Yankees, Paterson, N.J., mayor hope for a game at Hinchliffe Stadium, but obstacles remain

PATERSON, N.J. — Hall of Famers such as Monte Irvin and Larry Doby graced the grounds at New Jersey's Hinchliffe Stadium during its heyday. Could modern day stars like Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso follow in their footsteps?

That’s the dream for Paterson mayor André Sayegh, who wants to host a major league game between the Yankees and his beloved Mets at the former Negro Leagues ballpark in New Jersey. With Birmingham, Alabama’s Rickwood Field — another still-standing Negro Leagues venue — recently being awarded a major league game in 2024, Sayegh has been doubling down on the idea that Hinchliffe should get a “Field of Dreams” game, too.

In Sayegh’s perfect world, the Yankees would don the uniforms of the New York Black Yankees, while the Mets would take on the look of the New York Cubans. The two Negro Leagues teams called Hinchliffe home.

“It’s only natural that that would bode well for us,” Sayegh told the New York Daily News, referring to next year’s game between the Cardinals and Giants at Rickwood Field. “And then in 2025, we’re making the pitch for Paterson to get it.”

Hinchliffe decayed dramatically after being abandoned in 1997, to the point that cracked pavement, broken glass, graffiti and vegetation obscured any remnants of an operational stadium.

But it has undergone a massive redevelopment project with a price tag that exceeds $100 million. The initiative broke ground in April 2021 and includes a multisport athletic facility, among other public services and attractions.

“It’s been great to be involved in this from the start,” Yankees senior advisor Omar Minaya, who has been championing Hinchliffe’s rebirth, told The News. “The mayor, I call him America’s baseball mayor. He’s dynamic. He cares about baseball. He reached out to me early on the project. And I said, ‘Hey, I’m in. I’m supporting you all the way.’ But to see it where it is today — being where it was two or three years ago — it’s unbelievable.”

Sayegh and Minaya spoke on Wednesday while members of the Yankees hosted a youth clinic at Hinchliffe as part of their annual HOPE Week initiative. The event took place on the 76th anniversary of Doby, a Paterson native, breaking the American League’s color barrier.

The afternoon also gave Sayegh a chance to tout his ultimate goal in front of actual major league players. They seemed supportive of his campaign.

“To see a picture of what it looked like before and to see it now, it’s like night and day,” Nestor Cortes said. “Hopefully we can have a big league game here soon. We would be looking forward to that.”

“It would be super, super fun to be a part of it.”

Jose Trevino agreed, insisting that a major league game at Hinchliffe is “100 percent” feasible.

“It feels like it can hold some people,” he told The News of the 7,800-seat park. “It could be a special event. It’s a special stadium. A lot of big leaguers played there, Hall of Famers. I don’t see why not. It could accommodate two big league teams. It would be pretty cool.”

In addition to youth teams, the Frontier League’s New Jersey Jackals already play at Hinchliffe. However, multiple issues would need to be addressed if Major League Baseball were to ever play a game at the National Historic Landmark.

Cortes immediately pointed out the stadium’s tight locker rooms, which resemble that of a high school gym, not a luxurious big league facility. Hinchliffe also features two different turfs — one is used to cover a running track — and there is some unevenness and give where the surfaces meet in the outfield. Multi-million-dollar athletes could have reservations about playing on that.

Jackals players have also noted that it’s hard to pick up baseballs, as Hinchliffe’s inner bowl boasts white concrete. The stadium doesn’t have a batter’s eye, either, something Trevino noticed right away.

“I always think like that because I’m a catcher, so I want to see what’s coming towards me,” he said.

In addition, Hinchliffe features dimensions that are far smaller than MLB norms. Even with a towering net — designed to be a 40-foot wall — in right field, the listed distance is only 327 feet from home plate. A ball must clear the net to be a home run, but the wall itself is only 270 feet deep.

While it’s a solid 385 feet to the center-field wall, left is only 320 feet away. And those parts of the outfield don’t include tall nets.

“Maybe as a pitcher, the fence is a little too short,” Cortes said. “But we can make it happen. As long as we have those nets coming all across the outfield, we’re good.

“The game is growing. We’re trying to expand to different countries. So it’s only right that we at least attempt to do something here, because the job they’ve done here is amazing.”

Sayegh exhibited the same can-do attitude.

The mayor dismissed concerns about Hinchliffe’s accessibility and the lack of nearby parking, stating that deals could be reached with local lots and that transportation could be provided from nearby towns.

And as for some of the other factors that fall below MLB standards?

“We can surmount any obstacles,” Sayegh said. “If it’s a question of dimensions of the field, we can accommodate Major League Baseball. If it’s parking, we can accommodate Major League Baseball and the fans. We made this [renovation] happen. We can make [an MLB game] happen as well.”

In the past, MLB has simply said that the league is “thankful for all the interest that exists to host special major league games and events in the future,” when asked about playing at Hinchliffe. “We are continuing to evaluate the many opportunities in determining our special event schedule for upcoming seasons.”

Minaya didn’t want to definitively say if Hinchliffe is capable of fielding a major league game.

“I’m not the one to answer that,” he said, but the former general manager does believe that the revived stadium will attract people from all over — especially once a museum detailing the area’s Black baseball history and Hinchliffe’s glory days is complete.

“As long as baseball is being played here, this is going to continue to grow popular,” Minaya said. “Not only in Paterson, not only in New Jersey. It’s going to be something of a national place that people want to come and see.”