By Rit Carter

Bristol’s three leagues (Edgewood, Forestville, and McCabe Waters) have made no official announcement about committing to a summer season, but one is expected very soon.

The announcement will come in the wake of two historic events. This is the first time in their 75-year history that the Little League World Series is canceled, and the first time since 1987 that Bristol is not hosting the Eastern Regional Little League tournament.

Normally, by this date on the calendar, the Little League baseball season is in high gear with games played most evenings, metal bleachers filled with cheering fans and the smell of hamburgers and hotdogs wafting through the air from concession stands. 

However, on what was a cool and cloudy late April day, Stephen D. Kenner, President and CEO Little League International, announced the cancellation of all regional and national tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Kenner, during his Facebook video from league headquarters in Williamsport, Penn., said due to restrictions on travel and large gatherings the ability to bring teams and fans from all over the world into their facilities would compromise communities.

Although, all is not lost. 

As states begin to reopen, local leagues may still be able to have a regular season but it will not conclude with regional or national tournaments, Mr. Kenner said. 

And, to help leagues along, Little League International published a Season Resumption Guide  (www.littleleague.org/downloads/season-resumption-guide/) to provide guidance on how baseball activities can be resumed. 

While all this sorts itself out, in Missouri they are not waiting despite an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Last weekend GameTime Tournaments held a youth baseball tournament in St. Charles for kids ages 9 through 14 in their “Mother’s Day Classic.”  600 players from 47 teams competed but with modified rules including the following:

• Players could not share equipment
• Balls were sanitized every half-inning
• Three players were allowed in the dugout at a time with the remaining players spread out behind the dugout six feet apart
• Handshakes and fist bumps and related forms of congratulatory expression were banned
• Homeplate umpires stood at least six feet behind the pitcher to call balls and strikes
• Catchers crouched an additional two feet behind the batter
• Spectators had to remain six feet apart from each other
• Coaches could not come on to the field to dispute calls

Rit Carter is a Bristol native and contributing editor to The Bristol Edition.