Adult leagues are back
Pandemic dictates many adjustments
It’s most apparent with the small stuff, Joe Graff said. No handshake lines, high-fives or spitting. Got it. That’s easy. But the hiccups returning from the COVID-19 pandemic have been much more subtle.
Remembering to not throw the ball around the infield after a strikeout with nobody on base. Teams supplying their own baseballs. The simple act of picking up a catcher’s mask after a foul ball or the umpire flipping a bat back into the dugout. Baseball basics, all of them. It also has been what Graff, the president of Pittsburgh’s National Adult Baseball Association (NABA), said the league’s 19 teams have had to adjust the most — the little things you take for granted.
“You’re happy to be out there, but then you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s this other stuff going on.’ ” Graff said. “Every once in a while, you catch a glimpse of it making a difference.”
Pittsburgh NABA returned June 6. The McKeesport Daily News League (DNL), another prominent adult baseball league in the area, followed the next week. Both have been itching to start their 2020 seasons.
Nick Donato, a longtime
president of the DNL, said the turnout and excitement surrounding this season has surpassed his wildest expectations.
After their typical seasonsetting meeting in March was canceled because of COVID-19, Donato said he and the league’s managers stayed in close contact the entire time.
“Everybody kept saying, ‘We want to play. We want to play,’ ” Donato said. “We just needed the OK, and that finally happened toward the end of May.”
A lack of fans and logistical hurdles have been two of the biggest reasons these leagues have been able to return. Their biggest issues have been paperwork and/ or securing field permits.
“We might get 10 people to watch a game,” Donato said. “It’s pretty much parents and relatives.”
While the DNL this year consists of 11 teams, Pittsburgh NABA has fielded 19 — seven in Class A and six apiece in Class AA and Class AAA.
Class A is purely recreational and can include guys who haven’t played baseball in a decade. Class AAA features college players and is significantly more competitive. Class AA is a mix between the two.
The DNL previously rivaled the Federation League, which folded a couple of years ago, but has churned out some pretty decent players over the years.
Dan Altavilla (Elizabeth Forward) and Randy Dobnak (South Park) played in the DNL, and they currently are with the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins, respectively.
Another Elizabeth Forward graduate, JJ Hoover, spent time in the DNL and has pitched for three MLB clubs over seven years, including the Cincinnati Reds for five.
Former Pirates Bill Robinson, John Wehner and Chris Peters played in the DNL, Donato said. So did
Homestead native Curt Leskanic (World Series champion in 2004) and McKeesport’s Rick Krivda, a former big-league pitcher and Olympic gold medalist in 2000.
“It’s good baseball,” Donato said.
Yet also strange during this time.
Graff, 40, retired this year after having played in Pittsburgh NABA since 2004. Now, he umpires. One of the biggest challenges for him has been deciding whether or not to touch players’ bats.
“You don’t know who might be weird about it,” Graff said.
Pittsburgh NABA originally thought it would require each team to supply its own baseballs. That became difficult, however, when both teams would chase foul balls or teams would forget to take the ball with them after a half-inning.
“It was definitely different,” Graff said. “I don’t know how much of a difference it really makes. The ball goes out of play, it’s sitting right by the other team, they’re still going to pick up your ball and throw it back.
“Even though we’re trying our best to follow CDC guidelines, you still want to help guys out.”
There also has been sort of a general awkwardness caused by the delayed season. Graff said members of Pittsburgh NABA have stayed in touch via Zoom since March. They also obtained 233 digital signatures in four days whenever players had to update liability waivers.
But even though he had completed his umpiring meetings and clinics — and Pittsburgh NABA players surely did all they could to stay sharp — it still didn’t feel natural.
“The weather says you should be in midseason form, but you’re definitely rusty,” Graff said. “Slowly but surely, I guess.”