2020 High School Baseball Season

2022NYC posted:

Francis7 posted:

In NJ, we're still on hold until May 15th. The NJSIAA said that they will play right up to 6/30 if the kids return to school in May (some time). For those watching the numbers, NJ is really bad, second only to NY. But, here's the thing: NJ has 21 counties and is 150 miles long. 60% of the cases in NJ are in the upper northeast corner of the state where it borders NY. For sure, most likely, trying something in those NE counties doesn't really make sense. The counties in south NJ are in much better shape. Really seems sad to paint the whole state with one brush and wipe out the season for the kids in a county where it wasn't bad and is now in control - just because a county 100 miles away is a mess.

Franny, there is a lot of intrastate travel. CNJ is a mess too.  SNJ counties is still in the 100s but hopefully the lock down will drop it more. Murph does not seem ready to partial open counties.

Yup. Murphy is not going to reopen much at the onset, that's pretty apparent. It's really sad for the kids in way south NJ. Cape May is not the same as Bergen County and they are 150 miles apart. It's like telling the Atlanta Braves that they can't play because it's raining in Baltimore.

I had never heard of Legion either, until I started reading hsbbw.  I then learned that it exists in my state, but only in a few places; no-one where I live plays it.

One thing that no-one has mentioned, which I thought I understood, is that it's free, or nearly so.  It is sponsored by local American Legion posts.  Isn't that right?

anotherparent posted:

 It is sponsored by local American Legion posts.  Isn't that right?

Correct, the local post is the sponsor.

My son played Legion for 4-5 years.    At the time freshman college players could play in Legion one final time.

I can't speak for other regions but the Legion season for son was condensed.   Something like 50-60 games in a 2 month span (June & July).   Sometimes 4-5 games per week.  It was fun for him.   Team never was able to win their district, but they were in the district championship game a few times.    Never got to the state tournament.

baseball mom2020 posted:

Francis7 posted:

2022NYC posted:

Francis7 posted:

In NJ, we're still on hold until May 15th. The NJSIAA said that they will play right up to 6/30 if the kids return to school in May (some time). For those watching the numbers, NJ is really bad, second only to NY. But, here's the thing: NJ has 21 counties and is 150 miles long. 60% of the cases in NJ are in the upper northeast corner of the state where it borders NY. For sure, most likely, trying something in those NE counties doesn't really make sense. The counties in south NJ are in much better shape. Really seems sad to paint the whole state with one brush and wipe out the season for the kids in a county where it wasn't bad and is now in control - just because a county 100 miles away is a mess.

Franny, there is a lot of intrastate travel. CNJ is a mess too.  SNJ counties is still in the 100s but hopefully the lock down will drop it more. Murph does not seem ready to partial open counties.

Yup. Murphy is not going to reopen much at the onset, that's pretty apparent. It's really sad for the kids in way south NJ. Cape May is not the same as Bergen County and they are 150 miles apart. It's like telling the Atlanta Braves that they can't play because it's raining in Baltimore.

As I posted before Francis I am on the "front lines" in South Jersey. Sure,not as many cases as Bergen, but neither is the population as large. It is bad and getting worse by the day. Our surge is just starting now. I apologize if I sound nasty, but unless you are living down here and working in healthcare you have no idea.- This is not the story of "Atlanta not playing because its raining in Baltimore."

My family lives in NJ so I look at the numbers everyday. It's not good.  

I thought we are supposed to be in this together.  It's sad for everyone. People are dying.  HS Baseball isn't really that important right now.

Stay Safe. Be Strong. Thank you.

Happened to see these today from the 1918 flu epidemic.  I assume this was a stunt, rather than a common practice.

I’m sad to see that when I look back at the 2020 HS Season thread, it will be half full of posts about this virus.  I guess we will always remember this season.  It is such a far cry from what I expected. I was looking forward to really enjoying the games, times with families that we wouldn’t get again, walking out with my son on senior night, and watching him play. He had a quiet confidence this year that I hadn’t always seen.  The few games we got to see him pitch were really a joy.  We finished the season 14-2-1.  My son had been reserved for district games so he only got to pitch twice.  Record: 2-0, 12IP, 26K, 2H, 0ER, 1BB.  It was his best start yet...

