Two leagues

Baseball P.E.I. looking to offer to two midget leagues

As long as there are four teams registered for each league this summer, Baseball P.E.I. will be offering an 18-and-under midget A and AA leagues.

This will be a departure from the past when Baseball P.E.I. offered only one midget league across the Island.

“In the past,” said Randy Byrne, executive director of Baseball P.E.I., “we only offered one 18U/midget league. The provincial champions of that division would represent P.E.I. at the Baseball Atlantic 18U AA Championships, so while on P.E.I. we considered it an unclassified league in terms of skill, in reality, it was closer to being a AA league.’’

Baseball P.E.I. will go ahead with the two leagues if there is a minimum of four teams registered in both leagues.

Byrne said a few associations made some inquiries in the fall as to whether Baseball P.E.I. would consider offering an 18U/ midget AA league and an 18U/ midget A league this season.

“We said if we can get a minimum of four teams registered at each skill classification, we would absolutely do that. So, the associations went back and polled their membership and it appears there are enough interest and players to have two 18U/midget leagues this summer, instead of one.”

Allison Macdonald, director of the 15-and-under bantam and 18-and-under midget competitions for Baseball P.E.I., thinks it’s a good step.

“What we’ve heard is that a lot of players who played at the A or lower skill levels in 13U/ peewee and 15U/bantam would get to 18U/midget and not want to play anymore,’’ said Macdonald.

“With the one 18U/midget league, they would be playing with players who played at a higher skill level through the years and other players who were playing Youth Selects.”

With a gap in talent, some players would decide not to play.

Macdonald said if they can get enough teams to offer both leagues, players more comfortable playing at a lower or a more recreational level can play midget A, while the players who wish to play at a more competitive level will be at home at the AA level.

“I think it will lead to a lot of players, who’ve played baseball up until they were 15 years old, to continue to play baseball instead of quitting upon entering 18U/midget age, and, in my opinion, more teenagers playing baseball is a very good thing,” Macdonald said.

Baseball P.E.I. will go ahead with the two leagues if there is a minimum of four teams registered in both leagues. If one league has fewer than four teams register, then the league will revert back to offering only one midget league this year.

Baseball P.E.I. will be holding meetings for teams entering the midget leagues on Thursday, May 3, at 6 p.m. for 18U/ midget AA and 7:30 p.m. for 18U/midget A at Sport P.E.I. in Charlottetown.

The two midget leagues will likely begin on Victoria Day, Monday, May 21.