Major League Baseball and the MLB Players’ Association are locked in a staredown and no one is blinking, endangering the hope of the season starting on March 31 as scheduled.
But that doesn’t mean there won’t be baseball this spring. Minor League Baseball on all levels is conducting business as usual, and that includes the Lake County Captains, the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, formerly the Indians.
It is always easy to tell when the start of the Captains’ season is drawing closer, because General Manager Jen Yorko’s enthusiasm jumps through the phone. In truth, her enthusiasm is always evident. It just reaches a different level at this time of year.
“Right now our staff is working behind the scenes to prepare for tickets on sale day, which is in mid-March,” Yorko said on Feb. 11 from her office at Classic Park in Eastlake. “Tickets will go on sale to the public in mid-March and season ticket holders will be able to come on that day to pick up their tickets.
“We are working on our promotional schedule — firework dates, giveaway dates, fun-theme games, dollar days. … We’ll have an announcement pretty shortly with those exciting details.”
Few fans go to a Captains game for baseball only. Affordable ticket prices and family friendly entertainment between innings is part of the attraction. Presently there is no mask mandate and no attendance restrictions for home games in 2022, Yorko said.
The Captains open their 2022 season on April 8 at Lansing against the Lugnuts. They open their home schedule at 6:35 p.m. April 12 against the Dayton Dragons to start a six-game homestand.
It seems weird that minor league baseball can proceed if the start of Major League training camps and possibly the start of the regular season are delayed, but such is the case. There is an ironic twist in that, because two years ago COVID-19 reduced the Major League season to 60 games and wiped out minor league baseball.
“Our play won’t be impacted by the Major League lockout,” Yorko confirmed. “Our season will start on time and we’ll continue down the path we’ve created for this 2022 season.
“A lot of our team from last year moved up to Double-A quickly. The Lake County Captains quickly became the Akron RubberDucks that went on to compete in the playoffs and win a championship. We’re super excited about the talent we have here.”
Greg DiCenzo is back for his second year as Captains manager. DiCenzo last year often said the real work his team put in was done from 4 to 7 p.m. — in other words before the first pitch.
Yorko said the Captains roster will be determined by Guardians management in late March.
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