A lot has been made of the cancelations and postponements in professional, college, high school and youth baseball … but what about the state’s most unique rung on the baseball ladder? What about town ball?
With 272 teams across the state, Minnesota is the nation’s hub for amateur baseball. However, with COVID-19 spreading, the amateur season is on hold just like the rest of the sports world.
And just as with other leagues and governing bodies, the Minnesota Baseball Association is still hoping to have some type of season.
“We realize there’s going to have to be changes made,” MBA President and Mankato resident Fred Roufs said. “That’s just the new world we live in.”
The MBA is considering many of the same changes as various youth organizations, including extended benches, no more sharing of equipment and social distancing of fans. When it comes to keeping fans apart, Roufs is very confident it can be done.
“We usually get between 25-100 people at games. We’re putting those into stadiums that could hold 250-1,000,” Roufs said. “We think we can social distance very easily in the majority of our ballparks. I think people will segregate themselves.”
When it comes to the games missed in May, those shouldn’t be a major issue. Many amateur baseball teams do a home-and-away, two-game series with each team in their respective league, and those can easily be turned into doubleheaders.
The big issue that’s looming will be the annual state tournament, which is set to take place in New Ulm and Springfield during the last two weeks in August. That event would bring 64 teams to those towns and is the highlight of the town-ball season.
With 272 teams across the state, Minnesota is the nation’s hub for amateur baseball. However, with COVID-19 spreading, the amateur season is on hold just like the rest of the sports world.
And just as with other leagues and governing bodies, the Minnesota Baseball Association is still hoping to have some type of season.
“We realize there’s going to have to be changes made,” MBA President and Mankato resident Fred Roufs said. “That’s just the new world we live in.”
The MBA is considering many of the same changes as various youth organizations, including extended benches, no more sharing of equipment and social distancing of fans. When it comes to keeping fans apart, Roufs is very confident it can be done.
“We usually get between 25-100 people at games. We’re putting those into stadiums that could hold 250-1,000,” Roufs said. “We think we can social distance very easily in the majority of our ballparks. I think people will segregate themselves.”
When it comes to the games missed in May, those shouldn’t be a major issue. Many amateur baseball teams do a home-and-away, two-game series with each team in their respective league, and those can easily be turned into doubleheaders.
The big issue that’s looming will be the annual state tournament, which is set to take place in New Ulm and Springfield during the last two weeks in August. That event would bring 64 teams to those towns and is the highlight of the town-ball season.
0 Comments