2020 MSBL/MABL Updated League Startup Dates
By Steve LaMontia, Director of Communications
As leagues are faced with the ultimate delay to the start of their MSBL seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to post what measures leagues are taking to ensure their coordination with all of their players and share their comments on their start-up dates with our members across the country. League president updates will be added alphabetically as we receive them.
Antelope Valley, Bob Donaldson–As always, hope all are safe and healthy. Here is an update on the start of the Antelope Valley Men’s season. The City of Lancaster, CA is asking us to postpone the start of our season due to conditions of the virus situation. There has not been a new start date set as of yet. We do still plan to play our entire season. I will keep you updated with any new news as I receive it.
Antelope Valley, (Update 4/7)-As we all know, these are tough and uncertain times we are going through. Hope everyone is safe and healthy. At this time, I still plan on us to have a full season of baseball. Yes dates will be a bit skewed with us playing deep into the fall if things go well. Having had talks with the city, we might, I stress might, be able to start in the beginning of May. This is tentative as nothing is set in stone and circumstances change every day. Please keep your players informed and I will keep you managers up to date as I find out myself. As a side note, National is looking to talk to players about what they are doing baseball/life wise during these tough times. You can submit a player’s name/number and they will call to interview him. Again, stay healthy, be safe, we can work through this together. Feel free to text or email me with any questions or comments.
Arizona, Joe O’Brien-COVID-19 has forced all school districts to close. No Activities are allowed on any campus. City Parks are also shut down. The New CDC guidelines state not to allow a group of 10 or more, to limit the community spread of the Virus.
3-19-20 update: City Parks ( Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Phoenix)
are closed till April 10th. Salt River Facility has closed for now and our April 5th start date is now delayed until May. Our other Facilities do not begin till May and we have no word on them yet due to the ever-changing news. Once we get the all clear, we will evaluate field availability and move forward with a modified schedule asap. Our Goal is to play baseball, it may take some time, it may be different than years prior but we will play.
Arizona (Update 5/2)-Stay home order extended thru 5/15. www.covid19.healthdata.org select Arizona
www.azdhs.gov will give you county, city, and zip code breakdowns
COVID-19 has forced all school districts to close. No Activities are allowed on any campus for the rest of the summer.
The New CDC guidelines state not to allow a group of 10 or more, to limit the community spread of the Virus, Maintain social distance of 6 feet apart.
Arizona is on STAY AT HOME order!!!! thru May 15th
Mesa City parks have extended closure thru June 30th
Gilbert City parks currently do not have a timeline
Salt River Facility/Tempe has closed for now and awaiting MLB
Once we get the all clear, we will evaluate field availability and move forward with a modified schedule asap. Our Goal is to play baseball, it may take some time, it may be different than years prior but we will play.
Atlanta, Don Pike-First and foremost, I hope you and your families are doing well. This is a very challenging time for us, our families which includes our players. I`m going to give you an update on our season, but I want to you to do a few things for me first.
- Check in on your players. See how they and their families are doing.
- Reassure them we will be playing ball this summer.
- Remind them that we have to take this pandemic seriously. If we do what is recommended by our local, state and federal government, the faster we get back on the fields
- We have young players. Most are just starting out in life. Some just got out of college and started jobs. There is no doubt that some of these players will face temporary layoffs over the next few weeks. It`s important that we keep this in mind when we do get back to baseball and collecting fees. We as managers will need to work with these players on fees.
Season Update
All schools in Metro Atlanta have locked down campuses. No one is allowed on school property, unless authorized. High school baseball coaches are allowed on campus to mow fields once a week and that is it. Gwinnett, Cobb and DeKalb counties along with Atlanta City Schools will update me on their status around the first of the month. Peachtree Middle is shutdown until further notice.
I will re-evaluate our projected April 26th start date Easter weekend. If I need to push the start date back, you will know on the 13th. As most of you already know, I canceled the 2020 Billy Townsend Memorial Day Tournament. Its wasn`t something that I wanted to do, but it had to be done.
Again, please take care and follow the government’s recommendations on defeating COVID-19.
I`ve always put the league first and always will. Our players are the league.
(Update 3/29/2020)-All GA. school’s campus closed until April 27th . The earliest that we can get on fields is May 3rd. Do not hold practice on any field MSBL or non MSBL. Season start date to be re-evaluated on April 12th. Billy Townsend Memorial Tourney Canceled. Midweek league projected start date June 2nd.Do not hold practice on any field MSBL or non MSBL.Season start date to be re-evaluated on April 12th.
Atlanta MSBL/MABL (Update 4/14)-(Per Don Pike) I have spoken with several high school coaches and Athletic Directors over the past two weeks and none could project a date when campuses would reopen. All agreed to work with us once we get up and running, is most cases they are good with us playing deep in the fall if we decide to go that route.
As most of you know I try to get money to these high school programs as early as December, even if it comes it has to come out of my pocket. National will even help with that at times. Once payment is made, we have an agreement for the season. I have never had a program back out on me. I had fields shutdown on me, but they almost always made it up. I am sharing this to assure you we will have fields to play on. We still have a couple of fields to secure, but I can`t do that until we have additional funds. I am not pressuring you to get fees paid at this time, but once I get the ok from school, county and city parks, we will need to get funds in. I truly appreciate those teams who get their fees in early year in and year out.
I know your guys are dying to get out there, but we have to be patient and most of all take care of ourselves and our families. Here are some important notices:
All Georgia schools are closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. All school spring sports have been cancelled. School campuses remain closed until May. Georgia has extended State of emergency thru May 13th. The earliest that we can get on fields is May 15th. Do not hold practice on any field MSBL or non MSBL. Season start date to be re-evaluated on May 1st. Billy Townsend Memorial Tourney Cancelled. Midweek league projected start date June 2nd.
Stay safe.
Austin MSBL, Mike Lucas–I hope all of you and your families are doing well and are safe! The City of Austin has initiated a policy of no gatherings of more than 10 people which obviously won’t allow us to play baseball. I want everyone to know the following:
1. Our season is set to resume on May 1st. We WILL get the season in, it may go on into the fall if necessary but we will get it in.
2. In 2007 I rescheduled 384 rain-out games and we got the entire season in! That year we finished in September.
3. All games in March are canceled. I will continue to cancel games on a week to two-week basis. If this thing gets lifted sooner then I want everyone ready to go.
4. All fields are getting their normal maintenance and are being worked on so they will be in the very best shape that they have ever been in.
5. From a scheduling point, Memorial Day Weekend and 4th of July Weekend would be excellent times to play make-up games so start talking to your teams about that.
The most important thing is that everyone stays healthy and safe and we will be playing baseball very soon!
Bay Area (San Francisco), Jim Frenn-To all managers and team reps: Hello, I hope you and your family are healthy. Things are changing so fast. My last email to you about looking at the new season starting in mid-April became obsolete and old news within a few days.
On March 20th I got an email from the San Francisco Giants that said: Following the updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) restricting events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, the opening of the 2020 regular season will be pushed back in accordance of that guidance. MLB might not open until mid-June, if at all. We’re tracking everything, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Eight weeks would put our opening day at about May 31st. Schools are saying they won’t open for the rest of the school year. I doubt municipal fields will return until May or June either. We will play ball when the fields are available and MLB returns.
Hopefully we can get in a couple of weekend practices and be ready to go June 7th or 14th. That’s the new target, and if players are willing to play the regular season into September, we can get 12-15 games played this year. This schedule could mean fewer postseason games. But hell, when we pull this off, I’m sure everyone would be happy to play baseball for as many games as possible.
Understand that we have not given up on this season and neither should you. No further team fees need to be paid until we have more certainty about the return of BAMSBL baseball. Be healthy!
“I don’t play golf. When I hit a ball I want someone else to go chase it.”
–Roger Hornsby/ Cardinals infielder (1915-26)
Boston, Jeff Coveney-To our players, managers and friends:
Over the last few weeks, we have all seen drastic changes at work, at home, and at schools as COVID-19 has become more widespread. This unfortunately has impacted the sport we love – baseball. Even MLB has postponed its games.
For our league, we are seeing impact at the local level. The state of Massachusetts has put restrictions on gatherings over 25. Towns are holding onto field permits. As a precautionary measure, we also canceled our March draft for the 18+ division.
Looking ahead, we will do whatever we can to get through this and get on the baseball field as soon as possible. We’ll revisit in a few weeks, but we should be prepared that opening day could get pushed back into May. Our league will follow the guidelines for activities as set by the State of Massachusetts, the CDC, and WHO
In the meantime, we encourage you to stay safe and practice social distancing. Yet, there’s no better time than now to play a game of catch with your kid or parent in the backyard, or get that swing going by hitting off a tee. Wishing you and your families the best of health during this time.
Boston (Update 4/5)–To summarize, we are hopefully to be back on the field at some point this season but baseball is taking a backseat at the moment
1) The health of our players is #1. We will not start the season until the state of Massachusetts says it’s safe to go back outside. Add four weeks to that date to account for updated permit requests and schedule making.
2) Possible Schedule. Numerous managers talked about the health of the players, what happens if we can’t play, should we play fall ball, etc. All valid comments. These are all things we will need to look at as we move forward
Right now, we are moving towards this below plan but these dates are in doubt.
With a current stay-at-home date of May 4th, the earliest we anticipate playing is the weekend of June 5/6th. However, that May 4th date is likely to change, thus pushing out any start date four additional weeks.
3) $75 for Heal for Meals. As a league, we will be supporting a cause called Heal with a Meal to support feeding our medical hereos with food from local restaurants. With all the financial situation, $75 will be added to your invoice so we can support this cause.
A separate email will be sent about getting players involved via video.
This is optional. If your team doesn’t want to participate or participate at a lower level, let us know right away. We will be making our first donation today.
This is our league’s trackable link. Any additional donations go back to the league: https://www.gofundme.com/m8rpe-helping-our-heroes…
4) Fall ball. We anticipate the season going longer this year into the fall to account for loss of spring games.
5) Fees Extended to May 4th. Times are tough for many financially at the moment. There is uncertainty around the season. We are extending the payment date for league fees until we know what the season might look like.This date is also likely to change as it’s aligned with the Mass back-to-work date.
6) Everything is Subject to Change. With everything above being said, life today is very different than a month ago and it will be different a month from now. Everything is subject to change. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated.
Stay safe and stay positive.
Link to Manager’s Meeting Video on Facebook
P.S. On a personal note, many of you have reached out about my dad’s COVID situation. He is one of our league’s biggest supporters attending almost every game I played in/managed up until this past year. Unfortunately, his health has deteriorated over the last 24 hours and the outlook does not look positive. Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts.
Brandywine Valley (PA), Nolan Potter-We are scheduled to start our season with 4 (25+) teams on May 2nd. However, we will adjust our schedule accordingly per the guidance of State and Local Government. We are following the General guidance for Pennsylvanians, which includes staying home as much as possible and to not host or attend gatherings. Schools are closed through at least April 6.
Brandywine Valley (Update 4/25)-We are postponing the start of our season until further notice based on the guidance of State and Local Government.
We are following the General guidance for Pennsylvanians, which includes staying home as much as possible and to not host or attend gatherings. All 67 Pennsylvania counties are now under a Stay at Home order until May 8. All individuals in counties subject to this policy must STAY AT HOME except for certain essential activities and work to provide life-sustaining business and government services.
When the STAY AT HOME order is lifted, we will need a period of 2-4 weeks for schedule making, field permit requests, and fees collection, as well as to adjust to a return to normalcy.
Bux-Mont, Nick Chichilitti-Not much to say except we are looking forward to playing baseball when the local governments allow us to. Its outta our hands right now. In light of the Coronavirus situation, it does NOT seem feasible to start on April 5th. The 12th is Easter so the logical thing to do is push it back at least two weeks. We will make the games up during the season. Make no mistake about it, we WILL start at some point. I will re-visit the situation in two weeks. Its not the end of the world if we are forced to start on either April 26th or May 3rd as well. We can easily make the games up at the end of the season for the 45s and as DHs for the 28s and remain on track. We WILL get through this together and we’ll all be jonesing to play baseball whenever that may be, I’m sure!!! In the meantime, stay safe!!!
Bux-Mont (Update 4/24)-The Bux-Mont League is tentatively hoping to start on May 31st. We understand it may be a give or take situation a few weeks depending on how the circumstances change on a daily basis. I’m hearing nothing but positive comments from players, GM’s, & Managers alike. The start of the season depends on when the CDC/State lifts the Recreational gathering of 50+ people & of course, field availability. Crossing our finger’s its sooner than later, but we are planning on having a full season if possible. So, cross your fingers and continue to do the right thing and we’ll be back on the field before we all know it!
Capital District (NY), John Reel-The CDMSBL Board Directors conducted an emergency meeting about the upcoming season on Friday March 20th. The plan was to start the season the week of April 26th with the balance of team fees due April 1st. The progression of closures and regulations as had effects on these plans. We also depend on resources outside our control. It has become evident that our initial plans must change.
Further its evident, many of our players will lose income and be unable to pay their portion of team fees on time. Therefore, we are doing two things:
First, we are extending the due date of the balance of your Team fee to May 1. Second, we are delaying the start of the season to May 15th.
The League is committed to providing for a full season and I have asked each Commissioner to plan accordingly. Should the season be curtailed by this new plan or circumstances prevent its full execution,
refunds will be available and will be paid to you as GM’s . These refunds will be prorated by that portion “not played” less the fixed cost already encumbered. (such as insurance, MSBL dues and various expenses already incurred). The board will review these new plans and any subsequent plans. If refunds are in order, they will make the decisions on that. Please note team fees pay for the playoffs not just the regular season.
Our actions here are in hopes of preserving our CDMSBL 2020 season. We know our league provides a lot in our summer lives; camaraderie, healthy exercise, and competition. Amid this crisis, we want to give you hope and something to look forward to . In meantime, it is my prayer that everyone stay healthy. Remember we are a strong solid organization.
“we ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
Central Florida, Aaron Eberhardt-We currently are on hold to continue our season until the first week May. At this time we are currently on a day by day monitoring.
Central North Carolina-Rob Isbell-As for the CNCMSBL, I am revising the schedules and planning for a June 1st start of the season. That’ll leave us with a 3 -month season as we typically end on Labor Day and begin our playoffs following the holiday weekend. That tends to keep the players tuned up for those of us who play in the Arizona and Florida post season tournaments. We try to keep the league updated with information on our league website: CNCMSBL.COM.
