Little League Baseball Is the Latest Sport to Be Suspended Due to COVID-19
The MLB has postponed the start of its season, along with every other major sport and collegiate athletics, due to the coronavirus. Now, it's affecting even the little guy, as announced by Little League International:
As information continues to become available regarding the increasing spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), we wanted to provide you, our leagues and district administrators, with additional guidance on the implementation of the Little League program in your local communities.
Little League International operates more than 6,500 programs in more than 84 countries, and therefore, we recommend that our leagues exercise an abundance of caution and implement a temporary suspension of all league activities until no earlier than April 6.
The press release goes on to say that even though they recommend April 6th as the date to restart, the group understands that every community has been affected differently by COVID-19, and the ultimate decision is up to the leagues.
From the release: "If your league chooses to continue to operate in its local community, then we strongly encourage you to seek the counsel of your community municipalities, public health departments, and local school districts."
In Lubbock, Southwest Little League canceled games on Thursday night, and Western Little League posted the following to their Facebook page: "We regret to inform you that, effective immediately, all Lubbock Little League practices are suspended until further notice."
Games have not started, but as of now Western doesn't anticipate postponing games.
Since the individual leagues have final say, if you have a child that plays Little League, check with your coaches and league administrators on what they decide to do moving forward.