2011 Schedule Coming Soon

The CPL recently released the preliminary team schedules for the 2011 season. Over the past week, we have been making trades with other teams to acquire specific dates to cut down on travel, increase off days for our players, and to also increase promotional opportunities for next season.

Usually, the most appealing days are Fridays and Saturdays for obvious reasons. Also, Thursday's (Thirsty Thursday) are also seen as appealing as 12 teams in the league can sell alcohol at their respective ballparks. Lastly, July 4th, depending on the city, usually is the biggest night of the year. When I was Wilson and Thomasville, July 4th easily drew the best crowds during the season. Firework shows are commonly known as the best promotion. In most markets, like Wilson and Thomasville, firework shows are generally a successful promotion. That gives some insight to what most teams are thinking of when the schedule is first released. Even though we are a summer collegiate team and not affiliated with minor league baseball, the same philosophy applies to all minor league teams, but on a bigger scale.

This year, the CPL's primary goal is to increase the level of play while decreasing travel. This year, the CPL has gone with an "unbalanced" schedule to help just that. Our fans get to see more out of division teams this year. Some road trips can really be draining for players and coaches, so the unbalanced schedule certainly helps the travel situation. Overall, I believe most teams will benefit from the new schedule structure.

The new completed schedule should be completed during the week and then we'll write a press release announcing the 2011 summer schedule. This is when the fun really begins....we'll start thinking about our promotional calendar. Stay tuned.