Legion is sponsored by American Legion. it is typically free but they sometimes ask parents to help with sponsors or work concession stand.   It has Junior and Senior divisions.  It is like LIttle League and plays league, state, regionals, and World Series in Shelby NC.  There are teams in every state.  I had never heard of it until I moved to SC.  Lived in Ga, Tennessee, and Missouri.  Here there 37 teams.  Minnesota has 293, Nebraska 137, Massachusetts 133, and so on.  Texas has 2.  1 in Houston and 1 in League City.  5 in TEnnessee and only 1 in Ga.  It is an option for some to play with travel, many play between their senior year and college and some play just to keep playing.  Goes to age 19.  It is definitely not travel level but there are some good players that play. Son played 2 years.  Lost in state championship.  It is good because here it draws from 4 different high schools. 

@baseball mom2020 posted:

As I posted before Francis I am on the "front lines" in South Jersey. Sure,not as many cases as Bergen, but neither is the population as large. It is bad and getting worse by the day. Our surge is just starting now. I apologize if I sound nasty, but unless you are living down here and working in healthcare you have no idea.- This is not the story of "Atlanta not playing because its raining in Baltimore."

Sorry. I didn't mean to insult or offend. Please accept my apologies. I am only going by what is being shared by the state. For example, as of this moment:

Bergen County NJ: 13,356 positive cases and 835 deaths.

Cape May County NJ: 217 positive cases and 16 deaths.

This is why I assumed it wasn't as bad in the south as it is in the north end of the state.

@Eokerholm posted:

What is all this Legion baseball people talking about is that Little League or something? 

I've never heard of it.

Legion is dying across the country, but still strong in some places.  I'm in Nebraska and the high school spring season is short and cold.  Legion essentially picks up the day school ends.  Here its effectively a continuation of the high school season.  Same players, same teams, same coaches.  Different uniforms that are paid for by the sponsor.  But it's certainly not free.  Costs about a grand and that does not include any travel costs of which there is usually a little/some.  The boys here typically hold the Legion portion of the season in higher regard.  It's warmer, everyone is in prime shape, and there are more total games.  It's much better baseball then we see in the spring.

Having said all that, we can all see Legion dying here right before our eyes.  Travel ball is taking over and putting off a lot of the high school coaches because a portion of the top talent is skipping Legion ball in favor of travel ball in summer.  I'm sure it's no different everywhere around the country, but we have some crazy parents in the area.  It seems just about every parent and player around here believes they're cut out for college ball so more defections from Legion to travel ball keep occurring.  Parents have been shelling out $3K+ a year for their kids to play USSSA-based travel ball since the ages of 7 and 8, so there's no surprise with what is happening.

@anotherparent posted:

I had never heard of Legion either, until I started reading hsbbw.  I then learned that it exists in my state, but only in a few places; no-one where I live plays it.

One thing that no-one has mentioned, which I thought I understood, is that it's free, or nearly so.  It is sponsored by local American Legion posts.  Isn't that right?

Not around here, though costs vary. Here, it costs about 1G/season, but there are a lot of games during June and July. The quality of Legion ball in MN is going down here compared to what it used to be, but the top teams can still be very good. It can be that you'll have have the best of your HS team, the best of some guys who lived in town but went to private schools, and about 3-4 college players who were still age eligible. The coach of our team is a former major leaguer. It is not at all uncommon for a Varsity player not to make a Legion team.

    The beauty of Legion ball is that you only have to drive a short ways to play a game, and that you get to play in some wonderful old ball parks, some close to a century old, where they really know how to take care of their fields.  

   What is happening here might not be typical of what happens around the country, though. MN has, by far, the highest amount of Legion teams. A state, or region winning team will definitely give all but the best travel teams a run for their money. One problem that i do see is that the top players, especially pitchers, tend to quit the season early in order to get to their college camps, or to rest their arms for the fall season. Kind of sucks to lose your best arms going into the playoffs.

