SWAMPSCOTT — The leadoff hitter for the White Sox stepped into the batter’s box just after noon Saturday, and immediately the familiar baseball chatter started up from both dugouts. The Braves hurler reared back and delivered the opening pitch.
As the minor league contest unfolded, it was almost possible to forget the pandemic and also forget that Swampscott Little League’s much-delayed season almost didn’t happen at all.
“There was a lot of uncertainty,” said league President, Matt Brogna. “There was a possibility that we wouldn’t play, based on state guidelines.”
Like youth baseball programs around the country, the league was preparing for the upcoming season in mid-March when the coronavirus ground everything to a halt. At the time, the league was in the middle of tryouts.
“We waited on Little League International for guidance as well as the state and town,” Brogna said.
After months of waiting, the season finally began on July 7, three months later than usual, with new rules in place: players wearing masks and keeping their distance in the dugout; no hugs or high-fives; mandatory masks for umpires, coaches and fans at all times.
Everyone praised the players’ efforts in following the rules.
“The kids have responded really well,” Braves coach Joe McGonagle said. “I was concerned at first about the masks and the spacing, but for the most part it’s gone better than expected.”
Early on, McGonagle’s team sometimes forgot protocols following a clutch hit or a nice defensive play, celebrating in the usual way.
“We just came up with an air-chop thing to have them do that instead of a high-five,” said McGonagle.
While the White Sox, from neighboring Nahant, are in “a rebuilding year,” according to coach Shawn Hubauer, “the kids’ attitudes have been great. They’re smiling. They’re having a ball.”
The players, mostly 10- and 11-year-olds at the minor-league level, were disappointed when the league shut down.
“I was really hoping that there would be a season and there was, and I was really happy,” the Braves’ John DiLisio said.
“I wanted to see my friends,” said Brandon Maher of the White Sox, and teammate Connor DeLoid echoed the sentiment: “I really wanted to meet up with my friends.”
As for the safety protocols, there was a feeling of resignation that this is the new normal.
“The mask is kind of distracting sometimes,” DiLisio said, “but most of the time it really doesn’t make much of a difference
“It’s annoying, but you have to,” said the Braves’ Gavin Cerrutti.
The umpire for Saturday’s contest was Nathan DeRoche, 16, who has been calling youth baseball games for three years. Umpires have had to adapt as well, standing behind the pitcher’s mound instead of behind home plate, which means DeRoche has to be quick on his feet.
“When the ball is hit, I have to think about where I have to go so I won’t be in the way,” he said.
DeRoche added that, among other precautions, he doesn’t touch the baseballs at all during the games.
The league has more than 250 youngsters playing this year, with four major league teams, four in the minor league, five farm teams, eight instructional teams and eight T-ball teams.
Brogna said parents were allowed to opt out and get their money back. He estimated that about 25 percent chose that option.
Michele Maher, Brandon’s mother, said she is “thrilled” that the league has been able to play safely.
“I think they’ve adjusted well,” she said. “Clearly sometimes there have to be reminders, but they’re just happy to be playing, so if they have to wear a mask, they wear a mask.”
Christian Bauta has both a son and a daughter in the league.
“I think they’ve taken appropriate precautions in terms of wearing masks and sanitizing the balls,” he said. “It’s been great to have a little bit of normalcy, adding there have been “no outbreaks of COVID on the teams or in the towns related to Little League play.”
Joanne Bryanos, Connor DeLoid’s grandmother, sat in the shade outside the right-field fence.
“I’m so happy they’re back at sports because it’s been so isolating,” she said. “They’ve missed each other.”
This year’s Little League World Series, the banner event that brings the best 12-year-old all-star teams from around the world to Williamsport, Penn., was canceled for the first time in the tournament’s 73-year history.
District and regional playoffs were scrapped as well, but Brogna said that the leagues in District 16 are trying to put together a tournament for the 12-year-olds, who are in their last year of Little League.
“The district administrator (Joe Bagliere) is getting a head count and we’ll see,” Brogna said. “We’ll be involved if we can.”
Out on the field Saturday, the White Sox, pulled off a nice double play. The players cheered and congratulated each other – safely.