Central Ohio, Charles McCroskey-2020 is a milestone season! Season 25. Think about that for just a moment-25 seasons-The Central Ohio MABL started in 1996 and is older than a lot of the players who play on its teams. I am committed and confident in getting back on the field in 2020. I hope that you and your family, along with all players/families of the Central Ohio MABL, are safe and stay safe. Before we know it, we will be back on the ball field playing the game we all love. With the current COVID-19 situation changing on a daily / hourly basis, this email is only meant to be informational, a working plan.
President Trump continued the CDC guidelines until the end of April. Governor DeWine amended an earlier order that he issued that will close schools through at least May 1st. Gov. DeWine stated he would reevaluate as the date gets closer (I believe he will reevaluate on or around April 22nd (just a guess as I have no inside info).
Based on the current stay at home order, the social distance guidelines and that schools (fields) are closed until at least May 1, an Opening Day of May 3rd is not realistic. As of this email, I believe an opening day of May 31 is a more likely date for the Central Ohio MABL. This date would allow the league to host the workout/draft for new players (target dates of May 9, 10, 16, or 17) (May 10 is Mother’s Day). The delay would allow teams of the Central Ohio MABL to get a practice or two and possibly schedule a scrimmage game or two prior to the 202025th Season beginning on May 31. (depends on the next two to three weeks, whether or not the curve has been FLATTENED)
The original schedule was based on 14 teams (National-7 / American-7). Play your division twice, other division once and two President Cup Games. With a delayed start, the complete season can be completed by playing division twice, other division once and some combination of President Cup games or playing two teams from other division twice- This is taking into account no rain once the season is started and playing seven single weeks and seven DH (although not first choice). Playoffs could begin Sept 6/7. The season could be extended into Sept/Oct provided fields could be secured (weather has actually been better recently in the fall).
Chesapeake, Jason Tores-The Chesapeake MSBL has decided to adhere to the CDC’s recommendation of avoiding gatherings of 50 or more people for at least 8 weeks. If not extended, this period will end on May 11th.
We feel that it is important to offer each of our teams their full 20+ game regular season, which we could do with an opening day as late as July 5th and ending date as late as September 20th. If opening day is delayed beyond May 12th, our plan is to incrementally reduce the scope of our playoff format, which historically runs about 3 weeks with fewer and fewer teams alive after each round, rather than to shorten the regular season.
Chicago Central, Matt Scott-The board has been researching and discussing the latest events concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
The best-sourced evidence indicates that the outbreak should peak in the US around March 28th, after which the number of new cases will begin to decline, and life will slowly begin to return to normal. In the meantime, governments are putting out recommendations like the recent white house guidelines of restricting gatherings of more than 10 people. Businesses like bars and batting cages and park districts are closing up for weeks, making it hard to hold practices or gather player fees.
With this in mind, the board has decided that the best course of action is to delay the start to the 2020 season. Here is our plan: The season would start and end approximately three weeks later than originally planned. The spring managers meeting would be held the weekend of April 25/26.
The 43+ and 60+ leagues would start play no earlier than May 9th. Not all teams would start on the 9th, as that is Mother’s Day weekend, and a tough one to find field times on under normal circumstances. Some 60+ teams would start with crossover games on May 11.
The 30+ and 53+ leagues would start play just before or after Memorial Day weekend. Depending on field availability, we would be looking at games no earlier than about May 20th. Some teams that volunteered to would play on Memorial Day Weekend.
The 43+ and 60+ playoffs would begin September 12th. The 30+ and 53+ playoffs would begin October 3rd.
These changes should give us some room to get through the next few weeks of inactivity, while still enabling us to fit in a full, normal 20 game season.
These changes are tentative, and based on some assumptions, most notably the duration of the peak phase of the virus. Also, a number of our field contacts have ‘gone dark’ and stopped replying to emails about reservations, so the schedule may have to come out in pieces, as school and park district employees start returning to work and answering their messages.
Your patience and understanding is appreciated during this strange and unprecedented time. We will be in touch as events warrant.
Chicago LaGrange, Chuck Mally-I hope and trust that all are well. Here’s my proposal to the league. In my 79 years I have not seen anything like this.
First, I have ordered and received the baseballs and score books for our season. I hope there will be a point where we can go forward. If we miss the month of May, we can still try for a fourteen-game season plus playoffs. Each team plays the other seven twice. Of course, the money required will be less but I will need some of it immediately before startup. From $500 to $1,000 from each team at the start.
Scenerio: If the first two games are on Wednesday, June 3, I would like the first payments before June 1st. If anyone has any comments, let me hear from you. Please take care of yourselves!
Chicago North, Max Reising-Yes, these are trying times. I do believe we will get through this but there will be numerous hurdles for all of us. I have sent out some correspondence first to our managers and officers then to our player membership. I am currently working on our schedules with guarded optimism. I will put a synopsis email together with the messages that we’ve sent to our membership for you to add to your postings and distributions this week. Keep up the good work and stay well.
Cleveland, Tony Martin-An email went out to the managers stating that it is very likely the start of the season will be pushed back. No definite date yet, but I have a plan in place depending on when we start. We can still get all 16 games in if we start by May 17. Anything after that would result in a shortened season. But for this very minute, our opening day is still April 26.
Cleveland MSBL, (Update 4/13)-I hope everyone is doing the best they can during this crisis. We are still in a holding pattern. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, as high schools have made tentative schedules just in case the stay at home order is lifted May 1st. I won’t have much information before that, because until schools go back, I can’t even contact a lot of the field representatives because they will need to accommodate the schools first. Normally Sundays are not affected, but who knows this year as they may need to get in as many games as they can. Plus, some of the fields don’t want us playing until school games are completed anyway. So, it’s all still up in the air.
I will still say May 17 will still be the earliest we would play, but it’s looking more and more like June 7 may be a more accurate estimate. I am working closely with other leagues in the area since nobody really knows what to do at this point.
Once we figure out when we can start playing, I will make a schedule and figure out if we will shorten the season or extend into September. Or see what each team wants to do and let teams that want to play longer be in their own division. All things to be discussed once we know what we can do. Again, I am not going to worry about any team fees until we start playing, so let your players know they will have plenty of time to get their finances together.
For now, just stay safe and take care of your families. Baseball will be here at some point this summer.
Colorado Springs (Southern Colorado), Bud Maison-As you all may know, the Coronavirus precautions continue to be discussed and implemented. On Thursday, Colorado State suspended all spring sports until 6 April and many schools have closed until 30 Mar.
Yesterday I was notified that Colorado Springs Park and Recreation has closed all of its facilities until 6 April. Currently, this effects our preseason and opening day. ALL preseason games or scrimmages are cancelled. Managers are encouraged to use alternate facilities to host practices in smaller groups such as batting cages. Please do not use HS or Park and Rec fields as they are closed!
To adjust, our first week of play we will attempt to reschedule. Since Mother’s Day is on a Sunday, I would like to know which teams would like to compete on 11 Apr(Sat).. Otherwise, first week of play is now 18/19 April.
I appreciate your support! Please let me know if your team is interested in playing on 11 April. Please continue to collect player fees and make your team payment by the first week of play.
Columbus, Rick Fryman-It seems like we are in the same boat as all other leagues, in a holding pattern and just waiting. We use local HS fields and one city field for all our games. Schools are closed until April 6th (at least). City parks are closed. Basically we are waiting for the Governor and the Ohio High School Athletic Association to make more announcements before we can have discussions concerning fields with the respective coaches and AD’s. I am confident we will play baseball this season but most likely will be delayed.
(updated 3/30/2020)- This is more like looking into a crystal ball, but probably more on point than not. First, there is nothing definite yet.
Secondly, I think the dates below are a good possibility (but not 100%)
IF schools do go back into session, which I think may be May 4th at the earliest from what I can figure from President Trump’s statement yesterday on social distancing until April 30th, then I believe the following dates would be close to being accurate.
- May 17th – Draft/Tryout
- June 14th – Opening Day. This is open for discussion of course, but I feel that once people are allowed to get back to a normal, or close to normal, life, it will take some time to get everyone on the same page and organized. If we went this route, I would think a 16-18 game schedule is very possible, depending on fields of course.
IF schools are cancelled for remainder of school year, my fear is schools allowing us to use their fields. Since coaches and AD’s need the money I’m sure coaches would allow the usage, but School Boards can be a pain in the ass. So, we will see. I’m hoping we don’t have to go this route. If we have to go this route, I would think our season would start later than June 14th. IF we faced a start around July 1st I project we could do a 15 game season, depending on field availability. That would give us eight Sundays (no July 5th) and 11 Wednesdays, including two Wednesdays in September, to fit 15 games in for each team.
So basically, nothing is final or even close to being decided. Keep collecting money as we will adjust team fees if we have a shortened season. Please keep in contact with your players to keep them interested. I am confident somehow and someday we will play baseball this year.
Columbus, (Update 4/21)- The Governor just cancelled school for the remainder of the year. I plan on giving the coaches a few days to “cool off” then contact them concerning field availability for the remainder of the summer. My biggest fear is the Administrations closing all school facilities until August (the new school year). Hope I’m wrong. Most fields need our money to pay for turf, indoor cages just built, etc. The bills aren’t going away and our money will be useful.
Columbus, (Update 5/4)-Everything is based on lots of “what ifs” but we still need to be planning. As of now, Berliner is closed thru May 29th and HS fields are closed thru June 30th.
IF Berliner opens up in June, we will hold the new player Draft/Workout on Wednesday, June 17th beginning at 7:00pm on Berliner #16. If this goes as planned and HS fields open up, we will begin the 2020 Season on Wednesday, July 8th (15-16 game schedule with double elimination playoffs).
IF Berliner does not open until July 1st, we will hold the new player Draft/Workout on Wednesday, July 8th beginning at 7:00pm on Berliner #16. If this goes as planned and HS fields open up, we will begin the 2020 Season on Wednesday, July 22nd (15-16 game schedule with single elimination playoffs or 12-14 game schedule with double elimination playoffs…up for discussion at a later date).
IF we can’t start the season until August, we will have a 12-game season (most likely) with single elimination playoffs.
I believe the CMBL needs to have a season and I’m confident that we will be playing baseball this summer. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to share.
Rick Fryman
Columbus MABL, Charles McCroskey-Our plan is to begin on May 3rd, 2020 (as of this email). I expect that to be delayed, but actually am hopeful more clarification will come down in the next week or so. I will provide update as soon as I know more.
Connecticut, Greg Schienda- At this point we are wait and see. Our 35+ division is scheduled to start April 26. The 25+ division has added a new team and the schedule is being revised. They are supposed to start April 19. I suggested they start April 26.
The schools in the state are shut down until at least April 20 so it is highly unlikely that we will start on the 19th. My plan is to see where we are at in two weeks and adjust as appropriate.
DCMSBL, Larry Lombardi-The DCMSBL administration is continually monitoring the constantly-changing Covid-19 situation.
FYI…the only update in field status since the 3/15/20 updated notice was the Montgomery County, MD (MNCPPC) Regional Parks. They have closed all of their fields through April 30. The Fairfax County Park Authority haven’t changed their position for when their park fields are to be open.
If we are still under restrictions due to COVID-19 and we can’t start our 18+ games on Sunday, April 5th, we will reschedule those games to Sunday, July, 26th. Safety is our first concern for all our players. We will get to play baseball this season and if it means we have to delay for a few more weeks, it’s not a big deal in the overall big picture.
For any 18+ teams unable to field a valid line-up for Sunday, April 5th, those games will also be rescheduled for Sunday, July 26th even if park fields are going to be open on Sunday, April 5th.
Please be safe, stay healthy and heed the advice from the national, state and local authorities regarding COVID-19. You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus to others.
Do:
1) Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub
2) Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze
3) Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell
4) Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell
Don’t:
Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean
Again, there is no reason for you to put yourself at risk. Please keep in mind, healthy, asymptomatic players may still spread the virus to those in their lives with weaker or compromised immune systems.
In the meantime, we will stay in-touch with your team managers with any updates and we please ask that you direct questions to them.
Delco (PA), Don Pizzo-Guys, I hope everyone is doing ok and staying safe during this corona virus outbreak. I know I’ve spoken to most of you over the last couple weeks but obviously the start of the season has been postponed. The situation is still so uncertain right now that we are just going to take it week by week. I’m positive we will be playing baseball this year. If you have any questions please call me or Chris. Thanks and be safe!
Detroit, Mike Juliano-We live in an unprecedented time for sure. I’m sure our state of Michigan is headed for a lockdown and will follow suit.
I am fully confident we will have a full season, as we start later that a lot of leagues. Our 18+ division doesn’t begin until May 12th and the other divisions start the week after that so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. If we don’t start until later, fine. We could scrap playoffs or shorten the season but the bottom line is that we’ll just have to see how it goes and adjust.
The younger divisions have the tightest timeline because they have to get back to school in late August but our other divisions can stretch it out well into September. Most everyone is on the same page. We have had to cancel our league meeting but hope to have it take place soon so that we can discuss our options.
Our league has actually grown this year to 49 teams and we have guaranteed them a 24 game schedule and we’ll get it done somehow.
Fairbanks (AK), Christoph Falke-Meetings and any momentum of jumping into the season are on hold. However email and text correspondence are working with keeping in touch with others in the league.
We are all going forward that we will have a season, just not advertising or setting any start date. Snow looks like it is going to stick around for awhile but hopefully by end of April the snow will be gone and we will have a better understanding as far as social distancing guidelines.
Will keep you in the loop as things develop.
Fresno, David Geiger- To all Fresno Men’s Baseball League managers and players, first of all, I hope everyone is doing well and your families are safe and healthy. I know like myself everyone is missing ball and wondering when our season will start. So, the honest answer is we really don’t have a concrete date as of yet. We will be ready to take advantage whenever we get the ok from the school districts and umpires we work with. No refunds will be issued as of right now. Please be patient as we diligently work to get our season going.
Keep yourselves and families safe during this pandemic. Before we know it, we will be back on the ball field playing the game we all love.
Greater Atlanta, Dick Walleshauser-We haven’t done anything besides change opening day so far. We are hoping to kickoff April 19th.