I grew up and played Legion in Bartlesville, OK in the 80s and Legion was huge back in the 70s and 80s. And even before. Especially in OK, KS, MO, and other states. Many Legion teams had sponsors and combined multiple HS teams so there was a lot of great talent and many future D1s and MLB players. Many of the best teams were like an All-Star team and was a real honor to make the team. Most also traveled. Played a college type format. Mid week game then 3 game series on weekend either at home or on the road. We played in an old minor league ballpark in a small city and was not unusual to draw a 1000 fans for home games. Parents helped out with tickets, field and concessions. Nobody paid a dime. For the most part the best players made the teams and played. Always a little controversy on the last few roster spots. Organ music like old Wrigley. It was pretty pure baseball. Fast forward, with all the travel/club ball Legion has fallen way off in talent over the last 30 years. Travel ball these days has many advantages and more kids can play. Legion will probably never come back like before but was great for those that got to experience and watch it. 

@baseballhs posted:

I’m sad to see that when I look back at the 2020 HS Season thread, it will be half full of posts about this virus.  I guess we will always remember this season.  It is such a far cry from what I expected. I was looking forward to really enjoying the games, times with families that we wouldn’t get again, walking out with my son on senior night, and watching him play. He had a quiet confidence this year that I hadn’t always seen.  The few games we got to see him pitch were really a joy.  We finished the season 14-2-1.  My son had been reserved for district games so he only got to pitch twice.  Record: 2-0, 12IP, 26K, 2H, 0ER, 1BB.  It was his best start yet...

That is a heck of a stat line to start the season! Where do you guys live that you were able to get in 17 games already?

Sorry you guys won't get to experience the senior traditions. I hate to hear about the seniors missing out on so many things. My son's team is doing a "senior night" on Zoom Friday night. 

@anotherparent posted:

I had never heard of Legion either, until I started reading hsbbw.  I then learned that it exists in my state, but only in a few places; no-one where I live plays it.

One thing that no-one has mentioned, which I thought I understood, is that it's free, or nearly so.  It is sponsored by local American Legion posts.  Isn't that right?

Legion posts are dying out. A lot of Legion teams are sponsored by businesses now. Our local team was $200 for a 21 game season plus playoffs. Games are regionalized like high school.

@TerribleBPthrower posted:

That is a heck of a stat line to start the season! Where do you guys live that you were able to get in 17 games already?

Sorry you guys won't get to experience the senior traditions. I hate to hear about the seniors missing out on so many things. My son's team is doing a "senior night" on Zoom Friday night. 

We are from TX. We got in 3 Thursday-Sat tournaments and a couple district games. Our coach usually uses the tournaments to give a lot of pitchers work and see who he has.  He told my son at the beginning that he wasn’t pitching any tournaments because they would throw him Tuesdays for district at the beginning   We didn’t really mind but we thought we would have a lot of district games. Wasn’t to be.  

We are trying to put something together for our senior night.

South Carolina schools are cancelled for the year.  No spring sports.  Now they figure out graduation.

@Chico Escuela posted:

Happened to see these today from the 1918 flu epidemic.  I assume this was a stunt, rather than a common practice.

 

Love that headline above the team picture.  Good thing George Suarez and Mike Tyson don't play baseball.  We'd have to change the phrase "bench clearing brawl" to "bench clearing gnaw".

So last week the Hawaii HS Athletic Association cancelled all spring sports and today American Legion cancelled its local summer season, too. Gonna be challenging getting any summer events (camps, show cases, etc.) in.  

Since the virus is depends on dates just as much as we do, I can't wait til this all clears up on September 1.

What a relief that will be. 

@baseball mom2020 posted:

As I posted before Francis I am on the "front lines" in South Jersey. Sure,not as many cases as Bergen, but neither is the population as large. It is bad and getting worse by the day. Our surge is just starting now. I apologize if I sound nasty, but unless you are living down here and working in healthcare you have no idea.- This is not the story of "Atlanta not playing because its raining in Baltimore."

My (adult) kids live on the other side of the river. It’s all metro Philadelphia. My daughter said what didn’t look too bad is now bad and getting worse. She said they’re now shut in until at least 5/31.

