Westchester & Hudson, NY Sports Teams

It seems like everyone’s familiar with the major league sports teams coming out of New York State: the Knicks, the Mets, the Rangers, and of course, the Yankees. But nothing matches the pride and enthusiasm that local sports teams bring out from their fans during their games.

If you’re in the Westchester and Hudson, New York, area, you can easily travel to see one of these sports teams play, whether your game of choice is baseball, basketball, or soccer, and cheer on some local players from your area. Take your entire family and have a wonderful experience with an affordable game close to home while supporting your home region.

Westchester Knicks

The name isn’t just a coincidence; the Westchester Knicks are, in fact, affiliated with the original New York Knicks, one of the most popular basketball teams in New York, if not the whole country. The Westchester Knicks, based in White Plains, are a professional basketball team that plays in the NBA G League.

The team was founded in 2014, and many of the players are free agents eligible to be called up at any time to the NBA. In the past, players like Langston Galloway, Trey Burke, and Chasson Randle were given temporary contracts with the New York Knicks. You might be excited to discover that Thanasis Antetokounmpo, one of the talented brothers of Giannis Antetokounmpo, played for the Westchester Knicks for two years before joining his brother on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Clearly, there’s a lot of talent and many up-and-coming players to marvel at and cheer for on this team. To take in a Westchester Knicks game, head over the state line to Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where the team recently moved.

Hudson Valley Renegades

Founded in 1994, this minor league baseball team is part of the South Atlantic League and is based out of Fishkill, New York. They’re affiliated with the world-famous New York Yankees, and have won three New York-Penn League championships during their time playing in New York: in 1999, 2012, and most recently in 2017.

Just as with the Westchester Knicks, watching the Hudson Valley Renegades means watching a lot of talented, up-and-coming players who may soon be called up to the big leagues. Some of the many former Renegade players that made a name for themselves in Major League Baseball (MLB) include Scott Podsednik, Ryan Dempster, Joe Kennedy, Matt Diaz, Wade Davis, and Toby Hall.

Podsednik might be the most famous former Renegade player, as he was playing with the Chicago White Sox when they won the World Series in 2005. Take your family along to go watch the Renegades play live on their home turf of Dutchess Stadium.

New York Cosmos

Soccer’s popularity in the US has quickly been rising over the past decade. If you want to scratch that live soccer match itch, check out a New York Cosmos game at the Mitchel Athletic Complex.

Based in Uniondale, the New York Cosmos are a rebirth of the original team of the same name that played in the North American Soccer League from 1970 to 1985. The current version of the team was founded in 2010 and joined the National Independent Soccer Association. They went on to perform exceedingly well, winning the Soccer Bowl Trophy almost three years in a row (their wins were in 2013, 2015, and 2016).

The team is currently on a temporary hiatus due to the recent pandemic, but you can expect a return to exciting live soccer play any day now. Keep your calendar open.

Long Island Ducks

Since their start in 2000, the Long Island Ducks have amassed a lot of local fans. Their games tend to attract families from all over the New York suburban and Tri-State area. If you’ve been looking for something different to do with the kids, why not introduce them to America’s favorite pastime by bringing them to watch a live game of baseball?

The team is based in Central Islip and has always played their home games at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. The team has a lot of local pride; even the name itself is a nod to the duck-farming history of Long Island and the famous hockey team of the same name.

As one might imagine for such a locally popular team, the Ducks attract a lot of up-and-coming talent to their team. Their very first manager was Bud Harrelson, who was a former MLB player himself. Today, the Ducks remain the only professional baseball team based on Long Island. They compete in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner of MLB.

Rockland Boulders

Another team whose name takes its cue from the local environment is the Rockland Boulders, so named because of the abundance of massive boulders in Rockland County. Based in Pomona, the Rockland Boulders also nod to legendary New York sports history by donning blue and red uniforms. The blue references the old Brooklyn Dodgers, and the red respects the Rockland County Fire Training Center nearby.

The team started playing back in 2011, originally in the Can-Am League, which was eventually absorbed into the Frontier League. If you watch a Boulders game, you can expect to be surrounded by tons of people, as the team leads the league in devoted fans. In 2012, the Boulders led the league in fan attendance, counting 161,375 spectators over the course of the season.

Head to a game at Clover Stadium and cheer on the talented baseball players while your kids learn the game and enjoy the team’s fun mascot, Boulder Bird.

We love suggesting fun weekend activities for our customers while also supporting our local minor league New York teams. If you have a local team you support that was left off this list, please feel free to contact us at Bill Volz Westchester and let us know. We’d love to feature them in a future article.

Photo Credit: DSC_0110 by Michael Stokes is licensed with CC BY 2.0

 

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