The Northwoods League plans a normal summer season

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The Mandan Flickertails (green and orange uniforms) taking on the Bismarck Bull Moose (blue and red uniforms). (Photo courtesy: The Northwoods League).

The Northwoods League this summer will be returning to its normal format of baseball after spending 2020 in pods in order to safely play. 

With a pandemic in full force, summer collegiate baseball leagues had to make a tough choice, whether to play baseball or not and how to play it safely.  The Northwoods League decided that by following CDC guidelines and going into a pod league format, it would play games with fans in the stands. 

“The Northwoods League was able to be creative and place the teams in pods to cut down on travel and expenses,” said Northwoods League Great Lakes Division President Matt Bomberg.  “The NWL said from the beginning that if we were able to do things safely, and the health departments in each municipality allowed it, then we would play.”  

Pods were set up by state. The pods could consist of teams from two states. A Wisconsin/Illinois pod included teams in La Crosse, Green Bay, Wisconsin Rapids, Fond Du Lac, Wausau and a team from Rockford, Illinois. 

In all, the NWL still had 22 teams play in 15 different ballparks. The league played a total of 500 games and seated more than 214,000 fans. MLB scouts were at games throughout the season once they got the approval to travel from their clubs. 

The NWL had a postseason for each the pods except for the Minnesota/Iowa Pod. Each of those pods were able to name a postseason champion as well.

This summer the NWL season will look more normal. There won’t be any pods and a normal schedule is set for the summer. Every team is set to play this year, with the exception of the Thunder Bay Border Cats. The U.S.-Canada border remains closed.

The Bismarck Larks (white and black uniforms, playing against the Mandan Flickertails (green and orange uniforms). (Courtesy: Northwoods League.

Other summer collegiate baseball leagues chose not to play last summer. These included the Alaska Baseball League, and Cape Cod League, which are two of the top summer collegiate baseball leagues. For the Cape Cod League, it was the first time since World War II the league had gone quiet.  

Leagues like the one in Alaska are unique. First, you get to play summer baseball in Alaska and the weather is perfect for baseball. Second, its unique because they only play games during the day. No games are played at night because there are 24 hours of daylight for two months. Third, the high level of baseball also helps attract players.  

Chris Beck, president of the Alaska Summer Baseball League, said that this summer should be a more normal season with some hoops to jump through. “

“We are still working on some of the fan protocols,” Beck said. “But most of that is up to the city the teams play in and not the league.”

This summer will mark the 28th season for the NWL. Their season this year will start on Monday, May 31. The NWL is one of the largest organized baseball leagues in the world with having 22 teams.