The 2020 MLB Little League Classic and all other regional tournaments for the league are canceled due to the ongoing national battle with COVID-19, according to an announcement Thursday afternoon.
A statement released on the Little League website revealed that the 2020 MLB Little League Classic Presented by GEICO would return in 2021. It was originally scheduled for August 2020.
“After a thorough assessment of the impact the devastating COVID-19 pandemic has had on 6,500 community-based Little League programs in 84 countries and based upon the direction of governmental and public health authorities, and in consultation with medical professionals and our Board of Directors, Little League International has made the difficult and disappointing decision to cancel its seven World Series tournaments and their respective regional qualifying events,” read a statement on the site.
Since the 2021 series was originally planned to be the 75th Little League Baseball World Series, that celebration will now take place in 2022.
Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have already committed to returning to Williamsport for the 2021 MLB Little League Classic in August of next year.
“This is a heartbreaking decision for everyone at Little League International, but more so for those millions of Little Leaguers who have dreamt of one day playing in one of our seven World Series events,” Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO, said in a statement. “After exhausting all possible options, we came to the conclusion that because of the significant public health uncertainty that will still exist several months from now... it will not be possible to proceed with our tournaments as we’ve hosted them for nearly 75 years.”
A team of 12-year-olds from River Ridge, a New Orleans suburb, out played Curacao in an 8-0 shutout to win last year’s Little League World Series title.
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