Greater Philadelphia-Brett Mandel–PANDEMIC PANIC POSTPONES THE GPMABL SEASON OPENER-With the world and the Greater Philadelphia region coping with the Coronavirus pandemic, the GPMABL will postpone the 2020 season opener until fields are cleared for play and social/sporting gatherings are safe for GPMABL players. Be safe, be smart, and be sane.
Houston, Joe Banasik-We have four divisions generally playing three different schedules due to the venues that they use, and the days of the week that they play. Some will start back sooner than others.
I hope you and your family are healthy and safe! Just to bring you up to date the city has implemented a stay at home order for Harris County as you know, and has also cancelled all permits and reservations through April 30. So this means they have cancelled our reservations through 4/30, and they have left 5/1 and beyond that date as-is. We have been issued a credit for the March and April permits that they cancelled, and we will be using that credit to add to the existing permit that now starts on 5/1 and ends in mid June.
30+ and 40+ update: The Spring Season for the 30+ and 40+ Divisions (that play weeknight only) has been pushed back to a 5/1 start, and it will continue through mid-July, weather permitting. The Sunday Open Division and 55+ Division are both scheduled to restart on Sun 4/19, assuming those venues open as they planned to do.
55+ update: I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy. Just to give you an update, Northland Christian and Katy ISD Facilities remain closed until after Easter at this point. Both schools plan to reopen 4/13 so we look to resume your division on 4/19 which is the first Sunday after Easter. I have been in communications with Coach J of Morton Ranch HS, and Mrs. Lemm the Asst. AD at Northland Christian. All of these postponed games will be rescheduled at a later date just as if they were rainouts.
If in the event any of your players have changed their mind and ask for a refund, please note they will not be issued by the league. We have already spent the league fees collected on upfront expenses such as baseballs, permits, etc. that have to be paid for in advance of a season actually starting. We will, however, play a complete season without missing any games. It has just been delayed.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Otherwise be safe, protect your family, your job, or business, and be ready to hit the field when this is all over.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and look for the schedule to be adjusted soon.
Houston (Update 4/2)- For safety for all concerning the COVID-19 virus and due to the newly issued ‘Stay at Home’ order by Harris County through 4/30, All Divisions have been postponed through 4/30. The new dates for the Spring Season for All Divisions will be May-July. The season will be played in its entirety in all divisions, just with a delayed start. Please be safe and stay healthy.
Houston, (Update 4/27)-Just to update you on the league, Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke yesterday (4/27) with the expected update to “Open Texas”. Unfortunately, outdoor sports can only consist of four participants or less at this time. Obviously, we cannot play baseball under these guidelines, so our season start date has been pushed back again. The new dates are said to be 5/18 at the earliest as of the date of this email. Any scheduled games prior will be rescheduled after 5/18. Again, all games and seasons will be played in its entirety with a delayed start.
Hudson Valley, Rick Stockfield– After much reflection, we as a league have decided to postpone our season’s start until Monday May 4th. We originally were going to wait until some of the towns and municipalities got back to us, but the reality is, we are all in this together and even if some fields open, we not only know some may not, but that we’re not going to be out of this until at least until May and likely longer.
Your and your family’s safety are paramount. Some people are treating this thing like the plague, while others are treating this as a common cold. We’re somewhere in between. But let’s face it, we all must do our parts. Stay at home. Spend time with your families. We’ll all get through this. It’s not a matter if, but when. Stay at home. The more time we spend at home now, the quicker we can get through this time while also protecting ourselves and our loved ones.
If you do elect to get out with your teams, which I’m encouraging you not to, you will be doing so as an individual group and not representatives of the HVMSBL. I ask you NOT to step foot on any field the MSBL uses. Most are closed anyway.
All this said, best case now is a Monday May 4th start date. I will be adjusting our schedule to reflect that new start; had built in 3 weeks’ worth of dates the end of August, so rescheduling shouldn’t be difficult right now. I ask that you still pay your league dues to your managers, however. Once we do start, we’ll have to pay for fields, umpires and baseballs have already been paid for. Should we have to postpone further, we would start cutting weeks off the schedule and/or possibly move games into September. If we do have to cut weeks off the season, we will provide rebates/partial refunds to teams accordingly.
I feel confident we will be playing some part of our season, but only if we adhere to what medical professionals are telling us; stay at home.
Be well.
Indiana, John DeCosta-We are monitoring developments in the national health emergency and the possible impact on our organization. As you know, the league is dependent on schools and other public locations for our fields, and all locations have closed campuses and suspended spring sports, including baseball programs. I have been in contact with our primary facilities and can report that we do not anticipate any disruption in our 2020 schedule at this point in time.
All locations are currently shut down until April 14. The reports I’m getting is that the schools will continue their baseball programs at that time.
We will maintain the April 19 date for 35+ and 45+ tryouts and the April 26th opening day for the 18+ and 25+. This is subject to change dependent on decisions by administrators at the various locations. You’ll be notified of any changes immediately. There are contingency plans and we can adapt as necessary. We anticipate that the 35+ and 45+ will start their seasons on schedule in the first week of June.
Throughout this time, it is important to take precautions. As teams get together for pre-season practices, please be careful. Do not take any risks with your health or the health of anyone else. If you are suffering symptoms or have been in contact with anyone who is symptomatic, STAY HOME. Getting through this difficult period is about teamwork, not only as a local organization, but as a nation as well. Be mindful that we need to defend others as well as ourselves. At the same time that you protect yourselves, protect those around you.
To further update our status, Indiana schools are currently closed until May 1. Consequently we have no access to fields. A decision was made to start the 18+ and 25+ on Sunday, May 31. They’ll play a full schedule with more doubleheaders to make up for not starting in April. This is not unlike what we’ve had to do in recent years because of the increased amount of rainouts we’ve had.
35+ and 45+ are still schedule to start the first week of June with no disruption to the schedule at this point.
Indiana, (Update 4/29)-The IBL Executive Board met by video conferencing this past Sunday to determine safety precautions for the 2020 season. Most of these topics were discussed.
Additionally, we determined that we need to quarantine any player who tests positive for a minimum of two weeks, with the provision that an entire team may be quarantined depending on the circumstance. Failure to notify the league of a positive test will result in severe disciplinary action.
We also have a situation with some of the school districts closing facilities. At this point we have enough fields, but we may be limited. Consequently, we are requesting three games a day from our existing facilities. We also have numerous contingency schedules in place all depending on different start dates.
Indiana will announce on May 1 whether or not guidelines will be extended. As the number of new infections continues to rise on a daily basis, I don’t anticipate that the restrictions will be lifted at that time.
We will make an announcement to our membership about our planned procedures for the 2020 season. We will give teams and players the ability to opt out of the season if they are uncomfortable with our new provisions.
Our overriding concern is for the safety of our members.
Inland Northwest (WA), Bret Fink-Hello teams and Managers and prospective new players. We will be on hold until this pandemic is resolved we are planning for all scenarios of starting late to starting normal when things get better. For now I wanted to let everyone know what is going on and to take care of your families first and for most in this time.
If we should have to move the season back and run into Fall season we may cancel Fall season all together and just do our normal season, if we should get running at normal times then we will inform you.
Keep your arms loose by playing catch with your wife or kids. Get a tee and take practice swings the season will hopefully start on time or shortly after. Try-outs are still set for April 19th but we wont know anything for sure until they lift the ban on field use and facilities we may have to push it back also so keep checking back for more information here.
I talked to Steve Sigler President of MSBL/MABL National today and around the country all leagues are pushing their start dates back also so its not just here they are all saying they will get the season in and go down to Arizona for the Worlds Series in October with 363 teams showing interest this year in playing down there this year.
Managers if you have any questions or concerns dont hesitate to give me a call. We are still having our Online meeting Sunday 29th @ 2pm I sent out invites to all managers if you did not receive one please call me.
Jacksonville MABL, Joe Hellett-The current situation with the Jacksonville MABL is that we are in a holding pattern until the state opens up the Parks and Recreation in our county. We are still hopeful that we will be able to complete an entire regular season with a start date close to the original date of April 22nd. A more realistic date is May 3rd but with so much uncertainty there is no way to know. That said, it will be GAME ON once this virus passes and we have eleven teams extremely anxious to get back on the field!
Jersey Shore Mid-week, Gregg Balin-the Jersey Shore Mid Week League assumes play will start May 6, pending conditions at that time. We intend to play our usual 14 game season and will extend our playing dates to complete all games and playoffs into the Fall.
Kansas City, Tom Prendergast-We have received a couple of very positive signs from Johnson County Park and Rec. They sent out an email announcing that as of Monday, March 30th, all of our golf courses would reopen to the public.
I also received word from our sports league coordinator that we would be re-starting both our youth and adult outdoor leagues on May 10th. So, if this date holds, and it’s up to Johnson County Government and the CDC, we should be able to start our league games on Monday, May 18th.
Kansas City (Update 5/4)-On Friday May 1st, Johnson County Government unveiled their plan to allow area businesses to re-open. The time frame (which is laid out in 4 phases) specifies when a business can expect to start up again.
Phase 1 begins today, May 4th, and each phase is expected to last 14 days. Sports leagues can open for business starting in Phase 3, which should be around June 1st. Needless to say, this is a best-case scenario. I wasn’t involved in the JO CO Covid-19 committee meetings but my boss told me that they were very contentious and a couple of the participants almost came to blows! So much so that they asked for some sheriff’s deputies to be on hand during these meetings.
This is a very emotional and highly charged issue. Having said that I have amended our schedule to start on Monday June 1st.
Lehigh Valley, Turk Starniri-As we anticipated the start of our 32nd MSBL season we were aware of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its effect on all aspects of our lives. Consequently, after much discussion with managers and coaches, the Division Directors and I decided that for the safety of players, family and friends the first two weeks of the season will be postponed until May 3rd. If weeks three and four are postponed we will possibly extend the season into Labor Day and begin our playoffs the following week.
It is our goal to play the entire schedule including the postponed games and I have faith in all the teams to accomplish this.
The Lehigh Valley MSBL, one of the oldest MSBL leagues in the nation, will face this pandemic and rise above it. All teams in this league will reflect the American spirit and the league will be energized, enthusiastic and strong and will eventually take to the playing fields to begin 2020.
To the medical professionals and physicians who play in the league, and whose opinions I value, I thank you for your input and advice. I will have updates periodically and I will post them on our league website at www.lehighvalleymsbl.org
Long Island MSBL/MABL, Steve Sigler-These are high anxiety times for all of us. Five years ago, we had seven out of our first eight weekends rained out. We all thought how despairing that was, but, we got through the season with everyone having played a minimum of 14 games plus the playoffs. For this, we simply extended the season.
We are fully prepared for any delayed start dates and we are dedicated to have our 2020 season, even if it is somewhat shortened. We will update everyone on a week to week basis.
Long Island Midweek, Tim Hott-As you know COVID-19 has caused a huge change in how all of us currently behave and live. In our previous 30 years the only time we could not finish a season was after hurricane Sandy in October, 2012 and we will make every effort to start and finish the current one. But, for now, to avoid being part of the problem, we join with the current government recommended procedures and are delaying the start of the 2020 Summer season to Monday, May 4. We understand and concur with similar action taken by MSBL’s weekend league which deferred its start to Sunday, May 3.
If you are also part of the LS Wounded Warriors tournament you will receive a separate email addressing that cancellation and rescheduling.
In the interim please do your best to be part of the cure not the problem by complying with all recommended health and safety procedures. We wish you and your families all the best in health and happiness and look forward to the next time we can say “Play Ball”!
Long Island Midweek (Update 4/12)- First of all, we wish you and your families a Happy Easter and a Happy Passover. Next, we hope you are all staying safe and sane while staying home. More importantly, to all of you who are in that group of people whose jobs put them in harm’s way, thank you, thank you, thank you for your courage and for your great efforts.
Reality dictates that the start of the season now must be pushed back to late May. As we all know, circumstances change daily. As we get more information, we will keep you posted. In the meantime, here’s hoping we will see you on the fields sooner than later.
Mid-Iowa, John Linden-Currently there are no groups of 10 or more that can get together. We are kind of on hold waiting for field availability. Time is on our side, however, as we did not plan to start until mid to late May for 18+ and 30+ and June for 42+/48+.
Milwaukee/Rock, Jim Rinelli-We had a division president conference call meeting last night to discuss start dates and scheduling. We are following national and state protocol and have postponed the season until May 1. This will postpone the first two weeks of our season. We are having weekly division presidents calls every Tuesday night to review what is happening on the state and federal level with the COVID-19 outbreak and I relay the updates to our managers via weekly memos.
We have modeled several scheduling scenarios and we are able to get a full season in even if we were pushed back to late May as we have built in rain dates already scheduled and have the ability to push the season back a week or two if needed. We will continue to monitor and make scheduling changes as needed as we all know this is a very fluid situation and things can change day to day.
Milwaukee MSBL / Rock League Baseball has 49 teams in six age divisions and we are lucky enough to have our own facility with 4 fields and a minor league stadium. 5 of the 6 divisions plays their entire season right here on campus. We are all looking forward to getting back on the field as soon as it is deemed safe by the state of Wisconsin as well as other credible organizations.
I will give updates as needed, right now I’m going outside to play catch with my son and daughters. Hopefully you all can do the same!
Stay healthy and well.
MUNY-Buffalo, Ralph Proulx-A quick update on the 2020 season, with the way things are changing daily, nothing has been decided at the moment. We will be in a holding pattern like most of the world. I am not looking at canceling the season at this point. We may have to delay the start depending on what transpires over the next several weeks.
My biggest concern is field availability which is 100% out of our control. I have been in contact with local parks departments regarding fields and each have told me that the decision on the fields won’t happen for several weeks.
I will keep the managers up to date via emails and the leagues as a whole on FaceBook. Hopefully everyone is being safe and we get back to playing baseball soon.
MUNY-Buffalo, (Update 4/16)– With New York State extending to lockdown until mid-May, we will be postponed until at least then.
NE Ohio, Joe Sidor-I’ve never seen anything like this. Even though we aren’t in a state-mandated shut down yet by the state of Ohio, restaurants, bars and other businesses that usually attract groups have been forced to close. Schools are closed and unfortunately for us this includes their facilities and ball fields so we can’t utilize their fields as in the past, at least for now. We are lucky in that we play on two other fields that we can fall back on so we do have options.
