10 days. 240 hours. The countdown is on to the official start of the 6th season of Genesee Rapids Baseball. For those of you who do not know, the Rapids are part of the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL). The league started in 1978 as a summer wood bat developmental league for professional baseball. You may not know that a small part of the league’s budget each year is actually funded by Major League Baseball.
Located in Upstate New York, the NYCBL gives collegiate players who have not yet signed a professional contract the opportunity to develop their skills against a higher level of competition, gain more experience with wooden bats, and be evaluated by scouts. This season, there are 10 teams divided into two divisions and has expanded to included a team in Mansfield, PA.
Some notable NYCBL alumni currently in the Major Leagues include Pitcher Mike Fiers of the Oakland A’s, who earlier this year threw his second career no-hitter. Two time MLB All-Star and current OF J.D. Martinez, of the 2018 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, is another NYCBL alumnus. Also, two-time World Series champion and three time MLB All-Star Hunter Pence, who is currently playing OF for the Texas Rangers, also played in the NYCBL.
Beginning June 1st, 27 young men from across the United States and even Aruba and Puerto Rico, will descend on Houghton, New York, for the 2019 season of Genesee Rapids baseball. The goal of this blog is to provide you, the reader, with greater access to what a season of Rapids baseball looks like. We will have entries from players on the team giving us insight on what being a Rapids player means. We will also look to highlight some of the behind the scenes people that make Genesee Rapids baseball what you have come to know, love and look forward to every summer.
We hope to see many of you out this summer to cheer on the Rapids as they meet the challenge and adventure of living for Jesus Christ in a needy world, through the game of baseball.
Genesee Rapids Blog 