The Legends will play ball this year but it will look like nothing we’ve seen before

You’ve heard the saying, “adapt or die”?

Amid a coronavirus pandemic, minor league baseball teams unwilling to do the former are destined to face the latter.

In that spirit, two teams in Kentucky forged ahead Wednesday by squeezing water from a desert. The Lexington Legends and Florence Y’alls will create teams and play games against each other this summer despite the fact the minor league baseball season was canceled one day earlier because of COVID-19.

Major League Baseball revealed plans last week to begin a 2020 season later this month, but their minor league offspring were left to their own devices.

“We are thrilled for this new partnership and venture,” Legends President and CEO Andy Shea said in a news release. “We know that baseball at Whitaker Bank Ballpark has been greatly missed and partnering with (Y’alls President) and CEO David DelBello and the Florence Y’alls will bring that energy back to the ballpark.”

Florence and Lexington will form two teams each that will play in front of fans every Wednesday through Sunday starting in Florence on July 31.

The series will be known as the Battle of the Bourbon Trail and last seven weeks.

Florence, formerly known as the Freedom, plays in the independent Frontier League, which canceled its season last week as a result of the pandemic.

The Legends, who for now are affiliated with Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals and play in the South Atlantic League, currently have no roster because MLB teams did not make minor league assignments this year.

Each organization will field two “high-caliber teams” for the Battle of the Bourbon Trail. Florence will host the Y’alls and the return of the Freedom. Lexington will host the Legends and their second identity, Las Leyendas.

“This is our chance to bring baseball back to the tri-state,” DelBello said. “We have been waiting for this chance and can’t wait to welcome fans into our stadium at the end of July.”

The four teams will consist primarily of former major league players, former and current minor league players and independent league players.

Tryouts for The Battle of the Bourbon Trail will take place at UC Health Stadium in Florence on July 20 and at Whitaker Bank Ballpark on July 22. Details regarding tryouts will be available on lexingtonlegends.com in the coming days.

Ticket information and detailed safety protocols will also soon be released to the public on lexingtonlegends.com.