Nashua Silver Knights general manger Cam Cook a few days ago got a text from former Knights field manager and VP of Player Personnel B.J. Neverett.

“You’re phone is going to be burning up in the next few days,” Neverett told him.

That was right after word got out that the New England Collegiate Baseball League was cancelling its 2020 season. You see, the loss of the seasons of 13 franchises with an average of 30 players a team, well, there’s well over 300 college ballplayers looking for someplace, anyplace, to play this summer. And the Silver Knights would always grab an couple of NECBL players to add to their late season playoff roster once that league’s season was done. It was standard operating procedure.

So it stands to reason that players from that league – mainly the ones with New England ties – will be contacting Cook and other teams to see what the FCBL’s status is and whether or not he and the six others have room on their rosters.

Cook does, maybe a couple of spots, he said, after the league expanded the rosters when the pandemic hit.

“But just think, there’s going to be a lot of college coaches calling around the country to find spots for their guys,” Cook said.

The question is, will the calls to the FCBL be in vain? There’s two ways league owners and general managers can look at what happened this past weekend – either they can be very wary, afraid of how it will look if they try to push ahead for a season during this pandemic; or they can call themselves the only game in town.

Right now, it’s the latter, but make no mistake, the Futures League owners know that for the summer of 2020 the business model they all use likely gets tossed out the window. The guess here is they are going to, if at all possible, try to be heroes for the college players starving for a season – if it can be done in a safe and practical way.

“It won’t be about how many tickets are sold, how many hot dogs are sold, and all of that,” Cook said. “It’ll be about getting these guys here and giving them a chance to play.

“If we’re the only game in town, that’s the way it will be. It will be very good for those guys (the players).”

Cook, remember, is only a couple of years removed from his playing days. He feels for the college players who lost their spring seaons more than a lot of other general managers in any of these collegiate leagues.

He knows the pulse of the players. The Silver Knights held a Zoom meeting with those on the roster last week. They’ve stayed in touch with host families. The fact that the FCBL makes it a priority to have players from the region take up most of their roster is a key.

“That’s definitely helping us be the last one standing,” Cook said.

Of course, the question is, should the league be or should it follow the lead of its New England bretheren. It seems right now the smart move is to wait and see what the government and health restrictions are into June and July for New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The NECBL had a lot of other issues in importing players from all over the country that the FCBL doesn’t have. Meanwhile, Cook says, a lot of the other college summer leagues from around the country are sharing ideas, etc. on what to do.

“The whole baseball community is talking about their plans,” Cook said.

And it makes sense to keep the conversation going for as long as Cook and the rest of the FCBL can, despite the NECBL bowing out.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251 or tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).

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