2024 Metro Baseball League Season Wrap Up

The MBL has wrapped up the final week of Fall League, meaning travel baseball has hit the off-season! Reflecting on this summer, one word that comes to mind is gratitude. We are SO thankful for the MBL family and for all that you do to help grow youth baseball in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin!

Year after year, we are fortunate to be able to rely on a great support system, all of whom continue to go above and beyond to ensure that kids have the best possible travel baseball experience. From coaches and team managers to travel directors, all of whom work tirelessly to grow community baseball, we are indebted to you. It really does take a village, and the MBL village is, without a doubt, the best out there. All of us in the MBL office have had a lot of fun organizing travel baseball this summer, and we cannot wait for the 2025 season to start!

MBL Fall League Review

Nearly 4200 kids participated in MBL’s Fall League this year. We had 350 teams playing across our 14 divisions, leading to 1,750 Fall League games! A huge thank you to ALL the host communities – a lot of work goes into hosting Fall League, and without the heavy lifting of host coaches, managers, parents and volunteers, Fall League would not have been the resounding success it was this year.

To our umpires, who were present in ample numbers every week– THANK YOU! Many of our umpires juggled their Sunday umpiring responsibilities with their own pursuits — sports they were playing as well as academic and personal commitments, and all of the MBL village is grateful for the time and work you put in. Fall League also takes a great deal of work to schedule — to our umpire assignors, thank you for your effort on this front — especially staying on top of all the last-minute scheduling changes.

As we start planning for 2025, we encourage everyone to keep Fall League in your plans next year. It is a great way for kids to get 30-40 more at bats and to develop aspects of their game in a structured environment. We are excited to continue developing Fall League and make it better for everyone involved!

Off-Season Checklist – Athletes

It is important to get some well-deserved rest this off-season. Arm rest is very important; avoid over exerting and be smart with your off-season pitching workouts. MBL has some exciting sponsorships brewing to facilitate off-season workouts; be sure to check our website and social media pages for updates – in the meantime, here is what MLB has to say about pitching.

Staying active is always great, and there is no better way to do that than by being a multi-sport athlete. However, make sure you are storing your gear in the right places. Here is a great link for how to store your baseball gear in your home.

The importance of staying hydrated and getting your nutrients from the right food sources can never be overstated, so make sure you are taking care of yourself nutrition-wise. Healthy nutrition habits are also important for growth and the prevention of health issues, so, in the words of the kids today, don’t sleep on your food!

Off-Season Checklist — Coaches and Parents

Coaches and parents are the backbone of community baseball. As we said above, without the countless hours put in by parents and coaches, we would not be able to have successful baseball summers. As much as we remind athletes to rest, we do hope that you take time to recharge your own batteries to prepare for another great summer of baseball in 2025!

With that said: it is also a great idea to stay engaged with your kids. Having a pizza party, or getting together to watch the big game are few of the more common options of keeping your team connected. Teams with stronger bonds off the field tend to have a better experience on the field, and for parents, I am sure it is nice to be able to connect with each other in a more relaxed environment!

Donations

Are you in need of sponsors for an upcoming baseball event? Are there fields in your association that need to be upgraded? Look no further than MBL!
Our charitable gambling efforts allow us to support our communities with their fundraising endeavors. From field renovations, to subsidizing team entry fees, we do it all! Reach out to us by filling out this form, and we will review your request!

Congratulations to everyone involved with MBL on a fantastic 2024 baseball season, and we look forward to even bigger and better things in 2025!