Baseball’s minor leagues, including Lexington Legends, cancel 2020 season

Baseball’s minor leagues canceled their seasons on Tuesday after Major League Baseball decided not to provide any players to its affiliated teams amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the minor league governing body, made the long-expected announcement.

The decision affects Kentucky’s three MLB-affiliated teams: the Lexington Legends, the Louisville Bats and the Bowling Green Hot Rods.

“While we are disappointed in losing our 2020 season, we understand why the decision was made,” Andy Shea, president and CEO of the Legends, said in a statement released by the team. “Despite the fact that there will be no minor league baseball this year, we look forward to rooting for the Kansas City Royals, our parent team.”

The Legends’ Whitaker Bank Ballpark is still hosting baseball games this summer — the Commonwealth Collegiate Baseball League, a wooden bat league, played there Tuesday night. The summer league is also playing games at Transylvania, Lexington Christian Academy, Asbury and Kentucky State.

Shea spoke to reporters before Tuesday’s game about the minor league baseball season being canceled and the Class A Legends not being able to try for their third straight South Atlantic League championship.

“It stinks. It’s a bummer,” he said. “At this point it’s June 30th. It is kind of more a formality than any type of surprise. … Nonetheless, it still hurts.”

The professional baseball agreement between the majors and the minors expires after this season, and MLB has proposed reducing the minimum affiliates from 160 to 120. The Legends are one of the teams included in the proposed downsizing.

The Louisville Bats are the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, and the Bowling Green Hot Rods are the Tampa Bay Rays’ Class A Advanced squad.

“While we are disappointed that we will not have Bats baseball at Louisville Slugger Field this summer, our first priority is the safety of our fans, players, and staff during these unprecedented times,” Vic Gregovits, the team’s president, said in a statement released by the team. “We anxiously await the 2021 season, welcoming fans back to the ballpark, and the return of the words, ‘Play ball.’”

This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 5:41 PM.