Amidst the news of all the cancellations of seemingly every sporting event in 2020, the San Diego League is still optimistic. The COO of the SDL, Connor Little, said “We tried to remain as positive as possible. We’ll just try to do our best to give these players an opportunity to play this summer.”
Created in 2019 with four teams, the San Diego League now features eight teams that play a 33-game schedule throughout the summer. All regular-season and post-season games are played on the campus of Cal State University San Marcos. There is also an All-Star game that is played at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres.
With the players’ growth in mind, the SDL offers state-of-the-art technology to provide the players with the analytics they need to improve themselves. Athletes will be tested with Blast Motion and/or Rapsodo technologies before, during, and after the season to allow them to monitor their progress throughout the summer and become better baseball players even after their time in the SDL. After just a few minutes talking to Little, I was able to tell just how passionate he and his fellow staff members are about athlete growth.
Personalized workout programs at the 1RM Performance facility, cage time at the 5 Tool Hitting Center, and arm care with the help of physical therapy center, The Training Room, are a few of the benefits the athletes receive in the SDL. Little also appreciates how close all their players are to everything that is available to them. “We are staying at one facility as of right now because that is who we are. One of our biggest things was knocking out a lot of travel and bus time,” Little said.
The league is expanding from four teams last year to eight this year. Little added that they will have representation from 16 different NCAA Division I programs after having two last summer. He hopes that, “as [they] continue to grow, people see that [they] are doing [their] best to help the player.”
As of now, the SDL is still planning on having its season, which will start May 30th and go until July 29th. Obviously the COVID-19 situation will be closely monitored, and the staff is preparing for what to do if any government-issued social distancing mandates are to be announced until that point. One of the benefits of the SDL is that they are operated out of one office and when asked about potential backup plans, he said “We control all the teams within our organization. We’re able to be flexible . . . and maneuver how we need to, depending on the situation at hand.”
The SDL is showing that they are already one of the top summer leagues in the country dedicated to player growth. They are holding out hope that the league will be able to happen and so are we.
UPDATE (5/8): The San Diego League has released a plan to allow for summer baseball that is in accordance with guidance from health officials. See the plan below:
Thanks for checking out our post! To learn more about the San Diego League, visit their website here: thesandiegoleague.com.
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