32 | JUNE 18 • 2020
Fewer teams and games, but “we’
re
looking forward to getting together again.”
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
sports HIGHlights
T
here will be a 25th
Inter-Congregational
Men’
s Club Summer
Softball League season after
all.
And with 15 teams, just two
fewer than last season.
“We’
re looking forward to
getting together again,” said
Steve Achtman, one of the
league’
s organizers.
“I didn’
t know if we were
going to have a season this
summer and, if we did, would
it have to be like our fall sea-
son with teams mixed and
matched from the summer
teams,” Achtman said.
The re-opening this month
of West Bloomfield Parks and
Recreation Department dia-
monds during the COVID-19
pandemic opened the door for
a summer league season.
League games will be played
starting Sunday, June 21,
and continuing each Sunday
through Aug. 30 on two dia-
monds at Drake Sports Park
and three diamonds at Keith
Sports Park.
Nine weeks of regular-sea-
son games, with teams per-
haps playing a doubleheader
each week, will be followed by
two weeks of playoffs. Rained
out regular-season games will
not be made up.
The league season
was supposed to
begin May 3, with no
games played during
the Mother’
s Day,
Memorial Day and
July 4 weekends, and end Aug.
23. Games now will be played
July 5.
The “new normal” caused
by the pandemic will make
this a league season like no
other.
There will be social dis-
tancing measures, a limited
number of spectators, wear-
ing a mask will be optional
for players and umpires, and
hand sanitizer will be avail-
able.
The umpire and catcher will
position themselves farther
away from the batter than
they normally do, the usual
post-game high fives between
teams will be done
with no physical
contact, and there
will be a pre-game
moment of silence to
pray for the victims
of the pandemic and
for peace and racial harmony
in a turbulent world.
There will be free substi-
tution during games. If a
team is short on players, it
can borrow players from the
opposing team to fill spots in
the field.
“We don’
t want to have any
forfeits,” Achtman said.
Congregation Shaarey
Zedek, Congregation B’
nai
Moshe and Temple Kol Ami/
Congregation B’
nai Israel will
not field teams this season,
but Temple Shir Shalom has
added a third team.
The 15 remaining teams are
in three five-team divisions.
The Greenberg Division is
made up of five teams from
Temple Israel: No. 1, 2, 3, 5
and 6.
In the Koufax Division are
Temple Israel No. 4, Temple
Shir Shalom No. 1 and
No. 2, Temple Beth El and
Congregation Shir Tikvah.
Temple Shir Shalom No. 3,
Adat Shalom Synagogue No.
1 and No. 2, Congregation
Beth Ahm and Bais Chabad
Torah Center are in the Rosen
Division.
Play Ball!
Summer Softball League
Season Starts Sunday
Post-game high fives will look much different this
season. This photo shows players from Adat Shalom
Synagogue No. 1 and Bais Chabad Torah Center con-
gratulating each other after a game last season.
CHUCK FREEDMAN
CANTOR SAMUEL
GREENBAUM
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