Our league is set to begin April 27th but everything is on hold and we haven’t set an additional fall back date until we know more. We usually schedule heavier toward the rear of our schedule so we remain hopeful we will still play most of the schedule even if we start late. We have to conclude by the end of August, however, because a lot of our players are teachers or people who need to be finished by Labor Day.
We send almost daily updates to our managers and we hope that within a couple of weeks we’ll be able to decide what to do. Our registration has been open but I closed it because I didn’t want to be refunding money based on an uncertain revised schedule so we’ll just do it over when we know more.
We’re excited because we have 30 teams right now and I’m sure they’ll be anxious to begin playing, whenever that is. Everyone understands that making an alternative schedule right now based on a certain start date doesn’t make much sense.
NE Ohio, (Update 4/27)-Guys…we have been on hold waiting for more information from the Governor about the possible start of our season. We specifically have been wanting some direction about our particular activities so we know how to plan. Today we were given those specific directions:
The following businesses and operations are to remain closed per existing Stay at Home Orders:
- Entertainment/recreation/gymnasium sites.
- Includes, but is not limited to:
- All places of public amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, such as:
- Laser tag facilities, roller skating rinks, ice skating rinks, arcades, indoor miniature golf facilities, bowling alleys, indoor trampoline parks, indoor water parks, arcades, and adult and child skill or chance game facilities remain closed.
- Gambling industries.
- Auditoriums, stadiums, arenas.
- Movie theatres, performance theatres, and concert and music halls
- Public recreation centers and indoor sports facilities.
- Parades, fairs, festivals, and carnivals.
- Amusement parks, theme parks, outdoor water parks, children’s play centers, playgrounds, and funplexes.
- Aquariums, zoos, museums, historical sites, and similar institutions.
- Country clubs and social clubs.
- Spectator sports, recreational sports tournaments and organized recreational sports leagues.
I know this is bad news for all of us. But we will continue to monitor this situation and try to be ready for the start of our season as soon as we are able to do so in a safe and legal manner.
Right now we will keep the start of the season at June 6. But if we don’t get the go-ahead before May 15th, we may need to push that back. We will stay in touch with all of you.
Please keep checking the website for news and information.
NE Wisconsin, Joe Viau– These are trying times with the covid-19. Last year our league experienced many cancellations due to rain on 50% of the time on Sundays. However, all 14 games were played. Some of the make up games were played as doubleheaders.
This year our 14 game schedule begins on May 3rd. The managers know that if the season does not start on May 3rd, we will have a shorter season or make up the games. They agreed to proceed with the schedule and deal with the cancellations as the season progresses.
New Mexico, Vince Overfelt-In order for our league to begin our 2020 season we need fields. These are governed by Albuquerque Public schools. We are on hold until they lift the ban on using their facilities. Possibly start date mid to late April. We’re stuck like the rest of the country.
New Orleans, James Brossette-I have been in contact either through phone calls, texts or emails with various Parish Presidents, medical personnel, athletic directors and members of the state government; this is what I can give to you as of today April 20,2020.
There really is no true end in sight with this virus not until a vaccine and medicine protocol is found but there has been a flattening of the curve in many areas. Unfortunately, the New Orleans Metropolitan area isn’t coming around as fast as most of the state. We as a league are bound by the guidelines the state has laid fourth and until the Governor allows gatherings of at least 50 people we cannot resume playing. Initially, thoughts were that we would be good to go the first week of May, which as I told you I thought was overly optimistic. In reality no one can truly give us any hard date when we can resume playing, as most of the people I spoke with realistically think it will be sometime in June.
My plan, as long as everyone is on board, is to finish this season out and resume playing the first Sunday that we are allowed to. I will outline the plan below. I have been in contact with both Higgins and Riverside and they both have said we are good to go once the Governor says we can have gatherings of at least 50 people.
1. We will go with the plan of spacing the games out to where we have less overflow between games;
– Game time will be 9am, 12:15pm and 3:30pm
– Games will be nine inning or two hours and 30-minute time limit, which will give us theoretically 45 mins between games.
– Mercy rule will go to 10 runs after five innings instead of six innings.
– Players should not arrive at the field no earlier than 30 mins before game times. If extra time is needed to stretch, both Higgins and Riverside have a lot of areas to warm up and stretch at but no one should be in the stands or dugouts sooner than 30 minutes unless the game before is over and the teams have left the dugouts.
– no hanging out after games. Once the game is over get your equipment packed up and please exit the field.
2. Playoffs will go to Single elimination with consolation games so everyone will play at least 12 games as promised.
– We will discuss time limits when the playoffs approach if we are still under mandated gathering limits.
3. We will discuss playing on Father’s Day, 4th of July weekend and Labor Day Weekend once we know when we can resume.
The other option is to cancel the remainder of the season, which I don’t want to do. This is the first season in, and I’m not sure how many years I’ve run a team, and I have to say the first three weeks have been the most fun I’ve had in years and I would like to finish it out.
I spoke with our National President Steve Sigler today and he is copied on this email and he also feels we should be able to play again by mid-June and asked that you go to the national site to see what other leagues are doing and how they are planning to resume their seasons. The website is www.msblnational.com if you don’t already know it.
North County (San Diego), Doug Johnson-As we all are adjusting to life during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, we hope all of you and your families are doing okay during these uncertain times. As stated previously, this is a fluid situation that is evolving on a daily basis and its impossible for anyone to predict what the next steps will be. Our focus is on the health and safety of everyone so we can all make it through this current global pandemic.
The North County MSBL would like everyone to know that we are committed and plan to complete the current season once it’s safe and we are cleared to do so. Depending on when we can resume baseball activities, this could mean playing a shorter second season or maybe no second season at all.
Since we are 100% percent dependent on local high schools and city baseball fields to play our games, we have to be patient and understanding until those facilities become available for use again. Unfortunately, MSBL has no control over that decision.
It is extremely important to adhere to the recommended protocol from federal, state and local government officials to curb the spread of this disease, especially these three points:
Do not hold any group gatherings unless absolutely essential.
Anyone exhibiting symptoms (including, but not limited to, cough, shortness of breath, and fever) should self-isolate at home unless they need to seek medical attention.
Adults age 65 and older should stay home.
We will continue to update via email and the website as conditions change. We appreciate your patience and understanding with this unprecedented event. Take care of yourself and your family.
Stay safe!
North Texas, Anthony Cass-I hope you all are staying safe through this COVID-19 situation. I wanted to provide you all an update with where we are at for the 2020 season. We’ve communicated with the fields that we typically use, and everyone is still on board for renting us fields once the shelter in place orders are lifted. Baseballs and score books are in and sitting in storage until we are able to get the season going.
Currently, the City of Dallas has a shelter in place order through May 20th and surrounding cities seem to be following their lead. Assuming that does not change, we are planning to start playing games Sunday May 31st. Please understand that is still a tentative date, as a lot of factors go into getting games going. We will continue to monitor this situation and adjust as needed.
Omaha, Tim Lukowski-Tom and I have met diligently via phone or in his office to discuss the ongoing changes in our ever-changing environment as it to relates to our League, the responsibility we hold to you, your families and our vendors health and well-being. Tom and I both take our jobs, although it’s a labor of love, very seriously. We had a conference call with our National President and Founder Steve Sigler this week and our situation is no different from the multitude of each MSBL League throughout the US.
Your health, your family’s health and well-being is our first priority. This is a situation we will get past with thorough diligence and working closely with our City Administrators. To date we have been in touch weekly with the City of Omaha, City of Council Bluffs, PACE and Metro Umpires. This is a fluid situation where we all are working together as to what is best for the health and safety of everyone involved.
That is the unfortunate news. I wish I had more firm answers for you, but rest assured, it’s a situation we are firmly on top of. I am always available day or night to talk and discuss whatever matters you feel are germane to the health and betterment of our League. This is our 31st year, we have overcome obstacles in the past, and we will overcome this is well.
As of this time we have no concrete answers. But the plan we are moving forward with is a potential early May start. Our plan is to start hopefully the last two weeks in April with slots assigned for teams to practice, and then begin competitive OMSBL league play in early May. There will be weekly to bi-weekly updates as we move forward with each facility and piece that makes up our League.
Omaha, (Update 4/16)-Gentlemen, number one I hope you and all of your families are well and taking care of each other. There is so much unknown and our lives will be changed forever. The new “normal” is knocking on our door and will not be all bad.
I have met several times with City Administrators from Omaha, Council Bluffs and Omaha Public Schools, and Skutt Catholics AD and facilities Directors as well as our partners at PACE at Christie Heights.
Our #1 Concern is you, your family, all of your health and compliance with each entity we work with.
As the country enters more uncertain times, the OMABL and MSBL National continues to work hard to keep our close-knit community informed and engaged. Our E-board, City Planners and were asking you as Team Managers to be assured we are going to continue to work tirelessly to ensure there WILL be MSBL baseball in 2020. All of us look forward to our Opening Day in the coming months ahead and hearing “Play Ball” once again. At this time after two weeks of HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TEAM PRACTICES (which the League will subsidize), we are looking to Opening Day the 3rd of JUNE.
In times of crisis, people look to and need support, to feel like they are part of something that is bigger than themselves. They also need to feel like they have a connection to normalcy, a foundation that gives them hope and optimism that their life can return to normal as soon as possible. I think the local and national community of baseball and the OMSBL very much provides that to its members, being that baseball is such a large part of their life. I think all of that helps strengthen the bond between the OMSBL body, the MSBL and its members.”
Omaha, (Update 4/21)-The Executive Board met tonight via a Zoom Web Ex Meeting. I want to stress some important dates and schedules to both the OMSBL Latino and OMSBL Men’s Senior League that we have discussed and are moving forward with.
I have published both Divisions Schedule in an excel file that represents the following:
2 weeks of (paid by the OMSBL) “Spring Training” for each team in a Schedule Time Slot at either CB# 7-8 or Field 10, or Bahnsen Field in CB, each facility has lights.
We cannot make these MANDATORY, but it is the best way for each Manager to meet with his team, collect dues and fill out registration documentation.
I will be publishing a financial team Statement at the end of this email, verify your team’s information is correct.
After 2 weeks of open practices for your team, our objective, mandated by City, State, and Federal Governmental bodies would be to begin the 2020 Season accordingly.
We have scheduled the week of June 1 at this time to open.
WE ARE MOVING FORWARD, and planning as such. IF the City and State municipalities are not open, we will adjust accordingly. Our #1 CONCERN, is you, your families and our partners safety and good health. We have adopted a spirit of optimism in our Nation and friends, families and teammates instead of a wait and see outlook
- 2020 Schedule–ATTACHED, please disburse to your teams
- Fees due–TEAM DEPOSITS, no exceptions are due May 1, TEAM FEES IN FULL are due May 15th, no exceptions. You can reach myself at 402.740.3966, Tom Stewart or League Treasurer at 402.321.4653 or Jono Kline at 402.598.8500
- Latino / OMSBL Field Renovation Project Schedule – will be discussed after meeting with Omaha City Officials, news to follow
- Safety Precautions – be assured, from an Umpires/Officials standpoint, to your teams, to us as a League in Omaha and in may discussions with our E Board and our MSBL President Steve Sigler our #1 concern is you and your families health and well-being.
- Umpire Strategy and Plan—TBD and adjusted accordingly by Denny/Jan Jones and the OMSBL Eboard
- Fee reimbursement schedule if it takes effect—After all teams are paid, you will receive a sliding scale and adjustment schedule of refunds if it becomes necessary whether your team plays one or twenty-two games
- Balance Sheet, Vendor Schedule—IF YOUR TEAM IS NOT PAID by May 1 and 15th your team will be dropped from the 2020 Schedule and have to reapply for future years play at the discretion of the E-board.
- Other germane and relevant information, will be disseminated TBD.
- This email has been blind CC: to all players in the league from 2018-19
Omaha, (Update 5/3/2020-MANDATORY MANAGERS MEETING— SUNDAY MAY 17th 12pm and 130pm
We will have a Mandatory Managers Meeting for the OMSBL Men’s Division, and OMSBL Latino Division at Lynch Park (OUTSIDE IN THE BLEACHERS, to maintain Social Distancing)
****Lynch Park/Field, North of 21st and Martha Streets, 2200 South 21st Street, Omaha NE 68108
The OMSBL Men’s Managers will meet at 12pm, AT LYNCH PARK, paid members will receive your Season bats, Game Balls, and Scorebooks as long as you have paid your deposit and 50% of team fees.
The OMSBL LATINO MANAGERS will meet at 130pm AT LYNCH PARK, paid members will receive your Season Game Balls and Scorebooks as long as you have paid your deposit and 50% of team fees.
OMSBL Men’s Division League fees are $2900.00, ½ due May 14th is $1450.00
OMSBL Latino Division League fees are $3100.00, ½ due May 14th is $1550.00.
***For both Divisions teams that have not paid or are on a significant payment plan will not receive any equipment and after the meeting and after the E Board Meets may be dropped from 2020 Scheduling.
***If you have any questions prior to the meeting please call me or email and set a time to visit with me one on one. 402.740.3966, tlukowski@clsfreight.com I look forward to talking over any matters with any of you.
***The E Board (Stewart / Jelkin / Orsi and Kline, and myself as President of our 30 Year + League) has been taking EVERY factor into consideration as a Nation, Country, State, and Municipality. We take in mind our National Charters Advisement and I talk weekly with Steve Sigler on what our counterparts across the USA are doing. OUR #1 CONCERN is you, your safety and well-being, and your family and extended family and co-workers and friends. None of the decisions we consider are made lightly and a great deal of time is being spent to move forward safely together. We will return TOGETHER, and move forward accordingly safely and prudently.
Omaha (Update 5/11)-Good Afternoon Gentlemen. I hope you treated the ladies (Mom’s) in your life amazingly for Mother’s Day. I hope you have all heard that Governor Ricketts has opened City Parks and Rec accordingly June 1 and disseminating into Mid-June Starts. Based on attendance at our meeting Sunday, Jelkin and I will appropriately assign practice dates and a new schedule for both Divisions.
We (the OMSBL) have also have partnered with HS/American Legion Baseball to help facilitate them having a schedule which we can discuss Sunday as well.
Reminder. We meet next Sunday whether your team is planning on participating or not, there is a lot of information to disseminate. Most importantly, baseball is back on, the Governor has cleared us to go, and we are now in forward motion again.
