The Lakewood BlueClaws are a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies. They are based in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. They play in the Class A South Atlantic League. Their home field is FirstEnergy Park. Dusty Wathan will manage the team in 2009.

JERSEY SHORE BLUECLAWS TICKETS EVENT DATE AVAILABILITY Hudson Valley Renegades vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws Tickets 4/4 Apr 04, 2025 Fri, 7:05 PM Hudson Valley Renegades vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws Tickets 4/5 Apr 05, 2025 Sat, 5:05 PM Hudson Valley Renegades vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws Tickets 4/6 Apr 06, 2025 Sun, 2:05 PM Jersey Shore BlueClaws vs. Aberdeen IronBirds Tickets 4/8 Apr 08, 2025 Tue, 6:35 PM Jersey Shore BlueClaws vs. Aberdeen IronBirds Tickets 4/9 Apr 09, 2025 Wed, 6:35 PM

History

The BlueClaws moved to Lakewood from Fayetteville, North Carolina, where they had been known first as the Fayetteville Generals and later as the Cape Fear Crocs. Their first season in Lakewood was 2001. The Phillies' previous South Atlantic League affiliate was based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and known as the Piedmont Boll Weevils from 1995 to 2000. Prior to that, the team was based in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Fan support

Since their arrival in New Jersey, the BlueClaws have been a success at the gate. In each of their first five seasons, they have averaged over 6,500 fans per game. On August 26, 2002, in a game against the Hickory Crawdads which the BlueClaws won 3-0, attendance was a South Atlantic League record 13,003. The BlueClaws have led the South Atlantic League in either average or total attendance every year, and became the fastest team in South Atlantic League history to reach the 2 and 3 million fan attendance mark. They are expected to top 4 million at the end of the 2009 season. This box office success comes in the absence of great success on the field. In their first five seasons, the BlueClaws failed to qualify for the playoffs. Their overall record topped the .500 mark for the first time in 2004.

All told, in their first eight seasons, the BlueClaws have topped 10,000 fans at a game twice, including 10,027 on August 29th, 2008. They have gone over 9,000 fans 13 different times, and have exceeded the 8,000 mark 81 times.

Each season a small but dedicated group of fans choose one person on the BlueClaws to cheer for, and in 2008, these fans developed a particular interest in third baseman Travis "Moose" Mattair. These fans, who call themselves "Mooseketeers" in reference to Mattair's childhood nickname, cheer loudly for both Mattair and the team in general. They are known for displaying homemade signs and jerseys, and their novelty moose hats were a regular fixture at FirstEnergy Park throughout the 2008 season.

Other developments

On September 1, 2004, Ryan Howard became the first former BlueClaw to play in the major leagues, playing first base for the Phillies in a 7-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. He played for the BlueClaws in the 2002 season. In 2005, he was named the National League Rookie of the Year, and in 2006 he was named the National League Most Valuable Player. In May 2007, while on the 15-day disabled list, Ryan Howard played two rehab games with the BlueClaws after suffering a hamstring injury. Each game drew over 8,000 fans and helped push the BlueClaws to a new team attendance record for the month of May.

The 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies featured several former BlueClaws on their roster. Former NL MVP Ryan Howard was with the BlueClaws in 2002. World Series MVP Cole Hamels was with Lakewood in 2003, and starting catcher Carlos Ruiz was a member of the original Lakewood BlueClaws roster, in 2001.

One key member of the 2008 Phillies was Joe Blanton, acquired through a trade with the Oakland Athletics. In exchange the Phillies sent over three minor leaguers, including two former BlueClaws in Adrian Cardenas (2007) and Josh Outman (2006).

Recently, the BlueClaws announced via their blog (blog.blueclaws.com) that Darryl Strawberry would be appearing at FirstEnergy Park to sign autographs on August 1st.

On February 17, 2009, the Lakewood BlueClaws announced that instead of doing just Monday Kids Eat Free presented by ShopRite, they will be doing Kids Eat Free every game of the 2009 season. All children under the age of 12 will be presented with a voucher for a free hot dog, bag of chips, and fountain drink as they enter the gates.

The team offers a post-game fireworks show after every Friday home game, and at the ballpark, and seniors eat free every Tuesday night. Thursday nights are "Thirsty Thursdays," with discounted beverages and live music all night.

During the 2009 season, the Blueclaws announced that the team would adopt a new logo, color scheme, and uniforms. These changes are expected to be made for the 2010 season

Records

Season Records

Season	Affiliation	Manager	First Half Record	Second Half Record
2001	Phillies	Greg Legg	28-42, 7th place North	32-37, 5th place North
2002	Phillies	Jeff Manto	33-36, 6th place North	36-34, 5th place North
2003	Phillies	Buddy Biancalana	22-47, 8th place North	35-34, 3rd place North
2004	Phillies	P.J. Forbes	31-36, 7th place North	39-30, 3rd place North
2005	Phillies	P.J. Forbes	25-45, 6th place North	31-38, 7th place North
2006	Phillies	Dave Huppert	37-32, 4th place North	47-23, 1st place North
2007	Phillies	Steve Roadcap	33-32, 3rd place North	36-33, 2nd place North
2008	Phillies	Steve Roadcap	38-32, 3rd place North	42-28, 2nd place North

Post-Season Records

The Blue Claws won the 2006 South Atlantic League Championship on September 15, first defeating the Lexington Legends in the Northern division final, two games to none, then defeating the Augusta GreenJackets in a dramatic 5-0 victory, winning the championship series three games to one.

In 2008, the team finished 80-60, the best record in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division, but did not win the division title in either the first or second halves, and missed the playoffs.

Alumni

• Ezequiel Astacio
• Rod Barajas
• Michael Bourn
• Eude Brito
• Taylor Buchholz
• Carlos Carrasco
• Gavin Floyd
• Greg Golson
• Cole Hamels
• J. A. Happ
• Ryan Howard
• Kyle Kendrick
• Scott Mathieson
• Chris Roberson
• Carlos Ruiz
• Robinson Tejeda
• Shane Victorino
• Randy Wolf
• Tim Worrell
• Mike Zagurski
• Sergio Escolona

Roster

Players				Coaches/Other
Starting rotation Bullpen		Catchers Infielders Outfielders		Manager Coaches † Disabled list ‡ Reserve list § Suspended list