Baseball season has arrived in New York! If you are looking for a way to enjoy a ball game with your kids, we have got your guide to family-friendly baseball in and around NYC right here. Editor’s Note: This article has been updated for 2024.

But before you go to a game …

Review the home team’s policy for bringing bags (such as diaper bags) and outside food and drink into the ballpark.

Family-friendly NYC baseball: Major Leagues

New York Mets —  We’ve written many times over the years about how the Mets and Citi Field in Queens, by far, are the most family-friendly Major League Baseball option in NYC.  They offer family/child ticket deals, giveaways and, after Sunday home games, a post-game “kids run the bases” event. They have an awesome fun zone to entertain kids, big and small, in the center field plaza. And don’t forget the perks like free tickets and gear if your child joins the Mr. and Mrs. Met’s Kids Club. In 2022, the Mets added a Sensory Nook, a specially designed quiet area to help those with autism, ADHD and dyslexia escape from the overstimulation that can occur at major sporting events.

New York Yankees — The perennial AL East contenders finally started offering something just for your little Bronx Bomber at Yankee Stadium in 2017. That’s when the team opened its Kids Clubhouse, a 2,850-square-foot area on the 300 level in right field. It has baseball-themed playground equipment on a soft artificial surface and shaded areas with interactive exhibits. Parents can play along or watch the kiddies from a dugout a few feet away. The area includes TV monitors so you don’t miss the game, family restrooms with changing tables and a private space for nursing mothers.

Family-friendly NYC area baseball: The Minors

Sure, it’s not the big leagues. For families, though, minor league baseball is much cheaper and often more fun. You and the kids can get closer to the action at these more intimate parks and the home teams tend to emphasize entertaining the fans more than just making a buck.

Brooklyn Cyclones — The Single A affiliate of the Mets offers the Puzzle Piece Funhouse, “a sensory safe space, designed specifically to accommodate children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as their families,” according to their website. You must apply online to use this space. Check the promotion schedule for fireworks nights and the chance to run the bases after a game. Tickets tend to sell out quickly for this cool park that has views of both the Atlantic Ocean and neighboring Coney Island.

Somerset Patriots — Pinstripers of the future are showcased in Bridgewater Township, N.J., a bit over an hour from Manhattan by car or 75 to 90 minutes by train. After hosting an independent team for more than 20 years, the Patriots in 2012 became the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate. This beautiful retro-style park opened in 1999, featuring lawn seating for the squirmier set. There’s also a kids’ fun zone, frequent post-game fireworks shows and Sunday kids “run the bases” events. You can even order food from any seat using a mobile app and then pick it up at the concession to minimize missing game action. If you plan on hitting multiple games, consider having your child join the Sluggers Kids Club. For $25, they get tickets to Sunday home games, goodies and access to some cool kid events.

Independent, collegiate league baseball for the family

Independent and collegiate league baseball is another great baseball option. The level of play may be a step below the Minors, but your kids will have as much — if not more — fun. You may see some past or future big league starts. Best of all, it’s only a fraction of the cost.

Long Island Ducks — Just an hour east of Queens in Central Islip and only a short Uber ride from the nearest Long Island Railroad stop are the Ducks. This original member of the independent Atlantic League always competes for the title. Kids under age 3 are free but must sit on an adult’s lap. Children age 14 and under can join the Kids Club to receive discounts and special deals. Watch for special on-field events and promotions.

New Jersey Jackals — Part of the independent Frontier League, the Jackels moved to a “new” historic ballpark for 2023 – recently renovated Hinchliffe Stadium in Patterson, N.J. Hinchliffe originally opened in 1932 as one of the nation’s finest Negro Leagues ballparks and is now one of only two remaining in the country. Future baseball Hall of Famers Leroy “Satchel” Paige, Josh Gibson, James “Cool Papa” Bell and Paterson native Larry Doby all played at the stadium. The ballpark, only 35 minutes from Manhattan by car, is to feature a museum dedicated to the history of the Negro Leagues.

