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05/16/2020 12:00 AMThe COVID-19 pandemic is preventing another season from being played in 2020. There will be no American Legion baseball games played in Connecticut—or the entire United States—this summer.
Last week, the National American Legion Baseball organization announced that it was canceling the 2020 season for all of its programs in the country, including the 100-plus teams that play in Connecticut. The national organization has shut down sponsorships for American Legion teams, as has the state’s organization, meaning that no teams would be able to play Legion baseball with the backing of an insurance plan, thus putting any potential season to an end. On May 11, David Greenleaf, the chairman of the Connecticut’s American Legion Baseball committee, released a statement confirming that all prospective games for the summer campaign have been taken off the schedule.
“It is with great disappointment that we announce that the 2020 Connecticut State American Legion baseball season has been suspended,” Greenleaf said. “The National American Legion has shut down all sponsorship and all involvement in baseball for the 2020 season. The Department of Connecticut has also shut down all sponsorship. As a result, there is no insurance for our teams at this time and, without insurance, we cannot play or conduct any baseball activities.”
American Legion baseball offers teams at the Senior (19-U), Junior (17-U), and Prep (15-U) levels. The regular season typically begins at the end of the high school spring sports season and runs from the middle of June through the middle of July. The State Tournament, various regional tournaments including the Northeast Regional, and American Legion World Series then take place after that, culminating with the World Series in August.
In April, the National American Legion Baseball organization announced that this year’s regional and World Series tournaments has been canceled. There was still the possibility to play some semblance of a season, but with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to persist across the globe, the chances of that happening seemed less and less likely with each passing week.
“The baseball committee appreciates all of the support we have received over the past several weeks as we have worked to find a way to play baseball this summer. Unfortunately, the developments of the past few days have made all of that work moot and taken the decision making out of our hands,” said Greenleaf. “We look forward to being back under the American Legion umbrella in 2021 and expect to see all of you joining us then.”
One week before the American Legion suspended its season, the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) announced the cancellation of the spring season for high school sports, following Governor Ned Lamont’s announcement that state schools would remain closed through the end of the current school year. In March, during the middle of State Tournament play for the winter season, the CIAC canceled all remaining games in states as COVID-19 was on the cusp of being declared a pandemic, in addition to a national emergency in the United States.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the postponement, suspension, and cancellation of many sporting events around the world. The NCAA canceled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, along with all of its postseason tournaments and championships for the winter and spring seasons. The NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS have all suspended their seasons indefinitely, as have several other professional sports organizations. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed from this year until next year.
Some professional organizations, such as UFC and NASCAR, have hosted events without fans in the stands during recent weeks. There have been talks about MLB beginning its 2020 season under that same guideline in July, but that is still up in the air at this point.