And so the season ends

The Albany Athletics closed out the Independent Collegiate Baseball League season Wednesday night with a 6-4 win over the Amsterdam Mohawks. Albany (21-3-2) took the lead on a 2-run homer from Anthony Raimo (HVCC) in the 4th, and never looked back. Ex-Valleycat Chris Salamida started the game in the outfield, then was moved to the mound in the 6th, and pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball to pick up his 8th save.

Final standings:

Albany Athletics 21-3-2.
Albany Dutch 13-12-2.
Amsterdam 13-13.
Glens Falls 2-21.

If we're in the same condition next year where fans can't attend, the ICBL needs to do the following:

1. Add an extra umpire. One centrally placed ump in the center of the infield, behind the pitcher's mound, did have its drawbacks. Most minor leagues use as few as 2 umps, and so does Little League. It can't be that hard.

2. More teams are needed. The Athletics, coming from the Albany Twilight League with a mix of college & semi-pro players, and ex-pros (i.e. Salamida), dominated the league, and still had time to play games outside the league.

3. Greater accessibility for fans online. A common issue was that live streams didn't always start on time. Linking up with a public access channel on Spectrum Cable or landing a deal with Spectrum or one of the local TV or radio stations to expand coverage would certainly help.

Also, only the Mohawks & Independents had their rosters on their websites. The Albany teams didn't. Not good.

4. More teams means one more "bubble". I realize they didn't want to play at ancient Bleecker Stadium, the home of the Twilight League, but the ICBL would've benefited from having another ATL team, like the Troy Haymakers, in the league. If you have the Haymakers play at Knickerbocker Field, next door to Lansingburgh High.....!

Now, if the ATL could be convinced to start an online stream for next year......