New York Boulders — Also part of the Frontier League, the (formerly Rockland) Boulders play in a beautiful ballpark in Pomona, N.Y., about 80 minutes by car north of Manhattan. In addition to a playground, there’s also a batting cage, a mini-golf course and mini-train ride. All have a clear view to the field so you don’t miss the on-field action. Plus, the players exit the field through the stands so stick around after the game for autographs and photos (see the photo at the top of this post).

Staten Island FerryHawks — New in 2022 is this independent Atlantic League team. They play in the recently renovated former home of the Single A Yankees affiliate. It’s a short walk from the Staten Island ferry. Children 3 years or younger are not required to have a ticket during game days. Kids can run the bases after Sunday home games.

Trenton Thunder — This former Yankees affiliate is now in the MLB Draft League, a summer collegiate league for top baseball prospects. Your child can join Boomer’s Kids Club, a paid membership deal that offers ticket and gear discounts and cool game-day/on-field opportunities. Look for promo days when kids eat free or can run the bases. The ballpark in Trenton is about 90 minutes from NYC, via car or N.J. Transit train.

Photos: Kevin McKeever

Disclosure: NYC Dads Group has been compensated by Peapod by Stop & Shop for this post. All opinions are genuine. Read all the way to the bottom for a special sweepstakes offer from Peapod and the New York Yankees.

Have you ever missed a great moment at a sporting event because you were in line waiting for food? This happened to me last month during a charity softball game at Yankee Stadium.

My kids were captivated by the game and asked me to get them some dinner from the concession stand. They were having such a great time that I couldn’t say no. I ended up waiting nearly an hour for food at the one open stand and missed a few innings of the game. I should’ve fed them at home before we left.

I vowed to be smarter in the future. Going forward, we would “pregame” our dinner at home.

Saving time and energy

We were fortunate to partner with Peapod by Stop & Shop because they have proved to be my pregame solution. I wanted a service that would allow us to enjoy our precious time as much as possible and since they delivered, we were excited to try it out.

The online buying process was swift and easy. Our kids chose some fun items along with the necessities we needed the most to fill our virtual cart. An impressive feature of Peapod is that we could suggest an item or even a completed dish and its Express Shop option would suggest everything needed to complete the order.

Basics like ketchup, napkins and plastic cups for barbecues are the grocery items we tend to forget, but not anymore. The buying process was extremely simple as was the delivery. They offer an option of getting real-time updates directly to your mobile phone via text and because it involved technology, I had to use that feature.

We selected a next-day delivery time that worked for our family. We received a few text messages with the progress of the delivery, keeping us updated until all of our groceries were fully delivered.

Pregaming saves money

We call my kids “beasts” because they have voracious appetites. When we go to the ballpark that constant eating creates a huge hole in my wallet. The worst part is that my children don’t believe in sharing. They all need their own trays of food or all hell breaks loose.

Anybody that goes to a major league sporting event knows that some of the food is awesome … and all of it is expensive. When you have a family of five, you can easily spend more than hundred dollars in food at the game.

That’s the real advantage of pregaming. Since we order our own food, our kids can pick different things without us having to break the bank. Instead of paying $12 for one hot dog, we can buy a pack of eight for $4 and feed the whole family. That same $100 you spend at the game can feed your family and a bunch of friends before the game.

By pregaming and using a service like Peapod by Stop & Shop you can you can instead use that money on that cool limited edition Yankee jersey you always wanted.

Being fully present

Pregaming allows you to fully enjoy the game without risking the chance of missing out on something like I did.

That day I wasted an hour standing on a line for food (that didn’t taste as good as our own, by the way) could have been used way more efficiently. We were there for a charity game so I wish we could have spoken with my kids more about paying it forward. Instead my son had to fill me on the game.

Even though he was excited about it, I really let my chance to drill down on doing good for others. I also missed out on supporting a few of my favorite celebrities as they swung the bat for a good cause.

