Turning a lost season into a smashing success
ICBL fills void after virus forced 2 leagues to cancel
When the Albany Athletics take on the Amsterdam Mohawks at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., it will complete the first season of the Independent Collegiate Baseball League.
It should be the only season of the ICBL, at least its four teams hope, since that would mean a return to normalcy from the coronavirus pandemic.
“It came and went pretty quick,” said Jason Brinkman, general manager of the Albany Dutch, of the fiveweek season that began on July 6. All games were played at either Shuttleworth or East Field in Glens Falls.
The Athletics, Mohawks, Dutch and Glens Falls Independents assembled the league quickly out of necessity after the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League and Twilight League, which both play in the Capital Region, canceled their seasons out of concerns about COVID-19.
“The priority was to give players a chance to play baseball and develop and do it carefully and do it with safety in place,” said Joe Altieri, head coach of the Athletics, who are normally a member of the Twilight League.
But they joined forces with the Mohawks, Dutch and Independents, whose ownership all have franchises
in the PGCBL, to produce a season that Altieri said was a smashing success.
“I think it went incredibly well, highly successful,” Altieri said. “If you talk to the teams as well, the first thing we’ll point out is there were no COVID cases, no safety was compromised and we just had great baseball on the field and gave the opportunity to a lot of players to play baseball.”
Players had to have their temperatures taken when they arrived at the field, but Brinkman and Altieri both said none had to be sent home for testing 100 degrees or higher.
All four teams hired certified trainers who encouraged players to stick to the league’s safety protocols, such as wearing masks in the dugout.
“I can’t speak for everybody, but from what I know and what I saw, our trainers were reinforcing the message,” Brinkman said. “Our coaches also helped reinforce that and, yeah, I think they were good about making sure that they were distancing, and when they weren’t, they had their masks on.”
The ICBL allowed games to end in ties and didn’t keep formal standings. There are no playoffs. The Athletics unofficially have the best record at 20-3-2.
“Our priority was to get baseball played in a safe manner and not worry about a playoff system,” Altieri said. “We all found that once the games started, there was a lot of competitiveness. Every player wanted to develop but also played to win.”
Glens Falls outfielder Evan St. Claire, entering his junior year at Siena, said he appreciated the opportunity after his college season was canceled in mid-march.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “We need to play. Taking too much time off just sets you back so much. You do all the work to get ready for a season and having it taken away sucks.”
Each player was allowed only two guests in the stands at games, per state guidelines, so the ICBL got creative and set up dining areas at Shuttleworth available by reservation only. Fans weren’t allowed to visit the concession stands. Instead, waitresses delivered food.
For those who couldn’t attend, the ICBL livestreamed its games. Brinkman estimated there were 1,000 to 1,500 people watching
Dutch games on Facebook Live.
“It was just great to see the overwhelming positive response from the players to the parents to just people locally,” Brinkman said.
Altieri gave credit to everyone from the ticket takers to the umpires who worked games solo, standing behind the pitcher’s mound instead of home plate to socially distance.
Next summer, if the health crisis subsides, the Dutch (known as the Dutchmen in the PGCBL) hope to be back at Siena College and the Athletics back to their field at Bleecker Stadium for the Twilight League.
“Yeah, this season was always kind of a one-off kind of thing and that’s why we did kind of rebranding,” Brinkman said. “Our plan is for the Albany Dutchmen to be in the Perfect Game Collegiate League in 2021.”