Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Announces Cancellation of 2020 Season

The Elmira Pioneers are sad to announce the cancellation of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League for the 2020 season.


This season would have been the 132nd in Elmira history and will be the first time since 1956 that Elmira will not field a baseball team during the summer months.


“It is extremely important that the people of Elmira continue to practice social distancing and continue to follow the lead of Governor Cuomo” Robbie Nichols told media members. “This is a sad time for all of us as we take great pride in bringing entertainment and memories to historic Dunn Field every year, but the safety of our community comes first.”


The Release from the PGCBL in its entirety is below:


In conjunction with Perfect Game USA, Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) President Robert Julian announced today the cancellation of the 2020 season.


“It is with sadness, but a recognition of the healthy reality we face as a state and a nation, that the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League will not commence or play its 2020 season,” Julian said. “We recognize this is a great disappointment to our collegiate players, to our fans, our host communities, and the dedicated staff and owners who have spent so much of their lives making the league a vibrant part of collegiate baseball and the American baseball fabric. The dynamic of this crisis requires cancellation.”


Perfect Game founder and president, Jerry Ford, stated, “The primary importance is for the health and safety of all concerned in this geographic area. As the naming sponsor of the PGCBL, we support Mr. Julian’s and the owners’ decision to cancel play for the 2020 season. While disappointed that baseball won’t be played in the PGCBL this summer, we recognize the significant barriers with housing, player travel to Upstate New York and between cities, and other factors the league faces that Perfect Game doesn’t face, as other areas of the country reopen for play later this spring and summer.”


Julian stated, “We have engaged in watchful waiting in the hope we could commence play on either May 29 or on a later date, but we are now persuaded that the likelihood and probability of either option is low to non-existent. We understand that the issues faced by our state and local governments create unsurmountable hurdles that prevent us from safely playing.”


Julian concluded, “We look forward to the 2021 season. In 2021, we will provide special access to our games to first responders, health care workers and provides, and essential workers in appreciation for their efforts on behalf of our communities. We will announce in the future our detailed plan to honor these special people.”