New Jersey Cardinals
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Template:MLB Cardinals franchise
The New Jersey Cardinals are an American minor league baseball team. They are a member of the New York - Penn League and play at Skylands Park in Augusta, New Jersey. They are a St. Louis Cardinals class A minor league team.
After operating for six seasons as the Glens Falls, New York Redbirds, a new owner purchased the club and moved them to the Garden State for the 1994 season. Despite construction delays resulting from a rough winter, the new park opened on schedule. The Cardinals had one of their best player drafts that season, and several future stars, including Matt Morris, passed through Augusta that summer. The New Jersey Cardinals put together a 43-32 regular-season mark, and then defeated the Jamestown Jammers, 2 games to 1, and the Auburn Astros, 2 games to 0, to win the league title. In honor of the achievement, the club changed its official address to "94 Championship Place".
Over the next nine seasons, however, the Cardinals experienced only one winning season, going 39-37 in 2002. In 2004, the Cards made a late-season run and finished with a 41-34 record, but that still left them out of the league playoffs.
In addition, with the arrival of competition in the form of additional teams in the New York metropolitan area, attendance has slipped. The Cardinals drew a league-leading 156,447 fans in their inaugural season, but just 115,342 in 2004.
Season Records
| Season | Affiliation | Manager | Record |
| 1994 | Cardinals | Roy Silver | 43-32, 1st place McNamara |
| 1995 | Cardinals | Luis Melendez | 35-41, 3rd place McNamara |
| 1996 | Cardinals | Scott Melvin | 28-47, 5th place McNamara |
| 1997 | Cardinals | Jeff Shireman | 35-39, 3rd place McNamara |
| 1998 | Cardinals | Jose Oquendo | 34-41, 4th place McNamara |
| 1999 | Cardinals | Jeff Shireman | 30-46, 8th place Stedler |
| 2000 | Cardinals | Jeff Shireman | 31-45, 6th place Pinckney |
| 2001 | Cardinals | Brian Rupp | 35-41, 5th place McNamara |
| 2002 | Cardinals | Tommy Shields | 39-37, 3rd place McNamara |
| 2003 | Cardinals | Tommy Shields | 31-42, 5th place McNamara |
| 2004 | Cardinals | Tommy Shields | 41-34, 2nd place McNamara |
Post-Season Records
- 1994: defeated Jamestown Jammers, 2 games to 1; defeated Auburn Astros, 2 games to 0, for league championship
External links
- Official New Jersey Cardinals website (http://www.njcards.com/)
- St. Louis Cardinals minor leagues website (http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/minorleagues/team_index.jsp?c_id=stl)