Perfect Game League Pulls Plug

Damaschke Field

Season Cancelled

ONEONTA – The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, which includes the Oneonta Outlaws, has cancelled its 2020 season, PGCBL President Robert Julian announced today.

 “We recognize this is a great disappointment to our collegiate players, to our fans, our host communities, and the dedicated staff and owners who have spent so much of their lives making the league a vibrant part of collegiate baseball and the American baseball fabric,” said Julian.  “The dynamic of this crisis requires cancellation.”

Jerry Ford, founder & president of Perfect Game USA, parent of the regional PGCBL, said concerns about health and safety drove the decision.

“We recognize the significant barriers with housing, player travel to Upstate New York and between cities, and other factors the league faces that Perfect Game doesn’t face,” he said, “as other areas of the country reopen for play later this spring and summer.”

The league had been in “watchful waiting” in hopes of starting play May 29 or a later date, Julian said, but the “likelihood and probability of either option is low to non-existent. We understand that the issues faced by our state and local governments create unsurmountable hurdles that prevent us from safely playing.”

He said he’s looking forward to the 2021 season, when the league plans to provide special access to first responders, healthcare workers and essential workers, in Otsego County and its other markets.