVerry. "This is a fun promotion because my 20 Patriots will be different from the next person's. Everybody had different interactions or remember a specific moment that will make that one player more special to them than someone else.
"We look forward to seeing who the fans select and sharing the countdown with them all season long."
Somerset Patriots to get special birthday present
The Somerset Patriots will take the 20 finalists voted on by the fans and have an expert panel rank them based on on-field performance, longevity, impact on the team, community presence, percentage of fan voting to advance to the countdown and other factors to showcase the best-of-the-best, according to a news release.
The team will unveil a chosen player each week from April 17 through Aug. 28. The Top 20 Patriots will be a multi-media promotion with each selected player receiving special recognition through media features, website stories, social media posts, videos highlighting their time with the team, ballpark exposure, and more elements to be added as the chosen player announcements are made public.
The Top 20 Patriots will appear in a special collector's edition Baseball Card Set given out to the first 2,000 fans at the game on Thursday, August 31st presented by AT&T. The event also features a Post Game Fireworks Celebration.
"We really appreciate our partnership with our hometown team, the Somerset Patriots," said Bryan Gonterman, AT&T Mobility vice president and general manager for New York and New Jersey. "As the team's Official Wireless Partner, we thought this promotion would be a fun and interactive way for fans to get involved in the excitement of 20 years of Somerset Patriots baseball. It's not only a way to look back at the great history of the franchise, but also celebrate the present and future of one of our favorite teams."
The Somerset Patriots led the Atlantic League in total attendance in 2016, finished with the best regular season record in the league and made their fourth straight trip to the playoffs. Tickets for the 2017 season go on sale on Tuesday.
For more information, stop by TD Bank Ballpark, call 908-252-0700, or visit www.somersetpatriots.com.