BlueClaws begin 25th season with new manager and familiar faces

LAKEWOOD - For a quarter of a century, the Shore's strong baseball culture has been further nurtured with the presence of a minor league baseball team. It's been 25 years since the Cape Fear Crocs (then an affiliate of the Montreal Expos) relocated to become the Lakewood BlueClaws as an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies . In 2026, the Jersey Shore BlueClaws will celebrate their silver anniversary with a new range of team alter egos with fresh uniform alongside the team's classic branding.

There will be plenty of commemorative celebrations and themed nights throughout the season. But while the BlueClaws are perennial winners at the gate producing a one-of-a-kind experience for local fans, they'll try to get back to winning ways on the field as they open the season on the road against the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Friday. That task falls on the shoulders of Mycal Jones, the team's new manager.

The 38-year-old will be the 17th manager in the history of the BlueClaws, indicative of the transient nature of the minor leagues and a testament to the strong work of predecessor Greg Brodzinski, who spent three years managing the BlueClaws and led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2018 in his first season. "I'm really excited, and I've talked to Greg quite a bit over the course of spring training," Jones said. "He kind of gave me the rundown of what to expect here at Jersey Shore.

He's a good friend of mine and he's done a great job here, and now it's on to me to kind of keep that tradition going and put a winning team on the field. " Jones will aim to replicate that first-year success as Jersey Shore is coming off a middling 62-65 season during which the team could never quite catch up to powerhouse division rivals Brooklyn, Hudson Valley and Greensboro, the top three teams in the entire South Atlantic League. While Jones is new to the role of manager and get his first taste with the BlueClaws, the team has remarkable continuity coming into the new campaign with 18 of the 30 players on the roster spending time in Lakewood last season.