A youngster waits on the ball during a Marysville Junior Baseball-Softball Association game. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the 2020 youth season. (Photo submitted)
Fall ball possible?
High school spring sports athletes across Ohio have been called out on strikes by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has shut down the 2020 spring sports season as the world continues to fight COVID-19.
Youth baseball and softball leagues are also heading back to the dugout, at least for the time being.
The Marysville Junior Baseball-Softball Association won’t be starting its season on time.
MJBSA president Matt Fritz recently told the Journal-Tribune the organization normally begins practice in late March and the season starts in early May.
Tryouts for each of the organization’s teams were held in early March and squads were already selected before activities were shut down.
“Practices were supposed to start the week of the Marysville school district’s spring break, around March 23,” said Fritz. “May 2 was supposed to be our opening day.”
Although tryouts were held and teams were selected, practice sessions were off.
MJBSA hopes to field 52 baseball and softball squads for ages 4-5 (T-ball) up through 18 U. There were 596 youngsters registered for the 2020 season that would have run through the end June for baseball and the first week of July for softball.
“Our teams average 10-12 games per year with a season-ending tournament,” said Fritz. “That, of course, also depends on the weather.”
MJBSA officials mulled over contingency plans for the season if DeWine had lifted the school closure order.
“If the school closure order had been lifted on May 1, we would have started practices on May 2,” said Fritz. “We would have needed a couple of weeks of practices and then start the season on May 16.”
Fritz said the organization would have condensed the season by reducing the number of off days between games.
The MJBSA is not tied to the school, therefore the high school spring sports shutdown does not directly impact the youth organization.
“The bigger concern is the phase opening the governor is working under,” said Fritz. “With this phase, youth sports will not be able to start until Phase 2 (maybe by mid-May) and that timing is completely unknown at this time.
“We have not developed a plan yet for how we’ll move forward.”
The city of Marysville will reportedly not reopen its ball diamonds until at least June 1.
Fritz told the Journal-Tribune he has another idea in the back of his mind.
That would be to push the season back to a fall league that runs from August through October.
The prospect of conducting a fall league would depend on the availability of fields and the number of youngsters who also play another sport during that time of year.
There is also a financial impact as far as the season goes.
The fee for playing in the MJBSA has different ranges from team to team.
Those fees are as follows:
-T-ball and transitional: $70;
-8U baseball and softball: $85;
-10U baseball and softball: $90;
-13U baseball and softball: $95;
-18U baseball and softball: $100.
Fees are used to pay for expenses such as uniforms, game umpires and field rentals.
Fritz said league officials are looking into refunds.