HARTFORD, Conn. — Hartford's Dunkin' Park, home of the Minor League Baseball team the Yard Goats, is set to host its first-ever Eastern League playoff game Thursday.
“After nine years, the Yard Goats are hosting their first ever playoff game,” Tim Restall, team president of the Yard Goats, exclaimed.
Restall, whose tenure with the team pre-dates the Yard Goats and goes back to the days of the New Britain Rock Cats, stood on the concourse of Dunkin' Park hours before the Goats were about to play in their first Eastern League home playoff game.
"It’s definitely a benefit for everyone – maybe this is a home run," Restall added.
Jeff Dooley, director of broadcasting for the Yard Goats, was ready to man to a microphone to announce his first ever playoff game at Dunkin Park.
"It’s so fun to have this opportunity to make history tonight because this is a first – playoff baseball in Hartford," Dooley said.
He also spoke about the business boost that a playoff game - or perhaps, three playoff games, depending on how well the team does - provides.
“I think it’s a win-win for the hotels and obviously the restaurants,” Dooley said. “And for the team as well to have more baseball is more than we expected this year.”
Restall showcased a “rally towel,” which will be distributed to the first two thousand fans in attendance.
"We have 2,000 rally towels that we are going to be giving out for the game, so we need a lot of fans, we need loud fans tonight, it’s called home field advantage for a reason," Restall said.
Thursday will mark the Yard Goats' second game in a best-of-three playoff series against the Somerset Patriots. Somerset won 3-2 Tuesday in game one hosted at T.D. Ballpark.
Below is the schedule for the remaining games of the Northeast Division finals. Whichever team wins the Divisional Championship will proceed to the best-of-three Eastern League Championship series, beginning on Sept. 22.
Eastern League Northeast Division Finals
Game Two: Thursday, Sept. 19 (7:10 PM) Yard Goats vs Somerset (Dunkin’ Park)
*Game Three Friday, Sept. 20 (7:10 PM) Yard Goats vs Somerset (Dunkin’ Park)
Information about the Yard Goats' schedule and tickets for the games can be found on their website here.
Goats and Glory: Dunkin' Park hosts first-ever playoff game
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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