The intention was to start the Northern Division of the Bundesliga in this weekend. Due to corona, the teams did not get permission from their local authorities, where teams in the Southern Division did get that permission. But this weekend, the competition in the Northern Division will finally take off… Sort of.
Starts is written between quotation marks because only one game will played. The Solingen Alligators will host the Hamburg Stealers for a doubleheader.
Other teams that received permissions of the local authorities are Bonn and Dortmund. The other four teams, Berlin Flamingos, Cologne Cardinals, Dohren Wild Farmers, and Untouchables Paderborn are still waiting for the go.
As a result, the matchup between the Stealers and Alligators will be the only one for this upcoming weekend. With only four teams able to play, the schedule will be very fragmented. One weekend team A can play team B, but the next weekend they cannot play because their opponents don’t have permission yet. The various German states/provinces are authorized to have their own policy regarding COVID-19, which causes the differences in German baseball right now.
According to Alligators chairman Peter Niemeyer, nothing is clear yet. “We don’t know when our playing round will end or if there will be some improvisation.
Because of the differences in training opportunities, the conditions for the various teams are far from equal. In a series of test matches between the Bonn Capitals and the Alligators, last weekend, the latter was blown away twice. The reason for that is that the Capitals have played several practice games already.
If the other teams with lack of practice, will start the season, they will face several physical problems for sure. There will be a high risk of injuries. The inequality of training opportunities may lead to a very strange season, IF the other teams will get the permission.
To be continued…
Dutch Baseball Hangout 
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