Muskrats season canceled

LACONIA — The Winnipesaukee Muskrats heard late last week that their league had to face an unfortunate reality: they could not hold a 2020 summer baseball season while still protecting the health of their players, fans and communities.

The New England Collegiate Baseball League made the announcement on May 1.

“This decision was reached after a careful and thoughtful review of the guidance from federal, state and local officials, the leadership of our host communities, and recommendations from the CDC and medical community," the league said in a statement. "The conclusion was that canceling the 2020 season was necessary for the health, safety and well-being of our players, coaches, umpires, volunteers, fans and host families.”

The NECBL is a wooden-bat summer league for elite college baseball players, and has served for some as a way to get recognized by Major League scouts. There are 13 teams in the league, including the Winnipesaukee Muskrats, who play at Robbie Mills Field in Laconia.

This season would have been the first as general manager for Carey Hough, who has served the organizations in various capacities in years past. Despite her disappointment, she said that she agreed that the decision was the right call.

“We wanted to play, but we looked at crowd gatherings and realized that we can’t have a safe season,” Hough said. She said the team is already looking forward to next season, and is reaching out to players to start and build a roster for 2021. The team will be working with the city to make improvements to the field, such as expanded safety netting, and are planning more ways to draw the community out for a night at the ballpark.

“We are looking to plan a bigger and more entertaining season in 2021,” Hough said.

Teddy Beaudet, a Franklin man who studies and plays catcher at Northeastern University, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that the season was off.

“I figured it was only a matter of time,” before the cancellation, he said. Even so, “It’s devastating,” he said. “Besides the fact that we already lost our spring ball, a lot of kids were looking forward to this season.”

Fortunately for student-athletes like Beaudet, the NCAA has given another year of eligibility to players who had their 2020 spring season canceled. Now that his summer schedule has been opened up, he said he’s going to take a full-time landscaping job and will keep himself in shape for the fall baseball season.

Beaudet said he didn’t fault the NECBL for canceling the season.

“I think this is definitely the right decision to make. People all over the country want to play baseball, but right now we have to face this as a population.” He said people need to stay home and stay healthy, so that regular life can return.

“Things are normal when baseball’s being played,” Beaudet said.

The loss of the Muskrats season is felt beyond the team’s roster, said Ray Simanson, one of the owners of Tavern 27 and a supporter of the team. He said it was a “shame” to have to cancel, both for players hoping to make the leap to the big leagues, and because the team had been building momentum in recent years. And, it’s a shame for all of the fans who would have been able to take in a ballgame.

“I saw so many families come and go to games, there were so many families that would go there, mostly with young children. It created an opportunity for baseball lovers to take their families to a ballgame, for next to peanuts,” Simanson said. He added that the players gave young athletes a glimpse at what they could become, too. “The existence of them in the community gave young children something to aspire to. And for parents and children to bond over a ballgame.”

Simanson, whose restaurant is near both Robbie Mills Park and the South Down Shores development, said he hoped the team and city could use the down time to make improvements to the facility. Specifically, he suggested establishing a path that South Down residents could use to drive golf carts from their homes right up to the ballpark.

“I think it would help the community and the team,” Simanson said.

Helping the community

“We’ve already started working towards next season and there will be lots of great changes to improve the fan experience,” said Mike Smith, president of the Muskrats. He said that the team was disappointed to lose the 2020 season, but added that there is one way that the team can bring some smiles to Laconia this summer.

Last year, the Muskrats pledged to spearhead the recreation of an iconic sculpture of an American Indian in a city park. The wooden carving had suffered internal rotting and the city deemed its deterioration too extensive to save. Smith and his partners offered to recreate the sculpture using 3-D printing, and the finished product will soon be installed.

“Please keep your eyes on Opechee Park in early July, because we’ve been promised that Keewakwa Abenaki Keenabe (The Defiant One) will be making his grand return to the area. Our hope here at the Muskrats organization is that he will provide a little cheer and inspiration to bring people’s spirits up,” Smith said.