Kareem Evans Adjusts to COVID-19 Restrictions in the Central Florida Amateur Baseball League

By Steve LaMontia, Director of Communications

33-year old Kareem Evans lives in Tampa, Florida and is a player/manager of the Tampa Mariners in the Central Florida Amateur Baseball League, where he has been playing for the last five years and managing the Mariners for the last two.

Florida has been greatly impacted by the current COVID-19 virus, which of course impacts Kareem’s ability to stay baseball ready as well as concerns about when the league will start up.  Kareem was nice enough to share some of his thoughts about those issues with us.

What is your biggest takeaway from our current coronavirus outbreak?  The biggest takeaway from the current coronavirus outbreak is not being able to go to the field and practice or play any games. At first, the time off was kind of a blessing since I have been involved in the league for the last five years but now not being able to get on a ballfield and just play catch really hits you. I keep my mind occupied by doing other activities such as writing, starting a new gig and a new hobby.  Hopefully the league will start back up in a few weeks or so.

What are you doing to stay engaged with baseball?  I got a couple of gloves I have been trying to break in for a while. I was bringing a tee and a net with me to work and hitting off the tee while I was on my lunch break but I have not done it in a while. 

Are you still able to work out regularly during this period?  I have been able to ride my bike more and do some body weight workouts. But recently I’ve been recovering from some injuries that are taking much longer than I thought.

What special activities are you and/or your family able to participate in?  My family normally have Sunday dinner together. We just enjoy each other’s company and we don’t take time for granted anymore.

Will you be participating in any national fall tournaments this year?  The plan is to put my team in the tournaments in the fall but I might create a tournament team with my team and a couple of teams in the league. I might just play on one of the teams participating in the tournaments if my plan doesn’t work out.