See you Sunday.
Omaha, (Updated 5/21)-Governor Rickett’s today in his address to the State officially cleared Adult Baseball as of June 1.
This was confirmed today as well with Governor Rickett’s Aide Taylor Gage (see below at bottom of email—specific clearance and dialogue with the Governor’s Office).
This is good news, but will also be heavily sanctioned and restrictions and guidelines published by each municipality. We have to be patient with each City Municipality’s Parks and Rec. Divisions, High School AD’s and Campus Administration to sort out the safest and most effective possible to roll out their sites, programs and what Health and Safety issues are mandated and what is in everyone’s best interest. It will NOT be an easy “all is clear” roll out and participate situation.
Bill Jelkin Millard Public Schools Director of Student Services and myself will be vetting and reconfirming field availability, sites and times booked and PATIENTLY working with an already overly taxed City of Omaha, City of Council Bluffs, PACE Administrators and our High School AD partners and Staff’s schedules on appropriate and safe reintegration measures.
Executive Board Member Scott Orsi and myself will be reviewing Safety Measures that must be adhered to and enforced by players, managers, instructors and officials as we move forward.
I will be publishing a practice schedule tomorrow for you to integrate your teams back into physical condition, these will be your assigned slots where applicable and performed accordingly.
Thanks again for your patience, and I will be in touch soon. – Tim Lukowski
Omaha, (Updated 5/23)-Gentlemen, first off have a SAFE, HAPPY and peaceful Memorial Day Weekend with your families.
In conversation with City Field Administrators and PACE Executive Staff we will still be in a holding pattern, but a good one, until we can go live starting in Co. Bluffs Monday June 1st. As I hope you can all understand we’ve been given a chance to return to somewhat “normal” activity, but it needs to ramp up slowly.
- Assigned Practice sites to each team
- Zoom Conf Call to discuss BOTH Governors guidelines for health and safety (Iowa and Nebraska). This is a MUST, both divisions, and the NCAA Combine League we will run, insure and sponsor at Omaha Skutt Catholic HS (to be explained on Zoom Conf.).
- Given City Administrators and PACE a chance to not have to drink from the firehose and allow them time to prioritize field times, assignment, and County, State, and Federal guidelines handed down to us which we will follow to the letter of dictation and advisement.
- I’d encourage all League and Division Managers think outside of the box to prep and train prior to the Executive Board releasing an exact schedule. Train and maintain social distancing standards and make use of ETC, UBA and other indoor hitting facilities on your own time and budget. If you need contact details we have an amazing relationship with ETC Owner Max Fearnow and UBA General Manager Larry Vavricek who may offer discounts on slots. I will provide their and staff contacts for booking.
- Make use of the City Soccer Complexes such as Zorinksy’s South Bay open soccer complex, or CB Sports open Soccer fields as well for outfield work and long toss, throwing programs. Again adhering to the Governors social distancing measures.
- We are close. Very close. But need to do it the right way and within compliance of our longtime partners and respecting the massive undertaking they are following.
Again, have a great MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. What a great country and fellowship we have.
Details to follow very soon for each respective project. Email or call if you have any questions.
Omaha (Updated 5/28)-Each Team is being assigned a practice Site the week of June 1-6, and June 8-13
League Schedules will be published hopefully prior to June 10. See below for OMSBL League instruction and field assignment.
THERE MAY BE SOME TWEAKS in these dates, watch your emails.
Monday June 1 CB #7 6pm Cowboys
Monday June 1 CB #8 6pm Dodgers
Monday June 1 CB #10 6pm Black Sox
Tuesday June 2 CB #7 6pm Yankees
Tuesday June 2 CB #8 6pm JW’s
Tuesday June 2 CB #8 8pm Diablos
Tuesday June 2 CB #10 6pm Redbirds
Wednesday June 3 CB #7 6pm Royals
Wednesday June 3 CB #8 6pm Road Runners
Wednesday June 3 CB #10 6pm Cubs
————————————–
Monday June 8 CB #7 6pm Cowboys
Monday June 8 CB #8 6pm Dodgers
Monday June 8 CB #10 6pm Black Sox
Tuesday June 9 CB #7 6pm Yankees
Tuesday June 9 CB #8 6pm JW’s
Tuesday June 9 CB #8 8pm Diablos
Tuesday June 9 CB #10 6pm Redbirds
Wednesday June 10 CB #7 6pm Royals
Wednesday June 10 CB #8 6pm Road Runners
Wednesday June 10 CB #10 6pm Cubs
Use these times to practice, Prep for the Season Opener TBD Mid June going forward, gather forms, share information and prep for the season and being compliant. We have weathered a tumultuous start to a Nationwide Crisis, and challenging season. The situation we all live with is changing daily, but we should be 3 short weeks from returning to the normalcy of America’s Pastime and getting you all back on the field. I’m here for anything you may need. Take care and God Bless.
Omaha (Update 6/1)-Please pass on to your teams ASAP. In light of State Mandated Curfews in Omaha, Council Bluffs, Douglas and Pottawattamie Counties we are cancelling practices at CB Sports today and tomorrow to let cooler heads prevail. We have several OPD, Douglas Country Personnel, OFD and Civil Medical Staff Members in our League. Our prayers are with them as well as of our families and fraternal brothers and sisters. NOW MORE THAN EVER.
Our Nations continues to be challenged at what seems at our very fiber and belief of what we value. COMMUNICATION is a must for any organization. Please be mindful, as these unlawful and dangerous violent protests are being curbed, we are faced with obstacles that are relevant to our situation. God, Family and your health come first. What we offer as a recreational activity is after those values and infrastructure.
Our decision at this time is TO CANCEL PRACTICES TONIGHT June 1 and Tuesday June 2.
We will return (at this time) to a practice schedule beginning Wednesday June 03 (see Below). THESE ARE YOUR NEXT TWO PRACTICE DATES. Please pass on to your teams. Thank you and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Omaha (Updated 6/8) – The Regular Season will open at the following fields on the following Dates:
-Seymour Smith June 24
-CB Sports June 23/24
-PACE / Christie Heights June 24
Further Updates will be provided by the end of the week. Thanks again. Tim
Peoria Sunday Morning League, Tim Cundiff
There Will Be Baseball in 2020. The Peoria Sunday Morning League opens season on June 7
EVENT: Opening Day, Peoria Sunday Morning League
DATE & TIME: Sunday, June 7 at 9 AM
LOCATION: EastSide Centre, Dave Rodgers Field – 1 EastSide Drive, East Peoria, IL 61611
East Peoria, IL – The oldest amateur baseball league in America will open its 105th season on June 7th at EastSide Centre. The 2020 Peoria Sunday Morning League (PSML) will feature 8 local teams competing for the prestigious honor of hoisting the Thome Trophy.
The year 2020 has been a challenging year for the entire world during the coronavirus pandemic. As we have navigated this pandemic, the PSML Leadership has been working closely with the local authorities and officials at EastSide Centre and the City of East Peoria in order to proceed with appropriate caution to conduct a safe environment for the baseball season. The PSML will be abiding by all local requirements and expectations. In addition, the League has adopted many new policies and protocols to further ensure the safety and well-being of our players, coaches, umpires, and fans. These new protocols to be implemented include:
• All players, coaches, umpires will have their temperature taken via no-contact digital thermometer. Anyone who is sick, running a fever, or exhibiting any other flu-like symptoms will not be permitted to participate.
• Players will not be permitted to share equipment – helmets, gloves, catching gear, etc.
• Each manager will be equipped with hand sanitizer in the dugouts for all players to use.
• We will be enforcing social distancing. No congregating together. There will be no more than 3-4 players in the dugout at any given time. No outside fans or individuals are permitted in the dugout. The rest of the players will be lined up down the fence line spread out six feet apart from each other.
• There will be no meeting and exchanging of lineup cards prior to the game. There will be no post-game lineup of handshakes. There will be no high-fives.
• No sunflower seeds. No chewing tobacco. No sharing of water bottles or sports drinks.
• Fans and spectators: To limit the volume of people at the ballpark, at the beginning of the season, we will not be permitting fans to attend. We fully expect to gradually allow fans to attend as the summer progresses. When permitted to attend, fans will be expected to maintain social distance. Fans will group together in family units. Fans will not be allowed to congregate in groups. Fans will be responsible for keeping any small children with them at all times.
• All of these above policies and protocols are subject to change as deemed appropriate by local officials and league personnel.
This year has certainly been a very challenging time for everyone. We know that some of these procedures are quite unique and will take some getting used to. We appreciate your understanding and compliance with these new protocols. We are thrilled to be able to conduct our baseball season this year. But it can only take place if these efforts are maintained.
To stay updated throughout the season, visit: www.psml.net or www.facebook.com/PSMLBaseball. For more information, contact League President Tim Cundiff (tgcundiff@gmail.com) or Commissioner Doug McCarty (DougMcCarty@cityofeastpeoria.com).
Peoria Sunday Morning League
Established in 1916, the Peoria Sunday Morning League was developed as an outlet for local businesses to provide high-level athletic competition for their workers. As the League has evolved over the past century, it still maintains the historical roots with local teams and players being sponsored by local businesses. The 2020 Sponsors include: The Silver Bullet, Miller Lite (Baumgarten Distributing), Kohl’s Diamond Gallery, Firehouse Pizza, Chase Real Estate, and Brickhouse BBQ. During the times of economical hardship throughout the coronavirus pandemic this year, for the first time in decades the PSML is waiving all sponsor fees as a “Thank You” to the loyalty and support of these businesses over the years.
Now in its 105th season, the only baseball leagues in America still in operation that are older than the PSML are the National & American Leagues of Major League Baseball. The PSML has featured over 45 players who have played in the Major Leagues – most notably the newest inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Jim Thome, who played in the PSML from 1987-1989. The League President is Tim Cundiff. The League Commissioner is Doug McCarty. The Commissioner of Umpires is Mike Wise.
Puget Sound Senior Baseball League, Thomas Evans Krause-As a PSSBL member or a player who has registered for our 2020 tryouts, I am reaching out to you on behalf of the Board of Directors. We, as you, have been closely following the latest news, dictates and recommendations from health and government officials, and other developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
As you know, we have already suspended all PSSBL activities until the weekend of April 25-26. Following days of discussion, the Board just voted on a plan which would put us on the diamond at the earliest, safe juncture – based on all relevant information from federal, state and local officials.
Our tentative schedule going into the 2020 season:
Tryouts:
- Saturday, April 25th – Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center
- Sunday, May 3rd – Island Crest North on Mercer Island
A league-wide draft is currently set for Saturday, May 9th at Elliott Bay Brewing in Lake City. The 2020 PSSBL regular season will begin after Memorial Day. However, each division would have a slightly shortened regular season schedule compared to our original plan.
Adams, Cascade, Everest, Sierra & Smoky – 20 games
Rocky, Denali – 18 games
Adirondack, Rainier, Teton – 16 games
Playoffs will also be subject to a reduced schedule. At this time we are still accepting registrations and membership dues payments. And of course, this plan is subject to change as conditions dictate. Stay tuned and stay safe.
Redwood Empire (CA), Rick Cantor-I hope you, your family, and your friends are all managing well during our current health crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is certainly an unprecedented situation not seen in our lifetime, with the closure of local events and the cancellation and suspension of professional and amateur sporting events and seasons. At times like these, communication and information are paramount to our well-being and sanity. With that in mind, I wanted to update you all on how this pandemic is affecting our local baseball league of the REBL.
The good news is that there are no current plans to cancel or suspend any of our REBL games, beginning on Sunday, April 19th. However, we must all
understand that we are in uncharted territory and our situation could change at any given moment. In fact, the next few weeks are going to be critically important to the status of our opening day games, as testing for the virus ramps up in our community and a clearer picture ensues in how widespread the virus is locally.
Some situations are out of our control, such as the closure of fields where we play. In fact, the City of Santa Rosa has already closed Doyle Park and A Place to Play park through the end of March. If that closure were to be expanded through April, we would not have those fields available to us. If any high schools fields were to close as well, we may have to cancel games due to a lack of field availability. The REBL Board of Directors will continue to monitor the situation and apply any necessary action related to our league games.
We also must be cognizant of the potential spread of the virus during our
games and practices. It is possible that a fellow teammate may indeed be
infected with the virus and not know it. A stray sneeze or a cough in the
dugout, the sharing of a batting helmet or a bat, the touching of a
baseball all could potentially spread the virus to others at the game. The
single most important consideration we have right now is to stop that spread and limit the number of people affected in our community. It is with this in mind that I would advise league members to suspend any team practices and scrimmages until our county has a better grasp on how widespread the virus is locally. The next few weeks, as testing increases, is critical in that determination and goes a long way in deciding whether or not we can start our season on time. The single most important consideration is the health and safety of our REBL members and their families, and any decision regarding the playing of our games will have that in mind.
While no decision has been made regarding the delay of the start of our
season, I think it’s only fair that with the current uncertainty surrounding
our community over the next few weeks, that the deadline for team fees be
extended to Wednesday, April 1st. If it becomes necessary to cancel any
games that cannot be rescheduled to later in the season, teams will receive
refunds of the appropriate amount. Let’s all hope that doesn’t happen, but
we need to be prepared in case it does.
I will continue to update you all as the Board monitors the situation over
the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
ask. In the meantime, stay safe, sane, and calm and as a community, we will get through this crazy time together, with or without toilet paper!
(update 3/29/2020)-I hope this communication finds you, your family, and your friends safe, healthy, and adjusting well to our current lifestyle during this COVID-19 crisis. It’s a crazy time right now, and the little joys in our life (like baseball!) help keep our spirits up and our sanity intact. On that note, I have some updates to pass on to our REBL community regarding our Opening Day.
School districts throughout our county have closed all facilities through May 1st, which means that high school baseball fields cannot be used until that date. Therefore, our season opener, scheduled for April 19th, will need to be delayed. The earliest date we could play would be Sunday, May 3rd, but that’s just a few days after the closure date of May 1st, so players and teams will need a bit more time to prepare for game action. The following Sunday, May 10th, is Mother’s Day, which a blackout date for our league. Therefore, our Opening Day is now scheduled for Sunday, May 17th.
