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Miners to Host NJ vs. PA State Police Benefit Game

August 1, 2023

State Trooper Miguel Hidalgo has been signed by the Sussex County Miners baseball club.
Photo courtesy of Sussex County Miners, 7/2023.

The Sussex County Miners will make history August 3rd when they become the first-ever baseball team to sign an active-duty New Jersey State Trooper to a professional baseball contract.

Albeit, for just one game. And his salary and any bonuses will be donated to a good cause.

The event will be part of a double-header at Skylands Stadium in Augusta. The first game will be a Battle of the Badges Softball Game between New Jersey and Pennsylvania State Police, followed by a baseball game between the Miners and the New Jersey Jackals in which N.J. State Trooper Detective Miguel Hidalgo will play.

Hidalgo played baseball at Rutgers alongside Miners General Manager Vin Sangemino under legendary college baseball coach Fred Hill.

Based on his performance, there will be additional incentives for donations such as walks and stolen bases and will also include $50 for runs scored, $100 for singles, $200 for doubles, $300 for triples and $400 for home runs.

All proceeds from the Battle of the Badges game and Hidalgo’s salary and bonuses will go to 11-year-old Cash Klem and the families of Pennsylvania State Troopers Jacques F. Rougeau Jr. and Lt. James A. Wagner.

Klem, of Stillwater, New Jersey, suffers from cerebellar ataxia and is currently in need of a new semi-powered wheelchair.

Rougeau, 29, was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 17th of this year. Wagner was shot and critically injured on the same day as Rougeau but is currently in recovery and has been given a hero’s discharge.

The Battle of the Badges will begin at 4 p.m. followed by the Miners-Jackals game at 7:05 p.m.

The games will include honor guards, mascots, bagpipe bands, motorcycle units and a helicopter flyover.

“We’re proud and honored to support those who put their lives on the line for all of us, day in and day out,” said Sangemino. “Softball and baseball are team sports, just like community-building is a team sport. We all need to do our part to strengthen and support our communities.”

Tickets for this event are available for $20-$22 each and are valid for both the 4 p.m. softball game and the 7:05 p.m. Miners’ baseball game.

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer

Contributing Writer

Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.