Continuity is the byword for officials of the Williamsport Crosscutters as they embark on a new chapter of the Minor League Baseball experience for this city. The news last week was that the Crosscutters would be a charter member of the brand-new MLB Draft League whose 68-game schedule (34 home and 34 away), will run from late May next year and run until early to mid-August.

The same fun, affordable family entertainment you’ve come to expect from the Cutters in the past remains, including the usual mix of fireworks shows, giveaways, and memories-making experiences. The only difference you may notice is that instead of a Phillies patch on their shoulders, our players will feature an MLB logo patch. Gabe, Doug, Rhashan, and Boomer will all be still there, helping to continue the fine and fun ballpark experience at Bowman Field that has always been there.

A little bit about the new league the Cutters will be playing in, as mentioned previously, The MLB Draft League will feature a 68-game regular season that is scheduled to run from late May to mid-August with an annual All-Star Break centered around the MLB Draft. Players will receive unprecedented visibility to MLB Club scouts through in-person observation and state-of-the-art scouting technology and instruction from former MLB players, and educational programming designed to prepare them for careers as professional athletes. MLB and Prep Baseball Report will assign players and coaching staffs for each team as well as provide league administrative functions.

Williamsport joins former New York-Penn League opponents Mahoning Valley, West Virginia, and State College, as well as former Eastern League member Trenton as charter members of the new league.

At a Zoom virtual press conference on November 30, Crosscutters principal owner Peter Freund stated, “Our goal was to remain viable in the Major League Baseball pipeline. I don’t believe that what you will see on the field is going to be that different. There’s an argument to be made that the caliber of prospects showcased in this league might be of a higher caliber than what you’ve seen in the past. The way I look at this, our pipeline is going to be driven by Major League Baseball and all 30 clubs as opposed to just the Phillies.”

Freund continued, “Remaining affiliated with Major League Baseball was everything to us,” Freund said. “The fact that Major League Baseball and Prep Baseball Report will provide us players and coaching staff like the Phillies always have is a critical aspect to make sure we can remain part of MLB and its family. Beyond that, we’re a very special spot. We’ve got the Little League Classic and the home of Little League. Williamsport is very important to Major League Baseball. In many senses, I would say this was built around Williamsport, so I’m pretty proud of it.”

Gabe Sinicropi, vice president for marketing and public relations, told “Webb Weekly. “We are very excited to be part of this new league. It is the best possible outcome for Williamsport’s baseball fans with the restructuring of Minor League Baseball. I believe the quality of baseball will actually be better than that of the former New York-Penn League. Each night you will be seeing elite prospects who will be draft-eligible by all of Major League’s 30 clubs. It will be the final audition for these players to make an impression that will get them drafted by Major League teams. Instead of just seeing just potential Phillies, you will be seeing potential players from all 30 MLB teams. And in place of seeing perhaps just one or two possible players that may make it to the Majors, you may see almost a whole team of players that eventually make it to the Big Leagues. The stands at Bowman Field will be filled with scouts from all MLB teams each night. Some of them might even be former Major Leaguers that fans might recognize.”

This past Tuesday, the Crosscutters hosted a special Facebook Live event that was expected to help answer many fans’ questions. Additionally, on the Crosscutters website, there is a section called FAQs, which may also answer questions fans may have.

I’m going to take off my reporter’s cap now and put on my baseball cap as a fan and baseball historian. I have to admit I was greatly saddened and disappointed by the cruel way Major League Baseball ripped away the fabric of Minor League Baseball and crushed the hopes and dreams of many minor league cities across the country. But I am pleased that Williamsport has been able to survive this major sea change by remaining an integral part of both MLB and minor league baseball in general. I think the MLB Draft League is a good soft landing with which we will go on enjoying baseball at Bowman Field. It offers us perhaps an enhanced chance to see tomorrow’s stars today.

There is no reason to believe that this area’s many devoted Crosscutters fans can’t continue to enjoy the fun and thrills that we have been enjoying at Bowman Field for the past 25 years from the Cubs and Cutters, and from the almost 75 years of great baseball before that. Nothing will really change. There will still be all the fun of the various promotions, and our beloved Rhashan will continue to provide us his infectious smile. Perhaps most importantly, there is still going to be great and exciting professional baseball to watch.

This is the second time that we have been charter members of a new league; the first came in 1923 with the formation of the New York-Pennsylvania League, which was renamed the Eastern League in 1937. There is a reason we are on the ground floor of major baseball doings. It is because this is a great baseball town. I don’t believe that it is an accident that Little League Baseball was founded here. Baseball is in our DNA.

Many cities across the country would love to have the chance to be a part of this new baseball venture, Auburn and Batavia, and many other cities come to mind. So I think we should fully embrace this new chapter in our long and storied baseball history. There was an aching void for me and the many other Cutters fans who frequent Bowman Field when there was no baseball there this past summer. Well, next summer, there will be baseball, and let’s support the Crosscutters in this new endeavor and look forward to a lot more baseball thrills and fun and the magic that is the Bowman Field experience.