Will baseball return this summer?
Illinois prep baseball players love May.
The helter skelter weather of March and April is behind them and the ballparks finally start warming up to playable conditions. Pitching arms are loose and hitting eyes are keen.
Uninterrupted months of playing lie ahead in a burgeoning future.
At least in normal years, and this is far from normal.
Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic end the IHSA spring baseball season before it began, the phase-by-phase scenario outlined by Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker to reopen the state leaves the fate of summer baseball up in the air.
While some think baseball might happen, others - like the state's American Legion teams - already have been shut down.
"We just found out the season was canceled," said Barrington American Legion Post 158 coach Nate Gray, who's also an assistant coach on Barrington's high school baseball team. "Even though we lost the spring season, this would have been some closure. Especially for the seniors. It's heartbreaking to lose that."
Gray learned of the canceled summer season through an email from the Illinois American Legion Baseball Committee. It was especially disappointing this year because Barrington eyed a state championship with 15 returning seniors.
First spring and now summer. The hits just keep coming, except on the baseball field.
"As a coach that just wants to give some sort of positive experience to the players, I was trying to hold out some sort of hope," Gray said. "I totally understand the decision but it still hurts."
Others are trying to stave off the hurt.
Naperville Central baseball coach Mike Stock is the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association's summer tournament director. Held every year since 1976, the Phil Lawler Classic remains on the calendar from July 6 to July 16.
Will it stay there? Stock sees no reason to cancel anytime soon.
"If the opportunity comes about, we're ready to jump at it," Stock said. "It doesn't take a whole lot to get it organized so we'll hold off as long as we can before we cancel it."
The IHSBCA Phil Lawler Summer Classic features high school teams coming right out of the spring season. Graduated seniors don't play, so it provides a good preview of the next season.
The tournament has been a who's who for Illinois high school baseball as elite players often take a break from club competition to participate.
The format has changed in recent years, and it may change again this summer due to the pandemic. If the state opens up enough to allow competition, Stock said they'll make it work.
"I'd love to have the tournament, but the priority would be to just go out and get some games in," Stock said. "Maybe it'd be a nonelimination tournament where you're guaranteed a certain number of games. It may not be what it's been in the past, but it'd be something."
Sean Duncan, who founded the Prep Baseball Report in 2005, started the scouting service in Illinois and expanded to nearly every state. Through video, analytics and analysis, the PBR offers colleges and professional teams one-stop shopping for the nation's top prep players.
It isn't easy balancing the different levels of quarantine in states across the country, but Duncan hasn't canceled the summer showcases that are critical for prep baseball players aiming to play at the next level.
"From an exposure standpoint, summer is really important," Duncan said. "I think there's some worry in the air. If you lose the high school season and you're an uncommitted senior, you're staring down the barrel."
The good news is Duncan and his staff already hammered out ways to safely host showcases. It involves distanced check-in procedures and smaller groups, but Duncan believes it's doable.
"I'd be blowing smoke if I told you I knew how the summer was going to go, but we could probably still hold our events safely," Duncan said.
Until the snow starts falling again, the hope for baseball's return will remain.
"Every state is different, and that makes it difficult to speculate," Duncan said. "Illinois specifically is one of the toughest states to call. It's really tough to tell how it's going to go."
Twitter: @kevin_schmit