There will be no 2020 season for the Owensboro RiverDawgs, one of the few teams holding out hope that there would be at least some baseball this summer. The announcement was made Saturday by the Ohio Valley League.
“We knew it was going to be really hard to play this summer,” said RiverDawgs Manager Vic Evans. “A few of the teams in the league were hoping to maybe push the start date back into mid-June and play into August, but we were in the minority.”
Owensboro’s first game was set for May 29.
Evans said there were several factors that went into the decision to cancel the season altogether rather than delay or even shorten it. One of the top concerns was that many venues simply wouldn’t even be open due to safety regulations in place for the coronavirus.
“There were a lot of moving pieces with a lot of decision makers that we had no control over, whether it be mayors or the governor,” Evans said. “We knew we were still a long way from playing, but I think some didn’t see the situation they were having to deal with really changing even if we gave it another month.”
Evans said every time one question was finally answered about playing, it just led to seven or eight more questions.
There was never any real chance games could be played without fans, either, since ticket sales helped fund the teams and league.
“Unlike some professional sports franchises or some big colleges, we have to be able to get fans in the stands. We don’t have a TV contract or anything,” Evans said. “Financially and everything else with the league, it’s still stable. Just like every other small business or college or school that’s out there and is involved in sports, it’s kind of a lost deal.”
Evans said it’s probably best that the season never really got going for a multitude of reasons. Between ensuring everyone’s safety and avoiding the disappointment of stopping after a handful of games, playing none at all is the less-bad outcome.
“First and foremost we want to provide a product that is safe for our players and fans,” he said. “There were just so many things that had to go right to really make that happen and be feasible.”
With 2020 a lost season, it’s now on to 2021.
“That’s one of the heartbreaking things,” Evans said. “We felt like on paper this was one of the best rosters that we’ve had. We were really looking forward to putting a good product out there for the fans. Now we just have to go back to the drawing board and try again next year.”
