Hamptons Baseball League Delays Start Date

In a letter to Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League players, president Sandi Kruel said the opening day date of June 1 is no longer possible as a result of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s stay-at-home order being extended to May 15.

“Unfortunately, we are currently in a ‘wait-and-see’ holding pattern,” Kruel said. “This is obviously the most challenging time we have experienced as a league. We know athletes want to play baseball, and we want to get the players on the field.”

National Alliance of College Summer Baseball member leagues had a conference call April 25 and each league shared updates regarding the status of its 2020 summer season. In that call, each discussed the different ways states are addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cape Cod Baseball League decided Saturday to cancel its season due to the impact of the novel coronavirus. The Valley Baseball League made that call to cancel on April 2. Both conclusions were reached with safety as a priority and with respect to local stay-at-home orders. The National Alliance of College Summer Baseball said in a statement it was “saddened that these two leagues with such rich history have been forced by COVID-19 to cancel their season,” but supports the decisions.

Currently, stay-at-home orders continue to vary widely across the footprint of the alliance. The remaining 10 leagues are continuing discussions about next steps. Some have already pushed expected start dates later, and others are likely to do the same.

“We have been discussing various scenarios and potential adaptations for when and where baseball can safely be played. However, each scenario is limited by the extension of stay-at-home orders, and when these extensions occur, each scenario needs to be adapted to fit the evolving circumstances,” Kruel said. “We will continue to discuss alternative scenarios, keeping in mind that a season is only possible if adequate safeguards can be put in place to keep the players, personnel, and fans safe.”

desiree@indyeastend.com