On Thursday, that welcomed familiar cry of “play ball” will once again echo across the scenic acreage of Williamsport’s Historic Bowman Field as the nation’s second-oldest baseball park will usher in another season of baseball when the Crosscutters begin year two as members of the MLB Draft League hosting the State College Spikes.
Now known by her married name, Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, the queen jewel on West Fourth Street is looking quite dapper and has been providing local baseball fans with diamond action since her opening in 1926. As a founding member of the Draft League, she’ll again be welcoming fellow league members Trenton, Mahoning Valley, Frederick, and West Virginia in addition to neighboring State College during the 80-game season.
Created in 2021 by MLB and Prep Baseball Report as a collegiate summer baseball, the league serves as a showcase for top draft-eligible prospects leading up to each summer’s MLB Draft.
“We think that it is going to be a fun summer,” echoed Bowman Field ringmaster and Crosscutters Director of Marketing & Public Relations Gabe Sinicropi. “In our second season, there are a few new twists in how the league will operate. We have our new video board, which is exciting and will be great for fans and sponsors alike. We want people to come on out and enjoy the baseball experience we are looking forward to providing.
“This year, we wanted to try a 6:35 p.m. start time instead of 7:05 for our Monday thru Saturday games. It is an experiment this year to see how it goes, but we think it has a chance to be better for everyone; sometimes games can go long, often ending after 10:00 p.m. A number of other teams, some of them at the Major League level, are going to this early start, so we are anxious to see how our fans will like it. We also moved up the start of our Sunday games from 5:05 until 4:05.
“Having a year under our belt, I think the Draft League is positioned much better this year. I think we have shown the college players, college coaches, and draft prospects across the country what our league is about and that it is run well. If they are a draft-eligible prospect, it is really the premier place to play their summer baseball.”
In addition to expanding the league schedule from 68 to 80 games, the league has pushed back its start date one week and will conclude the regular season on Labor Day weekend.
“This later start date will give an opportunity for those top college players to join the draft league earlier in our season,” Sinicropi explained. “Last year, we started before Memorial Day, and that was too early. I think we could still start our season another week later to give additional time for the various college post-season tournaments to conclude. The league is still experimenting with that ‘sweet spot,’ so to speak, when the most college players would be available to join us.”
As it was last year, the Crosscutters’ schedule is extremely unbalanced, with the team playing 56 games, equaling 70% of its season, against State College and Trenton.
“Quite frankly, that is not something we are in favor of. We do want to play State College more than anybody else,” added Gabe. “Last year, that unbalanced schedule was put together because of travel restrictions surrounding COVID. When this year’s schedule came out, we still have the same type of schedule. Similar to our start/end dates, I think certain things with the schedule are experimental. I would anticipate we will see some changes in that going forward. We would rather see the other teams a little bit more than we do now.”
The games themselves will also feature some additional experimental tinkering.
“We are excited about our new extra-inning rule, and there are other summer leagues that are experimenting with other game-ending concepts. This year in games that are tied at the end of nine-innings, the Draft League will be using a sudden death half-inning tie-breaker. At the home plate meeting before the game, the home team gets to choose whether it prefers to play offense or defense in sudden death. The team that is on offense starts with a runner on first base. If they score, they win the game. If the defense prevents them from scoring, that team will win the game. It’s a half-inning, that’s it.
“Last year, we had games that ended it ties, and that’s not something anybody wants. We knew that was going to change this year. We’re happy about it and think it will be exciting. A lot of fans leave after nine innings, no matter what, and never see the final outcome. Only about 10% of the fans stick around for extra innings. Now, when you know the end is, at the most, only three outs away, fans will stick around to see the outcome. We’d like people to do that. But the good thing is we got rid of ties.”
Sinicropi went on to explain the league will also employ some seven-inning games on Tuesdays.
“Those seven-inning games will only be used the first half of the season and will affect three of our home games. This rule is only for the pitching staff stuff. Realizing these are amateur players, during the first half of the season, they want to protect pitchers’ arms. Believe it or not, two innings once a week makes a difference. We let the baseball people handle that, but it does help each team’s pitching staff.”
Baseball traditionalists may shudder with the implementation of these changes, but the best tradition of all — baseball is returning to Bowman Field for all of us to enjoy.
