The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Freedom Farm Baseball League returned to the diamond with its All-Star weekend and scouting combine featuring the league’s top 50 players ages 13-18 in a showcase of drills and exhibition games for international scouts and coaches.

The league plans to return in phases in adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

“Right now we are doing everything in stages. We started with our 13-14 and 15-18 divisions, they will go at it for about 30 days, then we will look at starting our 9-10, 11-12 division,” said Clarence McKenzie, the league commissioner.

“We have to take our time. We want to be responsible as we return to baseball, so it’s not going to be a situation in 2021 where we have all of our 44-plus teams and 800 players come to the park at once. This is a trial run so we can iron out all the kinks with health and safety as a priority.

“As we continue to do well, and as the country continues to do well, we will see more and more games added toward the schedule. After this month’s tournament, we will look at a 2021 shortened regular season, so it’s just a matter of getting the kids back into playing again but we have to do it one step at a time.”

The weekend featured a series of position drills and exhibition games as the league officially returned to play for the first time since March 15, 2020.

“You can tell the kids that have been working since we shut down. The play was pretty sharp in spots, as they play more games it will increase the level of competition and level of play,” McKenzie said. “The Bahamas is a relatively new marketplace for baseball, we are always getting calls for scouts looking to see when we start games so they can watch and observe these players. When we announced this we got flooded with calls.”

International scouts representing several Major League Baseball franchises were in attendance.

Sal Agostinelli, international scouting director of the Philadelphia Phillies, said he was impressed with the level of athleticism.

“We’ve been coming down here for a few years, there are a lot of good players here. There are great athletes, there’s a lot of evaluation that has to be done, but I can tell you one thing, there are a lot of great athletes here, a lot of guys that can throw, can really run, it’s an interesting group of kids,” he said.

“I thought it was interesting, the younger kids had a little trouble, they had been away for a while, they’re not as strong, but they got into it eventually. The older kids were swinging the bat really well, there were some good looking kids there. I thought they were looking pretty sharp.”

James Kang, international crosschecker for the defending World Series champions Los Angeles Dodgers, said despite the inactivity due to the pandemic, the players still delivered a series of impressive performances on the field.

“A lot of good athletes. The Bahamas is a really interesting market that is coming up on the international side with a lot of guys starting to sign out. It’s really cool to see the young kids coming up and trying to get a feel for those prospects coming up, in particular the younger ones. It’s about just trying to get a feel for the guys, build relationships,” he said.

“We cut them a break, we all know during COVID everyone was just sitting at home so we expected them to be a little slow at the beginning but when we come back to see them again in about six months we know it’ll be a little better.”

The 13-14 games were highlighted by Rohan Culmer and Nuygen Culmer who each homered Sunday afternoon.

In the 15-18 division, several players put on a hitting display over the weekend highlighted by Paris Johnson, Kason Conliffe and Brian Johnson among others.

Ryan Reckley was perfect at the plate and homered in both games while Breyias Dean had a two-home run game on Saturday afternoon.

“It feels great, we don’t really get a chance to get on the field as much as we would like to because of COVID, but once you get in the field with the guys it’s just really fun to try and do your best all the time,” Dean said. “Those hits came pretty easily, the pitcher made a mistake and I took advantage. The first at bat I was a bit surprised, which caught me off guard, but the second at bat I was ready, I had the timing down.”

Greg Burrows Jr, director of Maximum Development Academy, said several prospects put themselves in favourable positions with the clubs that were represented over the weekend.

“It was good to get the guys out. The scouts that came out were impressed by a few guys,” he said. “COVID has pushed the signing period back, but we are hoping to have a couple of these guys be a part of that next signing period in January.”

FFBL has been on hiatus since March 15 due to restrictions set in place to combat the spread of COVID-19. The league consists of nine divisions ranging from Rookie-T Ball to 15-18, (two softball divisions for junior and senior girls) and features approximately 800 players.

FFBL has formed a hygiene committee that comprises health care professionals who will make recommendations to the board in an effort to adapt to COVID-19 protocols.

In addition, the league also follows Major guidelines set in place by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The Bahamas Baseball Association also created a Prevention Guidelines document to assist a uniform return to competitive play for leagues around the country. Their document features over 100 recommendations outlining prevention and safety methods.