[Manchester, NH March 14, 2020] — Leading the charge in youth sports in the Greater Manchester area, Manchester Cal Ripken (MCR) has taken steps to postpone the start of the 2020 season at the urging of BABE RUTH BASEBALL in a cautionary stance to the CV-19 Crisis. League Director, Jamie Burke has been in contact with the National Babe Ruth Headquarters, the State of NH, and the City of Manchester School District. Burke indicated “Our start date is unclear at this time, but we are targeting the week of April 6th to resume 2020 Season Planning. We have been monitoring and working with local leagues to ensure we are joining forces in helping to do the right thing for the safety of our players”.

This postponement will affect the Player Evaluations that were to be conducted March 21st at McDonough Elementary School in Manchester, as well as the start of the regular season games and most likely the length of the season.

In a statement from Babe Ruth League, Inc. we are assured that Babe Ruth “is still planning the tournament trail for all divisions later this summer and will work with all leagues to ensure the leagues will have whatever might be required for players to be eligible to participate when the time comes.“

MCR Directors are also implementing new, more sanitary pre and post-game contact between coaches, umpires, and players. This includes the elimination of handshakes, high fives, fist bumps, etc. “The safety of the players and coaches is our only concern at this point and we hope to have our season start as soon as possible, but we will not jeopardize anyone’s health to make that happen” – Bruce Dalpra, League President.

In a statement by league VP of Baseball Ops, Josh Bernier said, “We have canceled our last few winter training sessions with SNHU club baseball team for the safety of the players in our league and at the University. We would like to thank the men of SNHU for helping us get our players baseball ready for 2020”

Manchester Cal Ripken was established in 2016 when Manchester East Little League changed affiliations from Little League baseball to the Cal Ripken organization. MCR continues a 64-year tradition of baseball in the city of Manchester, NH on the fields of Stevens Park, located at 313 Tarrytown Road. Manchester Cal Ripken services players from the entire city of Manchester, Goffstown, Candia, and Bedford offering baseball year-round through indoor Winter training clinics, Fall baseball teams, Spring divisional play, and Summer All-Star opportunities at every age level. Baseball divisions include T-Ball, Rookie, Minor, and Major for boys and girls from ages 4 to 12. If anyone is interested in joining our family, log on to www.manchestercalripken.org and register today.