Summer is here in Central Florida. Don’t make it a boring hot Summer, the college boys are back in town for another Summer season of college baseball. This is a great venue to bring your whole family down and experience some the rising college baseball stars. The start runs from June 1, 2017 – August 6, 2017. Games and times may vary between teams at home stadiums.
Here is some history about the The Florida Collegiate Summer League (Florida League), which is a wood bat baseball league with six teams in Central Florida. Founded in 2003, the Florida League provides a valuable opportunity for college players to play wood bat baseball against top-level competition with the goal of preparing them for a career in professional baseball.
The Florida League is one of twelve leagues affiliated with the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB) – an alliance of college summer wood bat leagues which operates under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) legislation. It is funded in part by Major League Baseball and is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation that is primarily dependent on donations from individuals, businesses and foundations in each team’s community.
The Florida League is recognized by Baseball America as one of the top summer leagues in the United States. Presently, 367 former Florida League players have been drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB) teams – with 33 former players taken in the 2015 MLB draft.
Entering its fourteenth season, the Florida League will give more than 200 college players the opportunity to compete. The League also provides positions for 24 coaches, and more than 30 summer internships for college students and recent graduates. Team rosters are comprised solely of players who have completed one year of college and have college eligibility remaining, positioning the NACSB summer leagues at the highest level of pre-professional amateur baseball in America.
The Florida League has a 45-game schedule per team. All games are played at night to allow players time during the day to work, attend summer classes or condition on their own. The night schedule is also conducive to attendance by families, for whom the Florida League baseball provides affordable entertainment. In 2016, the Florida League welcomed over 70,000 fans to the ballpark! Fan events – such as the Rubber Chicken Chuck and Races of the Bases during every game – are among the fun activities that promote family participation.
Community involvement is a priority for the Florida League. We partner with local non-profit and civic groups through the FUNraiser program, providing a venue for interaction with fans and an opportunity to sell tickets to raise money for their respective cause. Our players, coaches and interns also volunteer their time by performing community service for other non-profit organizations in each team’s hometown.
There are six teams this year, which are the Sanford River Rats, Winter Park Dawgs, Winter Garden Squeeze, Altamonte Scorpions, DeLand Suns, and Leesburg Lightning. These baseball games are reasonably priced for the entire family outing. There are a variety of stadium to attend a college baseball game in the Central Florida area. Here are these stadiums, which are Sanford Memorial Stadium, Conrad Park, West Orange High School, Lake Brantley High School, Bishop Moore High School, and Pat Thomas Stadium. Most baseball games start at 7pm, but check the schedule for times and locations. Some games maybe rain delayed due to afternoon and evening storms. Check the schedule for cancelled games.
The final championship baseball game is played at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg on Sunday, August 6, 2017. This is a double-header game with Tampa Bay Rays playing the Milwaukee Brewers at 1:10pm. Following the game the FCSL will play their final game for this Summer season. More information about this Championship game will be posted in the future from the FCSL.
For more information on the Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL) go to www.floridaleague.com . If you like this article, then like it on our Otownfun WordPress account. For more great events and places please check us out at http://www.otownfun.com .
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Sources of information from floridaleague.com
