I can name many college players who played their entire Spring seasons hurt and carried those nagging injuries into summerball.

My main point as stated earlier is that summer Ball, for most leagues, is a test for these kids not only against great talent but showcases their endurance and ability to handle a schedule that approximates a professional schedule. Afterall, if they want to go to the next level and earn the money at the next level, (which is why most of them are on the Cape), then they need to demonstrate that they can handle that type of schedule.

College coaches want to begin the season one week earlier next year. Since the players might already be overworked, can we be sure the NCAA – those protectors of the “student-athlete” – will not allow that to happen?

As for the pitchers, no college coach would ever think of allowing Austin Wood to throw 169 pitches over 13 innings, would they? Would anyone let Mike Belfiore throw 129 pitches over 9.2 innings when Belfiore had averaged about an inning per game throughout the season? There are other examples, but those two are the most obvious from this past season.

An arguement could be made that the school is paying for the athletes’ education, but that certainly does not give the college coach more of a reason to put a player at risk; and that arguement is further weakened because of the way scholarships are distributed in college baseball with so few players receiving a “full ride.”

I’m sure many players are dealing with bumps and bruises at this time of the year. I think the Cape League does a very good job of taking care of their players. I assume other summer leagues are vigilant about this too. I’ve yet to hear of a player being overworked by a Cape League manager. There would be severe ramifications if a team overworked a player and that led to an injury. It seems to me that a serious college baseball player should be able to compete in school, play through the summer, and then participate in the less-competitive fall season. While I understand that not every player is going to play professional baseball, if they are playing in the summer, they are playing because they WANT to, and probably to see if they can take their game to the next level. CapeMan’s point is a good one. Most college teams play 60-70 games and the players often get a day off in the midweek, out of conference games, and the top three starters only pitch once a week.

Baseball players should play baseball in the summer.

The USD has forced college baseball to play more weekday games, Monday off, Thursday travel day, 5 games per week, and class.

I agree some players change leagues for more playing time and some don’t show up at all in an effort to heal, rest, and enjoy the time off. I would venture to guess that a large number of college players play the summer well below 100% physically. Just ask the trainers!!

I don’t think the comparison Willie made to MLB players is fair. MLB players have 160 game schedule where the college game is 1/2 that and have most of all the weekdays off. Adding the 44 games to their year is a great test of their endurance that they will need at the next level.