By delaying or season from April 19th to May 17th, we lose three Sunday’s of baseball. To adjust to that loss, we will push our season one further weekend later, with our scheduled championship series weekend on Oct.10-11th (with our last regular season games on Sunday, Sept.27th). The other two lost Sundays will be rescheduled as part of doubleheaders, so we will still play our full season schedule with no cancelled games.
Finally, the deadline for your final team fee payment will be pushed back to May 1st.
Stay vigilant with the current Shelter-in-Place orders, maintain social distancing, and practice required hygiene and we’ll slow the spread of the virus in our community. If we’re able to do that, we’ll all be playing baseball sooner rather than later.
Redwood Empire, (Update 4/26)-I hope this communication finds you, your family, and your friends safe, healthy, and maintaining your sanity.
The current COVID-19 crisis continues to disrupt our everyday lives and we continue to adjust and adapt. This includes our baseball season, which is currently on hiatus until the crisis abates to the point where it is safe to gather once again and compete on the baseball field.
The last update set our opening day at Sunday, May 17th, with a team fee
deadline of May 1st. However, all local city school fields are now closed
through May 31st, which requires that we once again change the scheduled
opening of our baseball season. If city school systems and local city-owned
fields re-open their facilities on June 1st, then we can begin our season on
Sunday, June 7th. This would require a shortened baseball season, with
teams playing approximately 70% of a full season over 15 regular season
Sundays. Additionally, team fees would also be reduced to comply with the
reduced number of games. Once we know exactly how many games we’ll be playing this season, we will finalize the team fees. If your team paid more than that amount, you will be refunded the difference.
With the start of our season now set for June 7th, the new team fee deadline
will be moved to May 20th. Additionally, to help alleviate any postseason
roster problems, all divisions will have their playoff eligibility rule set
to 25% of their total games. So if you play a 15 game season, players must
appear in at least 4 games to be eligible for the playoffs.
Stay vigilant with the current Shelter-in-Place orders, maintain social
distancing, and practice required hygiene and we’ll slow the spread of the
virus in our community. The better we’re able to slow the spread, the
sooner we’ll be able to get back on the baseball field!
Thanks, Rick Cantor, REBL Commissioner
Rhode Island, Frank Ribezzo-These are no doubt trying times. First, let me state that your families and teammates are in my thoughts. The question of whether or not we will begin our season on time has come up. As the information on the Coronavirus evolves, so to will our response to it. As of today, we will begin the 2020 season the first week of May.
Managers – please continue to have players pay their league fees as scheduled. We have 6 weeks until the start of the season and fully expect that games will all be played. We will wait until the first week of April to release the schedule and evaluate at that time as to whether we can start the season on time or delay for 2-3 weeks.
I fully anticipate we will be playing a full baseball schedule this year, so please assure your players and let them know they need to pay their fees. If the need to extend the season into late September or early October arises, we are prepared to do that. We have to buy baseballs, pay for insurance and pay field deposits.
In the VERY unlikely event that we need to cancel a part of the season, we will refund players a proportionate share of their fee based on a reduced number of games. But I sincerely doubt that will happen.
Please take this time to connect with your families and follow the suggestions of the medical professionals. We will be on the ball-field very soon!
Rhode Island (Update 4/5)-As you know, Governor Raimondo and Dr. Alexander-Scott recently made several announcements about the State’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. The Governor has issued a stay-at-home order until April 13. Furthermore, all gatherings of more than 5 people are banned.
As of now, these announcements have not changed our timeline in starting our season. We are still planning on beginning our season the first week of May. Realistically, we also know that there is the strong likelihood this plan may need to change. RIMSBL league management will announce any changes to the start date on April 15. Obviously, we cannot begin our season until the state restrictions on gatherings are lifted.
Know that RIMSBL league administrators are planning scenarios where our season begins late. Our ultimate goal is to ensure every team plays the number of regular season games and follows the playoff formats decided on by managers at the league meeting in January. Be well and be healthy…..we will play again!
Rhode Island (Update 4/14)- RIMSBL Community, Governor Gina Raimondo has extended the state’s stay-at-home order until May 8th. Given this information, RIMSBL is pushing back the start of the season until Saturday May 16. Please look for another update on or before May 7th.
As we continue to anticipate the opening of our season, the RIMSBL league administrators will carefully monitor all updates given by Governor Raimondo and use them in our decision process. At this time, it is still anticipated that we will play a full season.
Rhode Island (Updated 5/28) – Governor Raimondo has announced that Phase 2 is set to start June 1. We still will not be allowed to play while in phase 2. Each phase is set to be at least 28 days. We are now looking at a 15 game season with a double elimination playoffs. Our season will now start in early July and end mid/late October. More details will be shared with managers when the league conducts a manager’s meeting in June.
With this announcement, and with the gradual reopening of our state, we continue to be extremely optimistic that we will indeed play baseball. As always, we will base our league decisions on the best information we have available. Please continue to look for updates on our Facebook page.
Frank Ribezzo – RIMSBL President
Sacramento, Alan Van Ness– With California’s “Stay in Place” order please understand if we all abide by this and beat this Covid-19 Virus we will resume our baseball. Our families are the most important concern right now.
Those who are concerned about the status of your Winter/ Spring schedule and plan forward. We will make every attempt to either have a double elimination W/S tournament or adjust the Night League cost, as the majority of you play Summer Night League. Depending on how quickly we can recover as a nation will determine when we can play the game we all love.
Unlike any other league in the country we have to pay and maintain our own complex. This is something we maybe have taken for granted. The same goes with playing baseball. This is equivalent to a natural disaster that the MSBL has no control over. So please take care of yourself and follow the recommendations and I promise SMSBL will provide you all with the best possible baseball in 2020.
San Jose, Mike Zamba– The San Jose MSBL 2020 season remains on hold as all of us “stay at home” in the hope that we all can slow the spread of the Coronavirus that is changing our lives forever.
Family first is the top priority now as we all strive to protect our precious loved ones. I consider each of you as an extended member of my family and my thoughts and prayers are with you on a daily basis hoping that everyone comes through this crisis safely.
When we reach the other side of this pandemic – and we will come through this – our baseball league will be there so everyone can enjoy playing the game we love. Stepping on a baseball field again will certainly be a cherished experience as we all miss many things that just days ago we all took for granted in life.
As for when will our season start…Nobody really knows is the only honest answer. But the league will be ready whenever that time arrives. Insurance and baseballs will be purchased, more than enough fields are available for us to use and umpires are ready to work our games.
In Governor Newsome’s announcement of the “Stay at Home” order he hinted that the school year was likely finished and that the expected time frame to reach the peak of the infection rate was six to eight weeks (mid May???) Until the number of confirmed cases peaks and then begins to decline officials are not going to lift the “stay at home” order. That also means school districts and city administrations will not be issuing field use permits or allowing outside groups to use their facilities until state officials determine that the health threat to the public has ended.
When that day comes and people are allowed to return to work and socialize in groups our league will be able to have a couple Sunday’s of practice, hold new player tryouts, play an exhibition game and start the 2020 season.
Depending on when we can step on baseball fields again – June, July, August or September – we can have our usual summer league or for the first time ever play a “Fall Ball” season. Baseball can be played until Thanksgiving so there is plenty of time left on the 2020 calendar to have a regular season and playoffs.
I will be sending weekly e-mails as we “stay at home” to get your feedback and discuss how we structure the 2020 season (number of games – playoffs – schedule format – fees, etc.) Stay safe until we are allowed to play baseball again.
Savannah, Mike Stubbs-As we continue to monitor the COVID-19 virus and the impact it is having on our community, I wanted to provide a quick update.
As of right now we are postponing all league activities until further notice. With the latest social distancing recommendation of April 30th, we feel that as an organization we must do our part to help flatten the curve of infection.
We will start the baseball season back up when it is morally and ethically the right thing to do. I am in contact with our National MABL/MSBL office and most of the other leagues around the country are following suit.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
So Cal, Jef Brown-As a member of MSBL/MABL of Southern California, I am reaching out to all of you on behalf of our Board of Directors to let you all know that our season remains on hold as we follow the orders of the state officials to “stay at home” to slow the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
We hope that you and yours are all well and safe during these unprecedented times. You are all part of the MSBL family, and you are in our thoughts and prayers, hoping that we can all come through this crisis safely.
When it is safe and this pandemic has passed, we will be ready to get back to playing the game that we all love! We want you to know that we have discussed contingency plans for starting our season late, and possibly extending it into the fall to ensure that we have a regular season this year. This may include and slightly shortened schedule and playoffs to ensure that we can get the season in, however, we will have to wait until the state officials determine that the health threat to the public has ended and it is safe to play once again.
We are targeting June as a potential start to the season, which is subject to change as conditions dictate. We will adjust the actual start date as we continue to monitor the news and progress regarding the COVID-19 situation.
We want you to know that we are working hard behind the scenes and that baseball, scorebooks, insurance and all the requirements needed to start have been taken care of and we will be ready to go once we get clearance to do so.
At this time, we are still accepting registrations and fees. If you are a returning player or team the deadline to remit fees will be May 15, 2020 to ensure you are eligible and to be included on the schedule. Those who have already paid team fees, will receive the appropriate partial refund/credit due to a shortened season.
We will be sending out regular updates as this situation continues to unfold. In the meantime, we look forward to the time when we can all get back on the field!
Until then, stay safe and stay at home and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
President worksheet 4/4/2020
Southern Colorado, Bud Maison-I am contacting you to provide you some assurance. I want you all to know we intend to play ball this season. Currently, we have a start date of 17 May for the most part. This is still the intent but we need to be flexible and adapt to the availability of fields. Right now, the State has cancelled all HS activities until 30 April. So spring sports are done and will not occur. This will provide us with resources to play when the fields become available. IF WE HAVE to delay, we can still get in 8 weeks of play if we start in June. We can adjust the schedule as we need to make up games. In the past, we had opportunities to play on Tues-Fri in the evenings. I am not sure if this will be the same in the future. The intent is to continue with the posted schedule and adjust from there.
I feel that the threat to us right now is unemployment and player interest. I ask you all to check on your team as you can to keep in touch with them and to maintain interest in playing as best as we can. I still have the registration active to provide individuals the opportunity to register and provide all with a list of individuals to support your needs. I know my guys are itching to get out and play.
I hope you and your families all are doing well and I appreciate all you do to make our league successful. If you have any feedback, please provide it as you have time. I have attached information pertaining to the World Series this year.
Southern Colorado (Update 4/24)-I wanted to provide you with an update based on the “Safer at Home” guidelines released this week and what it means to us. I plan to contact the El Paso County Health Department to see what or if they have guidelines on opening our season.
Essentially, in the eyes of CS P/R, it means no change for field usage at this time. The group max is still 10 or less, and we all know that still doesn’t work for games. All events on Park and Rec fields are still cancelled through May 10th at minimum, and May 17th looks to be realistic. ALL HS fields are closed through the end of the school year.
Hopefully in the next 2 weeks, we don’t see a spike in cases so that the restrictions can be loosened some more. Time will tell. Right now, we have to wait and see what happens with re-opening.
With that, there are likely some changes and restrictions that will be in place when we do open. More to come on that.
Southern Colorado (Update 4/28)-The Safer-at-Home order issued by Governor Polis went into effect on Monday, April 27 and is tentatively set to expire Monday, 26 May after the Memorial Day Weekend. In accordance with Colorado Department of Health and Environment Public Health Order 20-28 Safer At Home, and its associated Public Health Order and Guidance, which specifically precludes the conduct of “team sports,” all athletic fields and high school fields are closed until further notice.
Under the safer-at-home model, the public is:
- Encouraged to stay at home unless necessary.
- Strongly advised to wear face coverings when out.
- No gatherings over 10 people.
- Sick people may not go to work.
- Avoid unnecessary travel.
I have received feedback from the Park and Rec offices, as well as the County Health office as to how this new policy effects the area. The furthest clarification I have right now is that we are to limit gatherings to less than 10 people still (using masks and social distancing). I can’t tell you right now what that will look like with guidelines and restrictions but once we have something in place, I will let you know.
Effectively, this limits our ability to start the season on 17 Mar and will look forward to start on 31 May for which we have fields reserved. As we get closer to this date, more details will be published by the Department of Health and Sports and Recreation that we can react to.
Some steps we can consider as the State begins to slowly “Open Up” were recommended by the national office and park and recreation are listed below:
· No MSBL/MABL league should start until their local “Stay at Home / Shelter In Place” orders are lifted and recreation sports are allowed.
· Precautions to consider putting in place once you begin play:
- Home plate umpire to stand behind the pitcher’s mound with an appropriate distance between himself and the pitcher
- Catchers to wear facemasks (consider for batters as well)
- Dugouts to be closed and all players to stay outside the field of play at a safe distance from each other
- No sharing of equipment
- Schedule games with at least 1 hour in between games to limit the amount of interaction of players in between games
- No post game handshakes or high fives
- No stealing of second base
- This is mean to avoid the direct contact of the runner and first baseman
- Runner on first to remain on the bag until the pitch is released (if it is determined that the runner left first base before the pitch is delivered, the batter will be declared out)
- Normal baserunning rules for 2nd and 3rd base
- No “infield meetings” on the mound
- When holding a meeting on the mound between catcher, pitcher and/or manager, all participants need to stay a safe distance from each other
Start preparing for play, limit the amount of players to pitchers/catchers workout and split hitting in areas you can find open. Collect player fees from you players based on the current rate of $3000 per team in the MABL and $2650 for MSBL based on a 13-game season. These prices are the most you will have to pay per team. Those who were prompt, once we ID the current rate of team fees, I will refund you the balance OR you can use it as a down payment for the 4-5 July Tournament located at El Pomar field 4, 5, and 6. We will be purchasing the MSBL insurance around mid-month when we get a firm date of play. Make sure your players sign the waiver prior to engaging in any team activities, limit gatherings to less than 10 people and use masks and social distancing.
I will look at the schedule and provide you a new amended schedule. I ask permission to schedule games on Father’s Day and schedule the All-Star Game at the end of season if weather permits. I will also look at the number of games in that schedule and provide an update on team fees. Those who have paid in full, I will refund the balance to you to disburse to your players.
