For over a century, baseball has been America’s national pastime – the sights and sounds of a ballgame played on the Fourth of July, family and friends coming together to root for their favorite team and for nine innings, young children believe in the magic of the game. In the midst of a summer when baseball looked bleak, the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball will be giving fans a light at the end of the tunnel.
With a season running from July 3 through September 10, the league consists of six teams based in three separate hubs.
“We were in a predicament where nine out of our 12 teams were precluded by their government from hosting games with fans – so that left us with Milwaukee, Fargo-Moorhead and Sioux Falls,” AAIPB Commissioner Joshua Schaub told me over the phone.
The three hub cities will host a 60-game schedule beginning on July 3, just in time for Fourth of July weekend when baseball reigns supreme amongst other sports. Each team will play 30 games as the home team and 12 games as the visiting team in their hub. This means, 42 of each team’s 60 games will be played in their hub site. There will also be a Championship Series to follow the season in a best-of-five format.
“Six of the teams that are not able to participate in the 2020 season had their hands force, but we do look forward to 2021 with the full slate of all 12 teams returning. I believe the teams that are not playing will come back even stronger next season,” Schaub added.
The Chicago Dogs will be paired with the Milwaukee Milkmen at Ballpark Commons in Franklin, Wisconsin. The St. Paul Saints will be paired with the Sioux Falls Canaries at Sioux Falls Stadium in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. And the Winnipeg Goldeyes are paired with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, North Dakota.
Each team and stadium will have COVID Readiness Plans in place, prepared for fans to enjoy live baseball with safe social distancing.
“We feel good about our safety plan and COVID-19 plan. It was just a matter of having one more city that would be able to host fans, which happened on Wednesday, June 10, when our third and final hub came into play,” Schaub said.
In a time when baseball seems so uncertain, Schaub and his league are determined to find a way. The motto this season? For Love of the Game.
“I just want the world to know we are doing this for the love of the game. This is done in a manner to provide baseball to the world. Of course, we are all rooting for Major League Baseball to get a deal done and we’re here to be a part of that landscape.
“It’s all for the love of the game. This year has the emphasis on playing the game and putting a product on the field for fans,” Schaub said.
Schaub also wants fans to realize how important Independent Baseball is to the future of the game.
“One of my missions is to have a communication plan, letting the world know that we are professional baseball and our players are not what they once knew, our guys are professional players that could easily be in Double-A or Triple-A at this point if they were to be signed.”
He also believes the world of Independent Baseball will ultimately be changed in the future.
“The world of professional baseball in 2021 will look a lot different – indy ball will likely be called something else and the talent level will be way higher than it is now with cuts from MiLB. You’re going to see an overflow of guys from Double-A and Triple-A in our league,” he said
Which, of course, is a beneficial situation to be in.
“Our brand will be increased as a far as credibility going forward as finally being in the professional baseball landscape. They’ll want us to develop players and more big leaguers are going come out of our systems due to the overflow in the talent pool. I think for the players, they want to play professional baseball and want to gain the attention of Major League Baseball with the hopes of eventually being signed.”
The league also held a dispersal draft of players from the six clubs who are not participating in the 2020 season, giving players the opportunity to continue without setback. An abbreviated Spring Training begins on June 25, 2020 prior to Opening Day on July 3, 2020.
The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league founded in 2006. The league currently has 12 teams in 10 Midwest states and one Canadian province. The league drew nearly two million fans throughout the 2019 season and has transferred the contracts of over 60 players to MLB organizations in the last year.
A special thanks to Commissioner Joshua Schaub for his time speaking with Prospects Live.
(Photo Credit: Milwaukee Milkmen)