SAN ANTONIO – As a sports fan, there’s only so many vintage games you can watch before you really begin to yearn for some live sporting events. Yes, NASCAR races have commenced, the PGA Tour returned to Fort Worth this morning and boxing has resumed in Sin City.
Now, baseball is returning to Wolff Stadium as Major League Baseball owners and players continue to fight on when and how to begin the 2020 season.
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Say hello to the Texas Collegiate League, a wooden bat league made up of college sophomore, junior and senior baseball players, many who didn’t get to compete this spring due to COVID-19.
The TCL, which will be divided into the North and South divisions, will have 10 total teams, including MiLB teams such as Double-A Amarillo, Frisco and Tulsa, and Triple-A Round Rock and San Antonio. The Missions will play all 30 of their regular season games as the Flying Chanclas. Each team in the TCL will have about 30 players and will be comprised of many college players from their surrounding areas. That mean’s we could see baseball players from UTSA, UIW, etc. suited up as the Flying Chanclas later this month.
The Texas Collegiate League will run from June 30 to August 2 followed by a postseason.
The Missions participation in the TCL should not be taken as a sign that there will not be a Minor League Baseball season. If there is a MLB and MiLB season this summer, the Missions front office feel the organization can handle both teams playing at the Wolff.
At this rate, by the time MLB decides on a start date and get their players trained for the season, the Texas Collegiate League may have already wrapped up for the year.
KSAT 12 Sports reached out to the Missions Thursday afternoon and the organization says the early feedback has been positive, from college players anxious to take the field and fans desperate to see live baseball again.
Fans will see the same game day experiences they have come to expect from the Missions, including fireworks after certain games and dollar drink nights.
There will also be new procedures to follow at the Wolff. There appears to be only two entrances for fans to enter the stadium and five exits so fans can safely exit with social distancing in mind. Below you will find a few of the new procedures put in place at Wolff Stadium.
The Missions have a very detailed plan on how to reopen their gates to fans in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. You can read all the new cleaning procedures and see the new layouts on the Missions website.
Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 Sports for over 17 years and is an award-winning sports producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com