Southern Colorado (Updated 5/15)-I have updated the Week 1 Schedule online in anticipation (no negative notice as of yet) opening day of 30 May for MABL play and 31 May for MSBL play at El Pomar Youth Sports Center. Fred…please schedule officials. Here is week 1 schedule:
| # | Div | Date | Time | Field | Home | Away |
| 64 | MABL(E) | May 30 | 09:00 | El Pomar 5 | Bombers | Yetis |
| 76 | MABL(W) | May 30 | 09:00 | El Pomar 6 | Mountaineers | Vice City |
| 65 | MABL(E) | May 30 | 12:00 | El Pomar 5 | Pistols | Lumberjacks |
| 75 | MABL(W) | May 30 | 12:00 | El Pomar 6 | Devilrays | Braves-A |
| 73 | MABL(W) | May 30 | 15:00 | El Pomar 6 | Orioles | Rockies |
| 74 | MABL(E) | May 30 | 15:00 | El Pomar 5 | Oysters | Royals |
| 68 | Legends | May 31 | 09:00 | El Pomar 5 | Raptors | Reds |
| 66 | Classics | May 31 | 12:00 | El Pomar 4 | Muddawgs | Hitmen |
| 69 | Legends | May 31 | 12:00 | El Pomar 5 | Pistols-L | Mariners |
| 71 | Classics | May 31 | 12:00 | El Pomar 6 | Cardinals | Indians |
| 67 | Classics | May 31 | 15:00 | El Pomar 4 | Grizzlies | Mustangs |
| 70 | Legends | May 31 | 15:00 | El Pomar 5 | Braves-L | Thunder |
| 72 | Classics | May 31 | 15:00 | El Pomar 6 | Zephyrs | Spectres |
| MU55 | MABL(W) | Jun 03 | 18:30 | Spurgeon Field | Devilrays | Rockies |
Southern Colorado (Update 5/19) – As of now, we have no update on our playing conditions but can expect an update on 27 May from the health department based on state guidance. Below is the link to the requested COVID19 conditions of play we have sent forward for the El Paso County and the CO State Health Department with our request to start activities on 30 May. We have shared this same document with the leagues in Denver as well to speak with one voice. Once we receive approval to play, I will make the purchase of league insurance for the season. In order to do this, you need to confirm your commitment to play by 27 May. However, these can be changed by state requirements. On 27 May, I will seek your commitment so we can make any final adjustments to the schedule.
MSBL COVID19 Conditions Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qGoldTGfiaZqnKmRiEuOEuFojZ32AQXK5SqqmzgdmEk/edit?usp=sharing
Managers are responsible to ensure their players and supporters follow these guidelines, if we do not, we can be fined or worse case shut down and not permitted to play. So, we expect you to be part of the solution and not the problem. IF you cannot support this expectation, please advise immediately and you will be removed from the 2020 season and receive a full refund. Once we engage in play on 30 May, no refunds will be provided by the league. Please ensure you share this with your players. I distributed update team fee invoices today. Fees are due by first game, report issues directly to me for any assistance.
One point of clarity…a Cooler of water is a cooler contained with water, not water bottles. It is preferred that players bring their own equipment and water for the first couple weeks of play. As conditions change (loosen or tighten) with-in the state, so too will our playing conditions as it is a matter established by the HEALTH DEPARTMENT and on the league to comply with or be shut down.
These conditions are based on approved playing conditions from Ohio. The El Paso Health Department thinks they look good, however, will not provide any further feedback until guidelines have been distributed by the state on 27 May.
Players need to have hand sanitizer in their bags and a face covering in order to be able to be at the site. If a player does not follow these guidelines, he will be warned, second offense results in being ejected from the site. If further confrontation occurs, the player is subject to further actions by the executive committee and could be suspended for the remainder of the season.
I have shared with you one component of this already which is the Check-in form for use immediately at all team practices, meetings, etc… to start getting everyone familiar with the self-checks and check-in process.
We have purchased face-covers (neck gators) for each player. However, I have been warned that they may not be shipped to us in time for the first weekend of play. So please be prepared to execute using this process at a minimum.
Southern Maine, Jim Doran-I hope all of you are well. I wanted to send along an update on my thoughts for this season. We, as well as many Leagues across the country are changing their season start times and making changes as this pandemic continues. As I stated in my last letter, the plan was to start both 25+ and 35+ Divisions the week following Mother’s Day. I will start making a schedule with that in mind. However at this point and as things continually change, I feel that we would probably not start the season until June 1st for both Divisions. This seems to be the same as many others throughout the country (please check out emails from League Presidents at https://msblnational.com/msbl-league-startup-update-for-friday-april-3rd/).
That being said, we need to continue to follow guidelines given to us. The stay at home directive until May 1st will definitely affect teams preparing for the season. All fields are closed until at least May 1st. I will maintain contact with field officials as May draws near. The League will not purchase baseballs or League insurance until we have better information on when it will be safe to play. Once the directive is lifted and we can resume activities, we want to give teams the ability to have some type of Spring Training prior to actual games being played.
If we have a June start, we will try to have as much of a full season as possible. We may lose 2 games in the 35+ Division and 3-4 games in the 25+ Division. This can be mitigated by playing more games during the week to make up for lost weekends. I would appreciate any input. Any reduction in games will mean that team fees will be adjusted accordingly. Clair, Adam, and I will work on a fair reduction in team fees. Thanks and stay safe!
Southern Wisconsin, Sean Michael Dargan–During this time of uncertainty and unprecedented events, the MABL of SoWI Board agrees to the following situation management plan to remain in effect until MABL of SoWI resumes normal activities. The plan allows activities critical to the MABL of SoWI organization, mission and upcoming season to take place while focusing on the health and well-being of MABL of SoWI players, umpires, families and volunteers, and responsible actions within our local, state, national and world communities.
(1) Information Monitoring: The Board will monitor relevant information sources and share important updates with each other.
a. Public health advisories from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services; Public Health Madison and Dane County.
b. Recommendations from MABL National. Actions and cancellations taken by area school districts and youth sports organizations.
(2) Board Decisions: Until MABL of SoWI resumes normal activities, the Board is authorized to make decisions by majority rule as needed and then share the decision with the full membership.
(3) Planning: Due to the fast-changing, fluid situation, the Board will keep contingency plans as simple as possible (focused on key dates and guiding principles as mentioned below), rather than attempting detailed what/if scenario planning.
(4) MABL of SoWI Activities and Gatherings: All non-essential MABL of SoWI gatherings are suspended until further notice and until the MABL of SoWI Board approves and communicates a resumption of activities. All team gatherings, including practices, are non-essential. All communications shall be conducted by emails, phone calls, social media methods, etc. All essential meetings shall use a virtual meeting platform that is compatible with all attendees.
(5) MABL of SoWI Communications: All communications about the coronavirus situation and MABL of SoWI plans related to the coronavirus situation must come from the league President or Division VPs. Similarly, all questions about the coronavirus situation and MABL of SoWI plans should be referred to the league President, who will handle responses after clearing them with the Board as needed.
(6) Game Schedules: The 2020 season schedule is currently on hold, and will be reassessed on 1 May.
(7) Preparations: The Board and staff will continue preparations for a potentially abbreviated 2020 spring/summer season.
(8) Player and Sponsor Refunds: All decisions on full or partial refunds will be deferred until 1 May. This will allow actual impacts to be better understood when making a decision.
(9) MABL of Southern Wisconsin will continue to share news and provide updates to MABL players, umpires, families and volunteers in a timely fashion. We remain excited about the opportunity to play ball as soon as it is safe and responsible to do so. For additional information and guidelines about the coronavirus, please refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Public Health Madison and Dane County.
Syracuse, Rob Allen-I spoke with Steve Sigler from MSBL this morning. They are in Long Island and pushed start of their season back to June 3rd. He recommended the same. We can’t access the fields until the schools are back to session. They are projected to open now 4/15.
I proposed start date of 5/31, the weekend after Memorial Day, while pushing the end of the regular season back two weeks to August 30th. Playoffs would start after Labor Day with play-in game being 9/9. There would be a third Wednesday game played to make for 16 game season. Now we just have to hope things clear up between now and then.
Tri-Valley (CA), Bruce Fraser-There has been a lot going on surrounding the current health situation with the Covid-19 pandemic. It is certainly an unprecedented event within our lifetime with the closure of local gatherings, and the cancellation and suspension of major sporting events. At times like these, communication and information are critical. With that in mind, I wanted to update you on how this pandemic is affecting our league.
First and foremost, the safety and well-being of our league members and their families/friends is our primary concern. In addition, with our new league just starting in its first season, there definitely will be challenges with finalizing the fields that we are in the process of securing. These fields are Livermore HS, Pittsburg Ballpark, and Heritage HS (Sunday only) as the primary ones. We also expect to have a limited number of games at Waterfront Ballpark in Martinez, the San Leandro Ballpark, and Dublin HS. However, the various school districts and city park and recreation departments are currently not issuing permits for the use of their facilities until further notice. As a result of this situation, the Operating-Voting Committee has decided to delay the start of the season from the weekend of April 18th to the weekend of May 2nd. Even with this delay, we expect to be able to complete the season with minimal or no doubleheaders by the end of September.
As all of our teams prepare for the season by holding practices, it is important to take precautions to minimize the potential spread of the virus. It is possible that a fellow teammate may be infected with the virus and not know it. A stray sneeze or a cough in the dugout, the sharing of a batting helmet or a bat, the touching of a baseball…all could potentially spread the virus to others. The single most important consideration we have right now is to stop the spread and limit the number of people affected in our community, so please take the appropriate precautions. As testing for the virus increases over the next few weeks, hopefully the results will help with deciding if further actions are needed with respect to the start of the season.
With the delay in the start of our season, the deadline for team fees has been extended to April 15th. As always, please make sure that you work with your players to pay the team fee on time as it is critical to the success of our league.
I will continue to update you as the Operating-Voting Committee monitors the situation over the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your commissioner or any Board member. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy.
Tri Valley (Update 3/30)-The Operating-Voting (O-V) Committee wanted to provide you with an update on our upcoming season. We are very much committed to starting the season as soon as the fields are available, and we receive confirmation from the state/local governments, facility providers, and medical community that it is safe to play.
In my last e-mail, I communicated that the season was planned to start on the weekend of May 2nd. Based on recent events, such as the local public schools new earliest target date of opening on May 4th, we are now planning to start the season on the weekend of May 30th. Assuming the schools open as currently planned, starting our season on the weekend of May 30th provides time for the final paperwork to be submitted for the fields and for teams to have an opportunity to practice before we start the season. This timing will also allow us to schedule the full 15-game season with playoffs into the second weekend in October, if needed, right before the first MSBL World Series week is scheduled to start.
As I am sure all of you are aware, the current virus situation we are in is very fluid and plans may need to be changed again. With that in mind, the Committee is working on scenarios for opening the season at a couple of different times, so that we can be as prepared as possible to start our season. This could mean that doubleheaders may be needed or depending on the start date, possibly a shorter season than we are currently planning. To help us with our planning, the Age Division Commissioners will be reaching out to all of you to get your input to help with finalizing the other scenarios. As an example, would you prefer to have more doubleheaders to keep with the 15-game regular season, set the regular season to fewer games, or even play on holidays (Fathers Day, July 4th, Labor Day) that we normally would not.
The feedback that the Commissioners collect will help the Committee make decisions as the detailed schedules are prepared.
We are also extending the due date for full team fees from April 15th to April 30th. A key driver of our league’s costs is dependent on the number of games we play. To the extent that the number of games will be less than what we are currently planning, we will refund or credit the appropriate amount. For those teams that have not paid at least their $2,000 deposit yet, it needs to be paid early this week to remain on the planned schedule. Please discuss any issues you are experiencing on this topic with your Commissioner.
As always, please reach out to your Commissioners or any of the Board/O-V Committee members with questions. I hope all of you are doing well and staying safe!
Tri-Valley (Update 4/20)-The Operating-Voting (O-V) Committee met last night, so I wanted to provide you with an update. We are still very much committed to starting the season as soon as the fields are available, and we receive confirmation from the state/local governments, facility providers, and medical community that it is safe to play.
With so much uncertainty right now, we are obviously unsure of when the season will start. Instead of providing a date at this point, we are going to leave it open and notify all of you as soon as we have more information. We just learned this week that the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District is not accepting rental permits until the next school year that starts on July 1st. I would suspect that this will be the case with most public schools in our area. We are also planning to play at some city owned fields (i.e., Pittsburg, Martinez, and San Leandro) that we have been in communication with, and will submit our rental request as soon as they are accepting them.
The due date for the $2,000 team deposit has been extended to April 30th as we have a few teams that still need to pay this fee in full. No further extensions will be made and teams that have not paid at least their team deposit will be dropped from the league. Since the date for the start of the season is not known yet, we are going to hold off on setting a date for when the remaining team fees need to be paid. We will communicate a date as soon as possible. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, a key driver of our league’s costs is dependent on the number of games we play. To the extent that the number of games will be less than what we are currently planning, the total team fee amount will be adjusted. With that being said, I would like to encourage teams to plan on a quick turnaround time for paying their remaining team fees as the time will likely be short once we get the green light.
As always, please reach out to your Commissioners or any of the Board/O-V Committee members with questions.
I hope you and your families are doing well, and staying safe! – Bruce Fraser
Tucson, Eddie Sapp– Since our email on Monday, the Mayor of Tucson decided to close bars, restaurants and other places of congregation for the time being. At this time, the City Parks and Recreation have informed us that they will still honor our field arrangements, but we realize that could change any day since our gatherings would easily have more than 50 people in attendance.
The Board has been patient with the process of gathering information and waiting until the time comes that it is necessary to make a decision. The fact that we have not reacted more swiftly should not be viewed negatively. When we made the decision a few days ago, it was at a time that most local schools and daycares had decided to close through the end of March, which is when our season was scheduled to start. There was no reason to rush to judgment at that time.
Nobody receiving this email wants the season to be postponed or canceled, and because of that we adopted a wait and see approach. Just because most other organizations have made decisions to suspend operations, we didn’t feel the need to do the same because we had more time on our side. We strongly believe that a knee-jerk reaction would not have been the proper answer, mainly because it wouldn’t afford our organization the time to properly plan for the alternative scenarios. We adopted our approach because we had the time, and so we could evaluate the various scenarios that could become a reality if we had to suspend or cancel the season. We hope that you can understand and appreciate that, but we also understand if you have different opinions.
Any organization that has to decide in a situation like this is faced with a predicament in which they are going to please some while offending others. In most of those organizations, the people making those decisions get paid to make them, while our organization consists of volunteers who have jobs and families to attend to while trying to keep the MSBL operating smoothly.
