JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. — Baseball is back in the metro.
Gov. Laura Kelly’s lockdown of many of the states activities in March forced 3&2 Baseball Club of Johnson County and many other youth sports leagues to close their facilities and cancel or delay their seasons. For 3&2, it was the first time in their 70 year history they have delayed the start of the season.
Now in accordance with the Governor’s phased re-opening guidelines, leagues are making plans to play ball.
Thousands of families had enrolled their kids in youth baseball programs at 3&2, which is one of the largest youth baseball programs in the country. Now, the league has a start date on June 8, and only a small fraction of players have opted out.
“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,” Jeff Chalk, with 3&2, said. “We’re really encouraging those, if you’re not 100% healthy, you know, let’s sit this one out, and come back and see us when you are.”
Teams can begin practices on June 1. Staff and umpires are busy training on some new safety guidelines. Here are a few:
- The home plate umpires will call balls and strikes from behind the pitching mound.
- Bleachers are closed. Fans will bring their own chairs and set up along the sidelines, keeping 6 feet apart from other families.
- Players will not share batting helmets, bats or catchers gear.
- Only a few players can sit in the dugout at a time. The rest will sit with their families.
- Gate entrances and concessions will encourage one-way traffic.
- Staff will be sanitizing dug-outs and other high-touch areas routinely.
So far at 3&2, no fan limit will be enforced, although that may change if crowds get too big. Other leagues have limited the number of fans to two per player and closed concession stands.