@Francis7 posted:

Sorry. I didn't mean to insult or offend. Please accept my apologies. I am only going by what is being shared by the state. For example, as of this moment:

Bergen County NJ: 13,356 positive cases and 835 deaths.

Cape May County NJ: 217 positive cases and 16 deaths.

This is why I assumed it wasn't as bad in the south as it is in the north end of the state.

Cape May isn’t where southern NJ is heavily populated. It doesn’t represent what’s occurring on the Jersey side of metro Philadelphia.

Both of my sons played travel ball and legion, one was good enough to play legion part time for 2 years and then full time his last season. The other not as much but still played his last season at an 18 year old. 

From a development and recruitment perspective in our town the travel circuit is far superior however the legion season is awesome and much more team, program, town based. Our program is deep enough that the top players do the travel circuit thru 17u and come back to legion for the summer before college, there is enough depth that it works but it is difficult balance at times. Most of the teams in our league are similar, it is strong league and not typical from what i can tell. 

@RJM posted:

Cape May isn’t where southern NJ is heavily populated. It doesn’t represent what’s occurring on the Jersey side of metro Philadelphia.

South Jersey on the west side is just an extension of the NE and South Philly...

CIAC - the CT sports overlords - met today and have decided not to cancel spring sports yet.  The new language appears to tie sports to schools reopening.  There had been some talk that perhaps baseball could be played if the school's stayed with e-learning.  If return to school there would be no season end tournaments.   The earliest schools can open is May 20th, graduation is June 11.  So it's very hard to see why they would open school but still a possibility.  I think my son is numb to it all at this point.   If it happens he's good with it, if it doesn't he won't be crushed at this point.   I have mentally moved onto hoping colleges open in late August.  Oh and summer ball.....

A Washington Post article today with info about some mid-Atlantic and midwest colleges' current thinking on holding in-person classes this fall.  No big surprises, but gives a sense of where administrators are right now:

https://www.washingtonpost.com...cfce1c7c7_story.html

I think most colleges and universities will do everything they can to bring students back for the fall.  They need the money.

I know of one school that has considered splitting each course into 1-month increments.  They would begin mid-August, the second segment would begin mid-September, etc.  That way, if they have to send kids home in say mid-October, two courses would have been completed.  This is a possible option and has not been adopted.

As the article notes, this may weed out some of the less-endowed institutions.  

https://www.cbssports.com/coll...ayed-at-all-in-2020/

If colleges are up in the air about the fall season who believes there will be summer sports? 

Spring 2021 people. That is when the first sports will begin. No basketball/hockey/college football/NFL this year. Online school only until 2021 or fall 2021. 

Let's start a new thread if we want to debate Fall Sports.  This thread is 2020 HS season, I don't want to see it turn into a debate that gets shut down over Covid19...we have plenty of those.

With all of the restrictions being lifted in several states, are any high school or travel teams back on the field for games or practices? What states?

@Los Angeles 2021 Parent posted:

With all of the restrictions being lifted in several states, are any high school or travel teams back on the field for games or practices? What states?

I know of one travel team in FL that started as soon as HS stopped. The coach's brother is the mayor, so the cops don't stop them from practicing.

A few teams in the Palm Beach area said they were starting summer ball practices today. I don't know where they will do that since all the parks are still closed. Maybe they can use someone's cage at their house. 

@Los Angeles 2021 Parent posted:

With all of the restrictions being lifted in several states, are any high school or travel teams back on the field for games or practices? What states?

Restrictions aren’t being lifted. The stay at home order is being eased in some places. People are still going to be urged to distance. How does a hitter, catcher and umpire distance?

MN officially cancelled the 2019-20 school sports season yesterday. It was not a surprise. 

@RJM posted:

Restrictions aren’t being lifted. The stay at home order is being eased in some places. People are still going to be urged to distance. How does a hitter, catcher and umpire distance?

 

@Los Angeles 2021 Parent posted:

With all of the restrictions being lifted in several states, are any high school or travel teams back on the field for games or practices? What states?

