Lakewood ‘BruceClaws’ will host 8th annual Bruce Springsteen Night

Seven years after their inaugural Bruce Springsteen Night, a minor league baseball team in New Jersey still can't get enough of The Boss.

The Lakewood BlueClaws will rename themselves the BruceClaws on Saturday to celebrate the team's annual Bruce Springsteen Appreciation Night.

Players and coaches will wear special jerseys that will be auctioned to benefit charities in the community in honor of the eighth annual Boss tribute. Other festivities include on-field promotions and raffles throughout the night. 

FirstEnergy Park will exclusively play Springsteen music, so expect there to be plenty of “Dancing in the Dark.” Springsteen has not performed at the event himself, but the Springsteen-tribute band Asbury Fever will perform a set of classics before the game. There may be a chance he could show up, as he surprised fans with a two-hour set at a local bar on the Jersey Shore over the weekend.

The BruceClaws tradition began in 2008 to honor Springsteen, who grew up in Asbury Park, N.J., roughly a 30-minute drive from Lakewood.  

“Everyone who lives around here knows someone who knows someone who knows Bruce,” former BlueClaws general manager Geoff Brown said in 2010. 

No word on whether the team will come out for an encore performance following the ninth inning, in typical Bruce fashion. 

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- Christopher Chavez