Aguada Explorers

The Aguada Explorers are an independent professional baseball team currently based in Aguada, Puerto Rico, competing in the American Empire Professional Baseball League (EPBL), which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Previously, they were located in Rome and Loch Sheldrake, New York. The team was originally known as the Road City Explorers and planned to join the East Coast Baseball League in 2015 under manager Spencer Trygg. However, before the season began, the team, along with other American-based clubs, withdrew from the league to form the North Country Baseball League. Eddie Gonzalez became the new manager, and Robert Babiak was appointed general manager. In 2016, the Explorers joined the EPBL and were initially set to play in Rome, New York, but ultimately settled in Sullivan County, where they played at Generals Park on the campus of Sullivan County Community College. During their inaugural season in the EPBL, the team finished third in the four-team league but won their last eight games to secure second place and qualify for the championship series against the Watertown Bucks. Despite being underdogs, the Explorers swept the series with victories of 8-6 and 8-7, capturing the 2016 Empire League championship. This marked Sullivan County's first professional baseball title since the Catskill Cougars in 1996, with Jevon Jackson named MVP of the series. In 2015, while part of the upstart league, the Explorers led with a 22-17 record and promoted eight players to higher leagues like the Atlantic League and American Association. Notably, 38-year-old rookie ...