With the outbreak of COVID-19, it really feels like life has thrown us a curveball. With the uncertain future of pro sports including Major League Baseball it doesn’t seem quite fair. I have seen the effects of the response up close as the Big Ten has canceled the rest of the season for all spring sports including the Illinois Baseball team. I can tell you firsthand that many players and their parents are disheartened.
But APBA is a game in which we are usually free from the ills of the sports which we can ignore. Rainouts, labor disputes, scandals, gambling, ticket gouging… we don’t have to engage in that when we roll the dice.
Sometimes though, when a situation like the COVID-19 outbreak occurs, even then it makes a difference in our APBA lives. Right now, APBA tournament organizers are determining if it is safe to proceed with their respective tournaments. Because COVID-19 does spread faster in areas where groups of people are assembled, some feel this is a prudent decision to make.
Who’s on? Who’s not?
As of March 13th, here are how tourney organizers are standing with the status of their upcoming tourneys. This is NOT a comprehensive list and it will most likely be changing.
March 28th
| Heartland APBA Tournament | STILL ON |
| Stillwater, OK |
| Prairieland APBA Tournament | POSTPONED |
| Springfield, IL |
April 4th
| Neil Ess Memorial Twin Cities Area APBA Tournament | |
| Maple Grove, MN |
| The Old Dominion APBA Baseball Tournament | STILL ON |
| Richmond, VA |
| Florida’s Annual APBA Baseball Tournament | STILL ON |
| Clermont, FL |
June 25-28
| The APBA National Convention | STILL ON |
| Alpharetta, GA |
August 8
| 2020 Chicagoland Summer APBA Baseball Tournament | STILL ON |
| Des Plaines, IL |
As always, check with your tournament organizer for the final word on scheduling details. With an optimistic outlook, we can only hope that it shouldn’t be an issue by August.
As much as I love a good handshake, an elbow bump seems to be the best way to congratulate the victor of an APBA right now.
Be safe and secure. Wash your hands (and dice!).
Meanwhile, all the APBA GO tourneys are still on!
I’ve been playing APBA Go for the past few weeks. I need to check out these tournaments.
With no sports on tv, I might make serious progress on my BATS season. So far, I’m only 9 rounds in.
Minnesota on hold per Craig Christian
We held our TCABT-XIII lunch meeting yesterday (Saturday). We have officially postponed our TCABT-XIII event to Saturday, June 6th, 2020.
Thanks Jim and Rob! It’s been updated.
Tom
Hey that trophy was clean when I had it! Hopefully this will be contained soon.
The Richmond tournament has been postponed. No future date has been set as of yet.