Obstacles caused by the pandemic have forced the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League to scrap this year’s season.
Terre Hunter, general manager of the Saint John Alpines, said the decision was made unanimously by all of the league’s teams.
Hunter said the league received new guidelines from Baseball New Brunswick this week which said no more than 50 people would be allowed in the ballpark.
“Once you get a couple of teams and some umpires and a couple of scorekeepers and so on in the ballpark, you’re coming pretty close to 50, so effectively it meant that we were not allowed to have any fans in the stands,” said Hunter.
The restriction was a game-changer for teams, he said, since they depend largely on gate revenue.
Hunter said another factor in the picture is the number of people who can travel together in a vehicle for a game.
“We play in a provincial league. We’ve got to go to Fredericton or Chatham or whatever the case may be. It’s pretty hard to do that with one or maybe two guys in a car and bus travel is banned,” he said.
From League Pres Tom OReilly The NB Senior Baseball League regrets to advise that it will not operate during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 virus and related obstacles resulting from the pandemic. This is a unanimous decision of the league teams following a conference call.
— Saint John Alpines (@SJAlpines) May 28, 2020
Hunter said a lot of uncertainty also remains surrounding the pandemic, pointing to the new outbreak in the Campbellton region.
He said the league has every intention of returning to the mound next year, but there is a risk that some players may not come back.
“They may find other things that they’re interested in or, you know, they’re all going to be a year older and they may say ‘look, I need to spend time with family or I’ve got work commitments,'” said Hunter.
Hunter said the loss of senior baseball, even temporary, could also have an impact on the sport as a whole in the province.
“We like to think our league is quite well run and it gives the kids something to come and watch and to aspire to. Without that level in place, there could be a ripple effect for baseball in New Brunswick,” he said.
“I’m not blaming anybody. That’s the reality that we’re dealing with.”
The New Brunswick Senior Baseball League consists of five teams: the Saint John Alpines, the Fredericton Royals, the Moncton Fisher Chats, the Chatham Ironmen and the Charlottetown Islanders.
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