From Cape Cod to Alaska, college leagues eye MLB changes

Years before he became commissioner of Alaska Baseball League, Chris Beck pointed to 6-foot-7 slugger in Anchor Glacier Pilots' uniform and told his son to say hello.

Beck had a feeling about freshman from Fres State — a towering outfielder named Aaron Judge.

“I told my son to go get his autograph, because he just was different,” Beck said.

It was a quintessential college summer league experience, an up-close look at a major league star long before his big break. It's one Beck hopes fans in 49th State will have for years — but he’s t entirely confident y will.

Already burdened by coronavirus pandemic and changes in player development that have limited ir prospect pool, collegiate summer leagues like ABL were hit by ar potential obstacle recently when Major League Baseball anunced formation of at least two amateur leagues for college players with professional aspirations.

Appalachian League, formerly a Rookie-level mir league, will convert into a 10-team wood bat summer league in 2021 for college players entering ir freshman and sophomore seasons. Meanwhile, six-team MLB Draft League is launching for college and high school players during ir draft-eligible year.

Both leagues have spawned as MLB shrinks its affiliated mirs from 160 teams to 120, repurposing franchises to serve amateur talent. new leagues will offer those players access to top-level coaching, guaranteed looks from pro scouts, and ballparks outfitted with latest cameras and tracking systems that provide prized data to major league front offices.

It's mostly good news for players hoping to get ticed. Less ideal for leagues that used to give m that chance.

“Any time MLB puts ir name on something, y do it well,” Beck said. “y have money to back it. problem is it’s going to put some of smaller leagues out of business, I think.”

Wood-bat college summer leagues have played a crucial role in development of many major leaguers. Most leagues start in May or June, after completion of spring college season, and y offer players high-end competition at parks filled with pro scouts and equipped with some of same techlogy y'll find in MLB's leagues.

For decades, leagues have run largely independent of MLB, and y figure to be affected differently.

Cape Cod League has long been top destination for rising college juniors and has produced over 1,400 big leaguers. With Appalachian League targeting incoming freshman and sophomores and MLB Draft League likely to draw players heading into ir senior seasons or later, Cape Cod Commissioner Eric Zmuda expects his league to hold its ground as premier stop for players with two years of college experience.

“When you look at our history, thing has changed in that respect,” Zmuda said.

squeeze is more likely to be felt furr down ladder in leagues that were already dealing with complications stemming from changes in player development. In-game reps — although still important — are less of a priority for modern players. Pitchers are limiting ir workloads to try to stay healthy, and players on both sides of ball are placing a premium on or training, like weightlifting or lab work at facilities like Driveline.

Sean McGrath, commissioner of New England Collegiate Baseball League, said recruiting has undoubtedly become a greater challenge in recent years, and he ackwledged that is likely to be complicated furr by new Appalachian and MLB Draft Leagues.

Even so, he remains optimistic leagues like NECBL will still find future big leaguers.

“I truly don’t believe that every kid who will play professional baseball will appear in one of (MLB's new) leagues,” he said.

rthwoods League Commissioner Ryan Voz holds a similar view and doesn't believe MLB's incursion is an existential threat on its own.

For starters, league's sustainability isn't tied strictly to talent. It helps that NWL's alumni list includes MLB stars like Max Scherzer, Chris Sale and Pete Alonso, but business model for its franchises is tied more closely to ir community value as an affordable, family-friendly garing spot.

“Fans are looking for good baseball, but y’re looking for great entertainment,” Voz said. “And that’s where rthwoods League we feel is really kind of a combination of all of m.”

Of course, competition for players isn’t only concern for some leagues.

Cape and NECBL are members of National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, a 12-league organization that receives funding from MLB. Leagues can apply for grants worth thousands of dollars for crucial expenses like baseballs, umpire fees and team travel.

re’s indication at this point that MLB plans to pull that funding, but if it did in future, it could put NACSB members in a difficult position.

“Certainly it would have an impact,” McGrath said. “It’s a lot of ticket sales or several sponsorships to offset that loss.”

Summer league executives say y are full-steam ahead on planning for 2021 season after most lost 2020 to pandemic — rthwoods League was among exceptions and even hosted several hundred fans at many games.

Even those that didn't play remain in decent financial shape. timing of March's coronavirus surge meant leagues avoided most of ir biggest expenses, like baseballs, bats, umpire fees and travel.

Uncertainty remains for next season, though, pending status of a virus vaccine. Franchises rely on host families for players, a potentially dangerous arrangement amid a pandemic. y also depend on sponsorships and donations from community businesses that have been hit harder.

“If those two things go away, we’re all in trouble," Beck said.

alumni list for Beck's ABL includes some of best in baseball history — Tom Seaver, Barry Bonds and Randy Johnson. It's already become less common for players of that caliber to pass through Alaska. Beck is hoping obstacles presented by 2020 don't make things worse.

“When y can see Aaron Judges," he said, " guys that go on to play in big leagues, and y can remember that time y saw him in Alaska, aver fan, that helps our attendance and helps everything.”

Im credits: AP