There will be some baseball played in Michigan’s minor league parks this summer, but it won’t be what fans and each of the organizations were looking…
There will be some baseball played in Michigan’s minor league parks this summer, but it won’t be what fans and each of the organizations were looking forward to.
The announcement on Tuesday by Major League Baseball that it wouldn’t be providing players for their affiliated minor league teams meant, effectively, the minor league season was canceled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
That means no games in Lansing, Midland and Grand Rapids as well as Toledo, where the Mud Hens play as the Triple-A affiliate of the Tigers.
“This is a difficult time for our organization and your support is needed now more than ever,” the Mud Hens said in a statement.
“We miss baseball,” the statement continued. “The sights and sounds and smells, but most of all we miss you. We miss your enthusiasm and excitement. We miss getting stopped on the concourse to hear stories of your children meeting Muddy and Muddonna, throwing out a first pitch and getting caught on the kiss cam. Incredible nights out at the ballpark are created by you.
“To say we are saddened by this development is an understatement, but we know this determination did not come lightly.”
The decision officially halted what the teams were expecting to at least be a shortened season, one not unlike the one that will be played at baseball’s highest level.