I missed the chance to be fully present at the game and it still bothers me today. This won’t ever happen again, from here on out I will be pregaming with the family for almost any sporting event we decide to go to.

Peapod by Stop & Shop made pregaming easy with its great features, ease of use and saved us a ton of time allowing us to enjoy the full experience of a game with no distractions.

Now if only I could get my kids to pay the bill! Need that feature ASAP!

Peapod by Stop & Shop and the New York Yankees are a winning combination. Additionally, we have two ways for you to win too!

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October in New York is a beautiful, special month to me. I first arrived in this city in the month of October, the air crisp and the leaves brilliant. Fittingly, as the man who inspired my desire to come here as a boy was Reggie Jackson, baseball’s Mr. October himself.

Reggie Jackson’s name comes up often in New York City baseball circles. Even with no team in the World Series, Mr. October always makes New Yorkers feel included, if only on a peripheral basis. He puts Yankee pinstripes on our minds.

He could be arrogant and unrealistic. He had a pronounced swagger even when he wasn’t producing. He was hated as much as he was loved back in his 1970s heyday. Even today he’s a polarizing figure, with all the old arguments rising up again:

“Reggie Jackson was great!”

“No, he was a big jerk.”

“Yeah but you can’t deny how good he was.”

“Yeah, well you can’t deny he was an ass!”

Looking back with a grown-up’s eyes, Reggie Jackson’s faults are more in focus. I see similarities in how he was seen then with how Alex Rodriguez was perceived here in his New York Yankee years: arrogant, and a bit too full of himself. Kind of a jerk.

In my memory, Reggie could do no wrong. He was one of those athletes that awakened the imagination of a child. “Larger than life” is a phrase that is tossed around too easily these days, but it aptly describes Jackson. He was a mythical figure on par with Superman or Luke Skywalker. He seemed capable of anything. He was my hero. I saw none of his bad traits. That day he hit those three home runs in a 1977 World Series game? My breath catches just thinking about it.

He had a profound effect on my young life. Mr. October planted the seed in my head to move to New York City. when I was just a 7-year-old boy, a million miles away, growing up in a tiny seaside village. NYC may as well have been on another planet. But I knew even then I would live here someday.

Not long ago, my son and I played catch in Macombs Park, the place where old Yankee Stadium stood. We played baseball right on the spot where Reggie hit those home runs. And while that was a thrill for me, I realized my son was seeing it in an entirely different way.

It didn’t matter to him that he was playing baseball where Reggie Jackson once played. It mattered to him that he was playing baseball with me.

Describing the myriad of feelings that swirled around me in that moment is difficult. So many emotions welled up and flowed over. Love. Gratitude. Disbelief. And yes, worry.

Those swirling feelings were followed with a frightening thought: If Reggie Jackson’s image could morph and change for me, if he could go from Superman to schmoe, would that then also happen for my son with me? Right now, my son thinks I’m the greatest, but will he eventually find out that I’m just another schmuck?

And then I took another breath. Of course, he will. Nobody can maintain the image a small child has of you. It’s impossible. They have to grow up, they have to change.

All we can do as fathers, is our best for our children. Spend time with them. Share what we love with them. Let them share what they love with us. Despite our faults, despite our shortcomings, when it comes to helping our kids through childhood, we must swing for the fences.

Reggie Jackson’s era has come and and gone, as has Don Mattingly’s and now Derek Jeter’s. Over the course of my life, many things have changed, but my love of this great city remains strong, and I will share that love with my son.

So this month, Reggie’s month, is one of reflective joy. It’s OK if you don’t understand. It’s just a little thing I have. We all have our quirks, Reggie sure did, and this is one of mine. I’m here in part because of him. So I suppose it’s fair to say my son is here partly because of him, too.

It’s October once more. Autumn in New York is poignant and beautiful. And while for everyone else this month has 31 days, for me, October’s number is 44.

Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for the Staten Island Yankees. I received tickets for the game as well as food vouchers to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. Despite being compensated, all opinions are mine and honest.

My family has been on a mission the past few years to visit as many Major League and Minor League ballparks as we can.

Wherever we go on vacation, we check and see what the city has to offer in regards to ballparks. My oldest son collects miniature bats from all the stadiums and has quite the collection. And when we go to a game, we pretend to be the biggest fans of the home team and sing as loudly as we can during the 7^th inning stretch. (That is, of course, unless we happen to catch a game in which our beloved New York Mets are playing against the home team.)

For whatever reason, in our many stadium visits, we had overlooked one of NYC’s Minor League teams, the Staten Island Yankees. Maybe subconsciously we stayed away because we are Mets’ fans, but whatever the reason, we had never ventured to Staten Island for a game. We finally put a game on the calendar and since it was the Minor League Yankees, we put aside any Yankee ill-will and dove right into being a fan of the Staten Island Yankees.

And now attending a Staten Island Yankee game is on my list of favorite things to do in New York.

The ballpark sits just a three-minute walk from the Staten Island Ferry terminal and the view from the ballpark is fantastic. Beyond the outfield wall, you can see the boats and the ferries cruise along the water. Lady Liberty stands tall past the center field wall and in front of the Manhattan skyline. Tourists can accomplish three things at once there – a baseball game, seeing the Statue of Liberty, and getting a great shot of the Manhattan skyline.

Kids will have a great time at the game. A bouncy house and pitching game can be found beyond the left field. You need to buy tickets to bounce or throw a pitch (cash only), but at $2 for the bouncy house and $1 to play the pitching game, it doesn’t break the wallet.

But the main reason to go to the ballpark is to cheer on the Staten Island Yankees. There is something special about watching a Minor League baseball game. It takes one back to a more innocent time and there is always the watching the next big thing while he’s an 18-year-old rookie.

Like most ballparks, the food consists of favorites like hotdogs, pizza and sandwiches. The prices are pretty standard compared to most other minor league ballparks in the Metro New York area. I drove so I didn’t even bother checking out the beer selection. Sorry, I don’t have any info for you there.

Getting to the game is easy. You can either take the Staten Island Ferry, which lets you off right by the stadium or you drive. Driving is easy, but the costs rack up between the bridge tolls and parking, so unless you can’t budget the time for public transportation, take the free Staten Island Ferry. The Staten Island Ferry is the best bargain in New York City and is worth the trip itself.

It was an exciting day at the park for my family. Each one of us took home a ball that was either fouled off or handed to us by a Yankee player and the kids scored some autographs. After the game, my kids ran the bases. I couldn’t help but feel completely satisfied as a dad as I watched my kids round third base and head home with giant smiles on their face.

Would I recommend a Staten Island Yankees game? Look at the smile on this face and you’ll have your answer.

For more information about the Staten Island Yankees, see the information below.

• Staten Island Yankees website: http://atmilb.com/1x4QL1c
• Staten Island Yankees Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StatenIslandYankees
• Staten Island Yankees Twitter page: @SIYanks
• Staten Island Yankees Instagram account: @SIYankees

Here is an NYC Stay at Home Dad moment to share now that Baseball Season is here…

Back in November, my son and I were cruising the town as the weather was mild that day. As we were heading up 2nd avenue, I spot Jorge Posada crossing the street in the 70’s. We follow him across the street and I said “Hey, Jorge, will you pose for a picture with my son Jake?”

He looks at the stroller, “you mean you want me to hold him while you take the picture?” (the look on his face was no way man!)
I explained that “I would never wake a sleeping baby, even for a picture with you…but when he wakes up he will have this memory forever.”

He obliged (see attached picture of Jorge Posada & sleeping Jake in the stroller), but I am not sure he was that happy based on his facial expression in the picture. Jake & I wished him well for the upcoming season!