Last year at this time, everyone was full steam aheads towards another baseball season. We had no idea what was going on literally on the other side of the world. I don’t read the Wall Street Journal enough to know what’s going on in China so I had every reason to believe we would be on the verge of a normal year.
I’m sure I was not the only one that was blind-sided by the cancellation of the 2020 high school and collegiate baseball season. It was awful news for everyone involved. We had already posted 65 high school season previews, hosted two college showcases and began covering college games over the course of the first two weeks of the year when the plug was pulled.
Fortunately, we did have a semblance of a season in the form of summer and fall baseball. Everyone owes a big thank you to Gregg Sarra of LI Boys of Summer, Rich Gentile of East Coast Youth and Jim Clark of Blue Chip Collegiate League for getting games in on Long Island without any hiccups.
What I can’t do, however, is get a full scope of the 2021 high school baseball season without the luxury of watching a season last year. There’s going to be so many seniors that I have never watched play. There will be teams with literally zero returning varsity innings on the mound and possibly zero varsity at bats in the lineup. It will be very difficult to get an understanding of who the teams to beat are. It will be unlike any other season in that sense.
I can’t say with 100 percent certainty that there will be a full 2021 season. With the surging virus cases around the country, I don’t know when we will feel like we are back to normal. I do know that once the vaccine is available to the general population, that will probably be the tipping point. Anthony Fauci recently said by late spring or early summer so let’s assume that means May/June. Based on conversations I’ve had, I think that Division-I and the NSCHSAA will play a full season. They are both motivated to do so and have financial incentives to as well. I don’t know if the same can be said for Division-II, Division-III, NAIA, Junior College and public high schools.
Enough gloom and doom, though.
Here are my top 5 reasons to be excited for the 2021 baseball season:
5. The “Reigning Champs”:
It feels weird to have a blank space in the history books for the 2020 champs. That means that the schools that won in 2019 will enter 2021 as the reigning champs. Chaminade won the NSCHSAA, Massapequa won Class AA, Sayville won A and Center Moriches won Class B. Remember Center Moriches also has the long winning streak to keep an eye on as they approach the Long Island record set by Division in the mid 90s. Massapequa also won the LIC in 2017 and 2018 so they will be looking to match their program-record fourth straight LIC. That’s right, they also achieved this feat when I was in high school from 2006-’09. They definitely did not benefit from the cancelation last year as they graduated three Division-I players (Johnny Castagnozzi, Wade Kelly and Travis Honeyman). But they constantly reload and they have had a couple players emerge as potential stars over the summer and they are LHP Liam Carroll, SS Vin Mallon and C Bobby Stang. I am excited to follow their progress.
4. Our New Technology
Since our last live game coverage, we made some upgrades. We will be experimenting with a drone for video footage of games which is both exciting and scary for someone who has never used it. We also have a new camera and new microphones so the Live Photos will be crisp and the postgame interviews will be upgraded over previous years.
3. College Baseball Will Be Must-See
This will be the strongest crop of college baseball players in history. With the NCAA issuing an extra-year of eligibility to all players from 2020 and the truncated 5-round MLB Draft, there’s never been such an influx of talent on college rosters. Personally, I really liked that they granted seniors an extra year but I think they caved and gave everyone an extra year when they didn’t need to. Regardless, Division-I and II schools will be littered with pro-caliber players. I’m excited to check out teams like Stony Brook, Hofstra, LIU, Fordham and St. John’s to see how it impacted the local Division-I schools
2. The Draft Caliber Players
There’s always players of intrigue as the draft gets close. Last year, the five-round draft robbed Long Island from sending a player to pro ball. I was pretty certain one of Brock Murtha, Idris Carter, Johnny Castagnozzi, Travis Honeyman, Andrew Ledbetter, Rob Copozzi or Louis Stallone would’ve been selected. The 2020 class was heavy on hitters but this year is the opposite – the strength lies in the power pitching. You can basically just look at the Titans-Quattrini and Body Armor pitching staff to get a glimpse. With Rafe Schlesinger, Dylan Johnson, Tommy Ventimiglia, Jacob Steinmetz and JT Raab, I think at least one of that group gets drafted next year and wouldn’t be surprised if four of them wound up getting drafted at some point after they get to college. Of that group, Schlesinger is the only lefty which puts him in his own category but I wound’t rule out any of them.
- Because it’s baseball
I don’t even know how I made it through those four months last year without it. March and April were especially cruel since the weather was pretty decent for the most part and we never get treated to unseasonably warm weather during April. I’m craving those playoff races and no-hitters and walk-off wins and plays at the plate!
