DeKalb Youth Baseball to Resume Play

By Chris Tramel

In a normal year the spring sports leagues would be winding down their seasons around this time, but this has been anything but a normal year. With the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, all sports were halted, from the professional leagues to school and youth leagues. But the baseball diamond is about to once again hear the crack of the bat, all be it with some changes.

DeKalb Youth Baseball president Casey Midgett told the Smithville Review that the league has worked hard to give their players a season on the field. "We decided to start our season on June the 29th this year. We're making some changes obviously, but we're going to play ball."

DeKalb Baseball is a part of the Babe Ruth League, Cal Ripkin Division, and had there season postponed as the country basically shut down over covid-19 concerns. Midgett said that now that the country is beginning to reopen, it's time to give the kids some time on the field. "We actually started letting our teams practice, half of the team at a time, on June the 1st, and will extend those half practices until June 15. Then, those teams can start practicing as a full team again."

"It was a hard decision," Midgett continued. "But, at the end of the day, we felt like it was right to give the kids something to do this summer. Especially with them losing so much this year. Baseball is a little different from basketball and football where it is not as much as a contact sport. So, we reached out to as many physicians, and local and state representatives, as we could to get their opinions. It was pretty much unanimous that we should go ahead and try to play ball."

While the season will start late this year, Midgett said there will be some other changes. "We're going to play in a different format this year. It's still going to be a competitive league, but this year we are not going to pick an all-star team, or a first, second, and third team in any league. We met as a group of coaches, and the board, and just decided that kids can compete the rest of their lives, but this year is a little bit special. We want this year to be all about the kids."

He continued, "It's going to be a fun time for everybody this year. Practices, I think, are more important than the games. We're going to keep score and we're still going to play to win, but that's not the most important thing and never is. Especially this year, our emphasis will be on teaching and learning, and having fun. Getting their mind off of this virus."

According to Midgett there will also be some changes for everyone that attends the games. "I was fortunate enough to find a company to supply us with disinfectant and hand sanitizer. We will be scanning everyone's temperature when they walk in, and will be asking if they have had a fever or cough. And if you do, my goodness please stay home."

"After every game we're going to try to disinfect everything as much as we can. We will probably have to close off a lot of the stands this year. We want everyone to social distance out there. We're going to mark lines around the fence and ask everyone to stay with their family, six feet apart along the fence."

Midgett said that overall this is about the kids and making it fun for them, but he also wants everyone to not forget about the team sponsors, who have had it especially rough through the pandemic. "It was overwhelmingly positive for the people that wanted to play this year. We just want everyone to use common sense out there and I think we'll be fine. But, this year has been hard on a lot of folks, especially our local businesses. I know I sure do appreciate all the years the businesses have stepped up and helped sponsor the league. When we've needed a donation, these businesses have always been there for us. Now, I'd just like to encourage everyone that now is a time to give back to them. Let's spend our money at these local businesses and help those guys out like they've helped us over the years."

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