LEAGUES
He’s especially hoping the Railers, who are defending champs in the ACBL and owners of four championships in the last five seasons, can defend their title and give the players who were deprived of their spring college seasons a chance to resume their careers.
However, the ACBL, which also features the Quakertown Blazers and six other teams in addition to Allentown, is waiting until the end of May to make a decision on whether to have a season and what it will look like if it’s greenlit.
“We’re going to make a decision no later than May 31,” said ACBL President Tom Bonekemper. “We’re weighing all the factors. We’re keeping in mind the health of the players, coaches and umpires, and we’re trying to abide by the federal, state and local regulations.”
Bonekemper said that of the 12 leagues in the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, six have already canceled their seasons, including the Cape Cod League and Cal Ripken League. Besides the two Pennsylvania teams, the ACBL features five New Jersey squads and one from Staten Island, all relative hot spots in the COVID-19 battle.
“The board decided it wanted to wait a little longer, although I am not sure it will make a difference,” Bonekemper said. “A lot of people want to play, but that’s not really having a plan or a strategy when it comes to the federal or state government regulations.”
With no NCAA baseball this spring and many summer leagues shutting down, the 54-year-old ACBL would be in store for one of its best seasons in terms of quality and interest.
“The rosters are outstanding this year,” Bonekemper said. “We would have unbelievable interest.”
Dando has his Railers roster in place.
“I have been in contact with our players and we’re ready to go if and when it happens,” he said. “It’s a matter of when we get the go-ahead and what kind of restrictions and safeguards need to be put in place. Are we capable of doing it in the time frame we need to have a legitimate season?”
Dando said he doesn’t want to have a mini-season of just 12 games. Usually, the league plays about 40 regular-season games through June and July. This year’s season was supposed to start May 29.
The plan, at least for now, is to start July 1 and have a 30-game regular season followed by playoffs.
“Obviously, the safety of the players, coaches and fans are of most importance, but I don’t know if we can guarantee that,” Dando said.
The Blue Mountain League, an 11-team amateur baseball league that is scheduled for its 75th season this summer, is also on hold. The season was supposed to start Tuesday, with the Limeport Bulls looking to defend their 2019 championship and, like the Railers, go for their fifth title in six years.
“We’ve pushed back the start of our league until June 1 and we’ll see what the governor says at that time,” BML President Bob Varju said. “If we get to June 1 and things are starting to look good, we may push back the start to June 15 to give guys more of a chance to get ready.”
Much like the ACBL and other sports organizations, the BML is hopeful of getting in some sort of season but uncertain, and to a degree doubtful, it will happen.
“The biggest concern is the health of the players in our league, and that goes for them being ready to play,” Varju said. “I don’t want to have a young player cleared to play and he throws out his arm early in the season because he wasn’t physically ready. Nobody has really thrown, nobody has really been outside all spring. I don’t want to wreck anyone’s career.”
Varju has stayed in touch with the league members through online meetings. He said participation and interest in the league is strong because there were no high school and college seasons and added: “There’s really not a lot going on.”
“We’ve pushed it back and we’ll keep pushing it back until June 15,” Varju said. “It’s all dependent on what the governor says.
“If the situation isn’t better by June 15, we won’t have a season, which would be a shame. But it’s out of our control.”
Keith Groller can be reached at 610-820-6740 or at kgroller@mcall.com