Our program director emailed the entire program yesterday to say boys should be working out however they can, but that we wouldn’t be returning to “normal” summer schedule for recruiting.  He also said the coaches he’s talked to don’t  actually know what this summer is going to look like recruiting wise (for what it’s worth, although he does seem to know everyone on the west coast) So he’s waiting to see what we’ll be doing  as the possible paths forward come into focus. Said, once allowed, we’ll start in small groups first. It will be interesting, he said the state of recruiting is a “disaster” and many of the boys are going to have to readjust their thoughts/plans. We are in So. CA (Orange County) for perspective where we’ve been super lucky with our numbers but will go with LA who hasn’t been as lucky. 

Sent out by our program Wednesday.  Our first two tournaments have been canceled and we will begin playing in mid-June at the earliest.  We do not have team practices.

I'm sure you all know that because of the cancellation of college seasons, the NCAA gave all college players their year back.  Because of that, it'll be years before college baseball programs get back to normal.  For example, [SEC program] had 20 freshmen in the fall.  All those kids will be freshmen again and they will also have around 20 more in coming freshmen in the class of 2020.  There are only 35 on a roster.  Only 27 are allowed to be on scholarship.  As you can see, the math doesn't add up.  With that being said, it's going to be much harder to find homes for our kids.  I've talked to many college coaches about this and they all say that their class of '21 will be very small.  [Non-power 5 good D1] has 7 committed and will most likely not commit anymore.  Some schools say they'll only commit 3-4.  But, there is no reason that our kids can't be one of those 3-4.  Please remind them how important it is to email coaches and to be very persistent.  I'm not going to slow down on trying to help them and neither are our other coaches!  I know this seems scary for the uncommitted kids and their families but I believe when it's said and done that everything will be ok.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared schools will not reopen for the remainder of the 19-20 school year. MIAA declares spring sports seasons over.

NC private schools league announced today that spring seasons are officially cancelled.  My son's school also announced today that it won't hold any in-person classes this spring (no surprise) and that graduation, which was scheduled for the last weekend in May, is now tentatively planned for late June.

@Los Angeles 2021 Parent posted:

With all of the restrictions being lifted in several states, are any high school or travel teams back on the field for games or practices? What states?

A local travel team org here in GA is starting up practices on their (private) field as of today.

I I thought that my son’s team would likely start up in the next week, but I forgot that they (and a lot of teams) use HS facilities. With those closed due to school closure, I‘m not sure when/where they will get started. 

Do most coaches usually meet with players/families to talk about their individual performance and what they need to work on? I know a couple of high schools around here do, but my son's coach does not from what I've heard. 

@Texas1836 posted:

Sent out by our program Wednesday.  Our first two tournaments have been canceled and we will begin playing in mid-June at the earliest.  We do not have team practices.

I'm sure you all know that because of the cancellation of college seasons, the NCAA gave all college players their year back.  Because of that, it'll be years before college baseball programs get back to normal.  For example, [SEC program] had 20 freshmen in the fall.  All those kids will be freshmen again and they will also have around 20 more in coming freshmen in the class of 2020.  There are only 35 on a roster.  Only 27 are allowed to be on scholarship.  As you can see, the math doesn't add up.  With that being said, it's going to be much harder to find homes for our kids.  I've talked to many college coaches about this and they all say that their class of '21 will be very small.  [Non-power 5 good D1] has 7 committed and will most likely not commit anymore.  Some schools say they'll only commit 3-4.  But, there is no reason that our kids can't be one of those 3-4.  Please remind them how important it is to email coaches and to be very persistent.  I'm not going to slow down on trying to help them and neither are our other coaches!  I know this seems scary for the uncommitted kids and their families but I believe when it's said and done that everything will be ok.

this is tough one, I don't see any good coming from it quickly. I do think the economics will sort out the players sooner rather then later for the 21 class it is going to be slim pickings.

I would think by 22 it will be much less and 23 the pipeline cleared. For anyone who is a current college player concerned about scholarship money the 5th year will only be an option for the absolute top players who don't get drafted. For the rest even though they may have eligibility they would have to pay the full freight, that is going to shrink the numbers quickly. 

the whole thing is a damn shame.