There will be no organized baseball on Timmins' diamonds this summer as two local leagues have officially cancelled their 2020 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was tough news for local youths as Timmins Little League Baseball made the announcement on Wednesday on social media.
“Based on the current uncertainties, the Timmins Little League board of directors has made the difficult decision and announced the cancellation of all regular baseball programs for the 2020 season.
“This decision was not taken lightly but we decided it is in the best interests of our parents, players, coaches, officials and fans to remove any uncertainty. We look forward to better times and wish everyone good health.”
It was seemingly an inevitable decision, as Little League Ontario, which is comprised of eight regional districts, cancelled the Provincial Championships in May.
Little League International on April 30 cancelled all regional play as well as the Little League World Series, which had been held every year since 1947.
On top of that, larger gatherings of people in parks is still not deemed safe according to health officials.
“We tried to hold it off as long as we could to see if things would get better,” said league organizer Patrik Durepos.
“The COVID numbers are getting better, but we still don't have the 'OK' to go ahead with running our baseball league.”
The local little league season usually begins in late May.
“We were lucky this year, we had nice weather. Our season could have started. But we had to bite the bullet and hold off to see if we'd be able to get our season in, but as of right now, we had to make the difficult decision to cancel the league.”
This will be the first time in the league's 40-year history that no baseball will be played.
Locals shouldn't feel alone, as to the best of Durepos' knowledge, none of the leagues in Ontario will be operating this summer, unless there are some miraculous developments.
It it disappointing for everyone involved, he said.
“We offer an excellent way for kids to be active and get out in the sun and have some fun.”
The senior league (11 to 13) uses the ball field at École secondaire catholique Thériault, and the school board made it clear it would not be permitting access.
The main little league diamond beside the Mattagami River is under control of the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority.
“We don't know when the city is going to allow us to get back on the fields. We're up in the air, just like all the other ball leagues,” said Durepos.
Timmins Little League usually has between 250 and 300 athletes involved, tallying up all the divisions and levels.
Registration was not opened up this year for obvious reasons.
“Knowing that, we probably wouldn't be starting up on time. We decided to not open up the registrations, and have to go through all the troubles of refunding people their money.”
Timmins was slated to host the 2020 Minor Provincial Championships at the end of July, but Little League Ontario has decided to forward that to 2021.
“That's good news for us, we didn't lose that. The following year, we're supposed to be hosting the Senior Provincials.”
Durepos said he feels for the youths who may only have a few years to play, and as the summer progresses, if there is any possibility to have organized baseball, he'll do his best to make it happen.
“The kids have two months of summer where they get their minds off hockey and get their minds off school and be active and its fun to be able to offer them a cost-effective program, and the kids have a ball.
“We're remaining optimistic that something miraculous happens, and we have access to our ballparks, and we can get some kind of ball action in. But only time will tell for that.”
Meanwhile, the Timmins Men's Baseball League also had to make the difficult decision of officially cancelling its season this week.
TMBL president Jamie Dallaire said there were several factors involved, but health and safety was priority No. 1.
“It doesn't make much sense for us to go out there and potentially cause something that could have been avoided,” said Dallaire. “When it comes down to it, it is just a recreational sport too.”
With the TMBL being a locally contained league, and the local COVID-19 numbers heading in the right direction, there was a thought that perhaps there could be a season. However, like the Little League, access to baseball fields was a giant roadblock.
The men's league has been exiled from its former home at Fred Salvador Field at Hollinger Park since 2017 due to the Stars and Thunder festival and Porcupine Health Unit soil tests showing levels of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals as a result of the area's mine tailings history. Park remediation efforts are ongoing, including a refurbishment of the historic wooden grandstand. It is still unclear when or if the TMBL will be allowed to return.
“It's obvious that the baseball field isn't ready yet either,” said Dallaire.
TMBL has been using the field at Thériault for the past three seasons as well, and were told they wouldn't be permitted access if the school wasn't open.
“That made it a little bit easier on us in a way, where we don't necessarily have a field to play on, if we were to come back.”
The plan is for the men's league to one day return to Hollinger Park, where the field is lit up at night, which is a near requirement. Thériault has no lights.
“We need the lights. Because interest has gone down quite a bit over the last couple of years. Six o'clock games aren't too bad, but when it comes to playoffs at the end of August, and early September, we have to start our games at 5 p.m. It's very difficult for those with children, or those with a job, to actually be able to make those games,” said Dallaire.
“Being able to play games at 7:30 or 8 o'clock on Thursdays, that will allow people to relax a bit after work, have dinner with their family and then think about going to play baseball. That would increase interest attendance and the overall interest in the league.”
Much like Durepos, Dallaire is holding out a bit of hope for some potential late summer or early fall baseball action, if everything goes well.
“If we have a baseball field to play on, and if we don't have any cases over the three or four months, we could be ready to put together a quick round robin, or a playoff or something, if there's interest, to at least get our baseball fix.”
