The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Crushers planning to play in 2021 season
Home park renamed Mercy Health Stadium
In a news conference Nov. 24 announcing a new stadium naming deal with Mercy Health, Lake Erie Crushers owner Tom Kramig gave an update on the team’s 2021 season.
After their entire 2020 season was canceled, Lake Erie and the
Frontier League are planning on returning to the field at the newly named Mercy Health Stadium in 2021.
“While obviously there are no guarantees, we are moving forward to play in (2021),” Kramig said. “We’re already making plans for that. The Frontier League is currently at 15 teams, and with contraction going on in affiliated minor-league ball we expect to be at 20 teams next season.”
The Crushers’ 2020 season was canceled before it began because of the coronavirus pandemic. A month after it was scheduled to begin May 15, the league announced the entire season would not be played June 24.
In September, the Frontier League announced it had reached an agreement with Major League Baseball to become a Partner League. The partnership will allow the Crushers’ league to accept some teams contracted from Minor League Baseball (MiLB).
“We have a partnership with Major League Baseball that we are very excited about,” Kramig said. “That’s all part of accepting some of those contracted teams and continuing to grow the game of baseball.”
Following the cancellation of the MiLB season in 2020, the MLB announced plans to “contract” or cut down on the amount of teams in its minor leagues. The plan has put the MLB in complete control of the MiLB, allowing MLB to cut down the number of affiliated clubs to four per major-league team.
That process is already in effect with the contraction of the Appalachian League. Formerly a “Rookie League” which played a shortened season with rookies from the affiliated teams’ players comprising the roster, the Appalachian League is now classified as a collegiate summer league, made up of 10 teams with rising freshmen and sophomores in the college scene.
The Frontier League grew from a nine-team league to a 14-team league in 2020 after it merged with
the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. The 15th team will begin play in 2021, operating out of Ottawa.
In their last on-field action, Lake Erie won the Frontier League’s Eastern Division with a 54-43 record. When they return in 2021, it will be not only at a newly named stadium, but under a new manager.
Former Frontier League manager Dan Rohn was hired by the ballclub in January, after previous manager Cam Roth was hired by the Tigers. Rohn led the now-defunct Traverse City Beach Bums to a Frontier League title in 2015, before the team folded in 2018.