‘They don’t need a lot of fans.’ High school baseball has returned in Charlotte

James Hobbs stepped into the batter’s box Tuesday for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic brought an early end to his baseball career at Myers Park. Nearly three months had passed since the last time Hobbs had played in March, and he had to take some time to adjust to the first pitcher he faced.

“(The) first at-bat was kind of weird because I haven’t seen live pitching in a while,” Hobbs said. “But other than that, it was pretty normal.”

Hobbs was offered the chance to play with his high school teammates one last time as part of the Charlotte Area Varsity High School League, a six-team league that gives a glimpse of what the new normal looks like for amateur sports.

Players weren’t allowed to sit in dugouts and lingered behind nets next to the field. Guidelines surrounding Phase 2 of North Carolina’s reopening plan prohibit more than 25 people in the stands at Arthur Goodman Park; fewer than 10 fans showed.

There was a sense of normalcy. Teams played the standard seven innings and players brought the same level of excitement as any baseball game, as “That’s a beautiful pitch!” and “That’s a team effort!” rang from the sidelines.

“They don’t need a lot of fans, and they don’t need a lot of hoopla,” said Chris Manriquez, Carmel Christian School’s head baseball coach who organized the league. “They just want to come out and play baseball.”

The goal of the league is two-fold: Give seniors the chance to play out their final season, and allow underclassmen an opportunity to be seen by college scouts. Games are streamed on Twitch for college recruiters to see (they’re unable to watch live because of the NCAA’s recruiting dead period, which runs until June 30). Manriquez said Wake Technical Community College, NC State, UNC Charlotte and Queens University of Charlotte have expressed interest in the league.

Manriquez, alongside Rick Suarez and Tripp Roakes, started outlining plans for the league as soon as a high school baseball cancelation became a possibility amid the pandemic. When the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association and the N.C. High School Athletic Association canceled spring sports in March, the three pushed to move their offseason baseball concept forward.

Securing a venue was a “huge problem” due to coronavirus-related closures and concerns, Manriquez said, and he had to work around the unavailability of public high school fields. He ended up making arrangements with Matthews Athletic and Recreation Association to play games at Arthur Goodman Park and at Southlake Christian Academy in Huntersville. The league split its 21-game regular season schedule and postseason plans across both parks to play midweek games through June and early July.

“The organizers weren’t going to take no for an answer,” Manriquez said. “There were a lot of hoops to jump through and things to organize so quickly because nothing like this has ever been done.”

Manriquez, who reached out to about 15 area high schools for interested players, said some that wanted to participate but chose not to since the school’s official teams aren’t allowed to play on campus. Manriquez said about 100 players from 12 high schools have are participating in the league.

Though he had originally hoped for an eight-team league, Manriquez ended up with six teams: Four of the teams are predominantly made up of players from Carmel Christian, Myers Park, North Lincoln and Southlake, and two teams, the Braves and the Knights, are made up of a mix of players from other schools. Most teams are coached by parents, and Manriquez said he and Southlake coach Cheron Farley are the only two varsity coaches participating.

The league is planning a senior all-star game immediately after its championship July 3 to serve as the senior night the class of 2020 wasn’t able to celebrate.

“At least to have this league, it really helps them kind of deal with everything that’s going on in a way that they can feel a little bit more comfortable with,” Manriquez said.

Like many in the class of 2020, the summer league will be the last opportunity for Hobbs to play in the Charlotte area. He’s planning on moving to Tennessee to play at Chattanooga State Community College next spring. But for now, he’s just glad to play baseball again.

“Feels good to be on the field,” Hobbs said. “It’s been long.”

This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 10:53 AM.