In our recent email, we said it was business as usual until you hear otherwise. At this time, we feel it is in the best interests of the league and its members to push back our start date from March 29 to April 19. We will also push back the team registration deadline to the end of business on Monday, April 6. The situation is still fluid, which means these dates may be pushed back as well, and we will keep you posted as things progress, but as of now those are the dates you can plan for. If we can start the season by that date, we will schedule Cactus and Mountain divisions to play two games per week in 3 different weeks, including scheduling games on Monday evenings of holiday weekends.
For the National and American divisions, we would be scheduling 4 doubleheader Sundays, along with 3 weeknight games, for each division. This would allow us to play the full schedule and finish the season in early August as originally planned so we can have a full set of playoffs with a contingency for the weather, which is one of our main goals after the September rain forced us to make changes to last season’s playoffs. If we are unable to start the season by then, we will decide at that time, but it will likely include a truncated schedule and a reduced player fee.
In the last few days, we have worked diligently with our vendors to ensure fixed costs can be reduced if the season is shortened, and we have received an extremely favorable response, which has shifted more of our costs to be variable instead of fixed, and this would afford us to lower player fees even more for a truncated season. If it comes to that we will share the numbers with you at that time.
We realize that some of you may be disappointed with the delay in the start of the season, but at this time we feel it is the right choice for the league as a whole. Unless you hear otherwise, team fees for those teams who have not paid yet are due on April 6, and the season will start on Sunday, April 19 for National and American, Monday, April 20 for Cactus and Thursday, April 23 for Mountain.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate through this difficult situation.
Twin Cities, Ryan Lutzka-We have been in constant communication with our league managers to date regarding the situation. As of today, the TCMABL plans to move forward as though the season will start on 5/17 (our Opening Day). We will revisit the subject around May 1st to reassess if a May 17 start is feasible. If it is not, we will need to decide on our contingency plan to salvage the season. Our initial thought would be to shave weeks of the schedule. If we are not able to start our season by July 1st, our 2020 season is in jeopardy. If nothing else, we discussed the possibility of a double elimination tournament for our three age divisions that would take place over a 2-3 weekend span in August. Obviously, if “normal life” has not resumed by then, the 2020 season could be cancelled outright. I’d like to give a shout of to our league Executive Officers and League Managers for their willingness to do what is best for our baseball family and their communities during this unusual time. The brotherhood that is the TCMABL will overcome this situation, even if the 2020 season is lost due to a global pandemic.
Utah, Gary Bowman-And now for the news you all have been waiting for…
We all need something to shoot for a goal, a deadline, something to keep us focused. The County still has us with a start Date of Saturday, May 2nd. So in going with what they have stated we will work towards that. I will have another meeting with the County in two (2) weeks to see if there are any changes.
Opening Day: Saturday, May 2nd
With this in mind;
1). Contact your players and keep them in the loop of what is going on. I am sure they need a distraction from life about now. Check to see how their families are doing also.
2). Look over the player pool for players to fill your rosters if needed. (players are still sending those in)
3). Look over your rosters for players that are not listed and remind them to fill out those waiver forms.
4). Team fees are due no later than Friday. May 8th. (no team fees will be accepted until we are for sure playing)
5). I am looking at the season and working on several scenarios of how to handle the April games that have been postponed. Keep in mind that we are not the only league effected by this and they too are going to try to figure out how to handle their games too. So, we need to be flexible to several different playing scenarios.
6). The main thing is to follow the guidelines put down by Salt Lake County, and keep in mind that more we follow them the less at risk we put our loved ones and others and the quicker we can get the curve down and get on the field.
You can contact me if you need to escape from reality and talk baseball.
I’m always available to you, your managers, and your players.
Stay Safe, Stay Home, Be safe, and I’ll See You All On The Field!
Utah, (Update 4/29)-With the State going from Red to Orange, that calls for a wait and see period of seven (7) days to see if the numbers go up, stay even, or go down. So, this also now includes us. And this is just one of the items the County is working on.
The next issue is the bathrooms. As it is that we use their facilities they must have the bathrooms available to use, which right now would mean they would have to have a male employee and a female employee at the facilities to sanitize them after each use. I know, I know, I mentioned to them that there have been several times when the bathrooms were closed due to them forgetting to unlock them, broken pipes, stolen copper pipes, and they acknowledged that and said that, they should have cancelled the games but it wasn’t a situation like it is now. They also said that it would put a stress on local businesses if we all used their facilities.
So that is where we stand now. I will have another teleconference with the County next week, usually Tuesdays now, or Wednesday mornings, to get a feel for what is going on. If we continue working this curve thing, and the numbers continue to go down. We could be on the fields on Saturday, May 9th. I wish I had better news. But this is all new to everyone and safety is the main concern.
Also, when we do get on the field, I have made on adjustment to help with keeping players safe. Batters are to wear a mask while batting and only while batting. Once they arrive at a base, they may remove their mask. This should help with the situation of having the catcher close to the batter.
Thank you for your patience. And, we will get on the field.
Vermont, Reid Crosby-The board originally pushed any decisions regarding the upcoming season to 4/1, but given how quickly things have progressed, this weekend we decided to postpone the start of our season from 4/26 to 5/31, the first weekend after Memorial Day weekend. Keeping makeup dates on 7/5 and 9/6, this allows for a balanced 13 game season, with our playoffs starting on schedule. Because our original schedule was unbalanced, Doug is in the process of redoing the schedule so that every team plays every other team once.
I’m sure everyone is disappointed, but this decision makes the most sense given the current state of affairs.
With the start of the season pushed back, we are also pushing back the deadline for dues to be submitted, as we are aware that finances are tight for everyone right now. For those that have already submitted dues, thank you very much. It is much appreciated and having that money in the account is allowing us to get the necessary insurance certificates in a timely manner.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. We know and understand that this is a difficult time for everyone. Do everything you can to stay safe, and check on members of your team to make sure they are safe as well. This will pass, and we are confident that we will be able to play baseball this summer.
West Michigan MABL, Mike Hughes– The inaugural season of the West Michigan MSBL is officially ‘on hold’ at this point. Our April 18th practice is cancelled of course, as Gov. Witmer has extended the ‘Stay in Place’ order until May 1st. Our May 30th kickoff doubleheader also looks dubious, as both field admins’ will commit to no dates as of right now. I will advise all whenever I get new information. I was also notified this morning by the umpires association (MHSSA) that all umpire scheduling is also in a ‘holding pattern’, with a major revamping in the cards. However, I have spoken with all three representatives several times, and they also are excited about our first season. They are just overwhelmed with the changes on all levels, both personal and professionally…as we all are. We will regroup in early May, and somehow get outta’ the damn house! We will regain our previous momentum, and then some.
I want to personally thank Steve Sigler, Steve LaMontia, and everyone at HQ. You have kept for me informed and psyched through all this, while keeping my ‘eye on the prize’! I also wanted to give a shout out to four former friends and opponents, as I have seen them in articles here on the website in the last week. That would be former co-worker Ted Poleto of the ‘Inland Angels’, and Tommy Maney, Ralph Caputo, and John Reel (President) of the CDSMBL. I hope to see you all in Phoenix for the World Series this year or next. I want our players here on Lake Michigan to rest assured, we will roll this season out as soon as humanly possible. I can’t think of a better sound then ‘Play Ball’ to snap us awake from this nightmare!
West-Put, Anthony Messina-League Update: Covid 19 Effects on the Season: Updated 03-20-2020
League Managers met by teleconference last evening. We have changed the schedule for the beginning of the season. Assuming success in battle against coronavirus, we agreed to proceed as follows:
- Games scheduled April 5 rescheduled for May 24, Memorial Day off-date cancelled
- Games scheduled for April 19 rescheduled for July 19,
- All-Star Festivities scheduled for July 19 are postponed to a date to be determined as clarity begins to set in on the virus
- Games scheduled for April 26 rescheduled for August 30.
Please keep these dates in your future plans. To ensure a complete season, the league will consider playing into early Fall, even if games must be played at neutral sites to complete schedule. These decisions were made to keep with league’s strong desire to not have regularly scheduled doubleheaders.
For now, be safe, stay healthy and exercise good judgement. We ask that anyone not feeling well should please refrain from playing league games until they feel better and or are tested for the coronavirus.
Please continue to check your email and our website for updates on further League news or announcements.
West-Put (Update 4/11)-Managers, I hope you and your families are all staying safe and well. In our continuing efforts to ensure a full schedule and with, hopefully, the coronavirus imprisonment coming to an end, we have revised the 2020 Schedule. Opening Day will be Sunday, May 31, 2020. We will pick up the existing schedule on that date, as currently scheduled. (See the website)
The Sundays prior to May 31, depending upon the CDC guidelines and local officials opening our fields and parks, may be used for practices and or scrimmages, as you see fit.
Games that had been scheduled prior to May 31, are rescheduled as follows:
In working with the schedule and using May 31 as the Opening Day Date, I was able to work in the games cancelled from May 3 as follows adding only September 6 to the schedule. If teams scheduled on 9-6 do not wish to play Labor Day, managers may work out a new date for a weekday game between 5-31 and 9-6. The 9-6 games will require the Tribe and the Marlins to play DH. These 4 games will have to be at two different sites. My guess would be Navajo and either Greenwich or Lewisboro, as those fields are usually the easiest to schedule.
Frank, Tony and I have made this decision with three goals; preserve the full schedule; limit the number of doubleheaders and limit the number of weeks needed to be added to the end of the Season. This schedule preserves playoffs beginning September 13. Rainouts will be difficult, but hopefully they will be limited and teams can use mid-week games to re-schedule doubleheaders. It may be necessary to expand games on September 6 and use September 13 as a rainout makeup day. We cannot predict and will continue to do our best.
West Metro Atlanta, Ron Huck– We are not sure when we will start. We do plan to cancel our Fall Baseball League and make up the couple months we miss into the fall season. We are still working on a full season. We have 4 teams sitting out the 2020 season. So, we are going from 16 to 12 team. We are also sending information to our managers weekly and last week did a video call.
West Metro Atlanta (Update 6/8) – Gentlemen: As you may have heard, some of our fields are beginning to reopen, but with specific restrictions. High school fields are reopening in the coming week, but only for conditioning of high school athletes and with very detailed limits on use of the facilities. We are staying in regular contact with the administrations of the county school fields we utilize to determine when we can gain full access for games. The City of Smyrna has also begun to reopen fields for some athletic activity, but again with restrictions. Since Ward Park and Chuck Camp are two of the city’s fields we use, we reached out last week to confirm our permits and to gain clarification on exactly how the restrictions would apply when we are able to gain access to the fields, but have not heard back from anyone yet. That being said, we are hopeful that by the end of this month, or early July, we will be able to access our fields and start our season, but subject to the following conditions.
We are continuing to monitor the overall health situation and, unless there is significant improvement in the statistics, we will be implementing protocols that will have to be earnestly enforced. Examples of what we are exploring and developing as protocols to prepare for returning to the field safely is having players bring a waiver to each game stating that they have no signs of any sickness and to their knowledge have not been exposed. Also, no one would be allowed in the dugouts, and players must maintain social distancing at all times. As one example, according the umpire associations and what has been suggested by MSBL National, the umpire would be positioned behind the pitcher. Players off the field, managers and coaches would be required to wear masks, and possibly players on the field or at least at the option of the player. Players would be expected to bring hand sanitizer, and to use it frequently, and no high fives or fist bumping. Each team would only use the baseballs it supplies for the game, so players on the opposing team would not be touching the other team’s baseballs. There can be no seeds and there can be no spitting. And based on the current restrictions of the city and county schools, only players and umpires would be allowed at the site.
Also, for both safety and at the request of the both the city and schools, only rubber cleats will be allowed going forward.
Attached is the roster form, our league waiver and an addendum that need to be signed by all players. We need all of those back in ASAP so when we get full clarification on getting on the fields, we will be ready to play, so please send your final roster forms and waivers back to me no later than next Friday, June 12th. And even if you have sent a roster previously, please update and resend so we are sure you have a full roster to start the season since some players have decided not to play. We will also need to have the balance of fees in from everyone, and we will let you know shortly of any adjustments we need to make to the amount of the balance depending upon the number of games.
I wanted give you this update since it appears we may be moving closer to being allowed to start our season. The plan is to utilize the dates we would normally play fall ball for the second half of the season and play to the end of October, which should give us a complete season.
Hopefully we are only a few weeks away from hearing the two most welcoming words in our vocabulary: PLAY BALL!
Western Mass., Tony Consiglio-With the continued coronavirus pandemic, the WMWBL is delaying the opening of the 2020 season until at least May 16.
Currently, Massachusetts is under a stay-at-home advisory until May 4. If all goes well and we are able to get on the field at that point, a May 16 start date will provide about two weeks for practices and a chance to get organized.
In an effort to reschedule missed games, we likely will play the playoffs throughout September with August becoming the last month of the regular season.
There are many things that still must happen before we can start the season. But, we intend to play baseball at some point. We will monitor the latest developments during April and make any subsequent decisions as necessary.
When we have any further updates, we will contact your managers and post them here.
Thanks, and stay safe.
Western Mass. (Update 5/4)-Due to the state’s stay-at-home advisory being extended until May 18, we are going to have to push back the start of our season again.
Operating under the same timeline as we had previously planned, we will aim to open the season on the weekend of May 30/31. That will still be almost two weeks for us all to get ready for games. Assuming it’s looking like we can start at that point, we will determine how to handle the remainder of the schedule from there, with playing into at least September looking likely.
Hopefully this is the last time we’ll have to make any new plans for Opening Day. We are still going to play the season as best we can. Thanks, and stay safe.
Willamette Valley (OR), David Winstead-The WVMBL 2020 season plans to start the 1st week of June. This is pending based on the current situation dealing with the Covid-19 virus pandemic. Our goal is to stay positive and prepare as if our league starts on time.
Our new player workout and draft, originally scheduled in April, has been postponed to a date to be determined. New players wanting to join are encouraged to sign up on our website, wvmbl.com.
I would like to thank our Board Members for their ongoing support in preparing for the upcoming season, like they have for past seasons. It is our hope our season continues so the past 30+ champions, Astros and the 40+ champions, Panthers have an opportunity to defend their titles.