In early November, the Carroll Merchants announced they will be back on the diamond in 2022 as members of the MINK (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas) League. Chris Whitaker, with the Carroll Athletic Association, says they have been working on partnering with this league for over two years and the unanimous vote to include the Merchants is both a scary and exciting new venture.
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The Merchants played in the Pioneer League for four years.
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As far as the Merchants’ fans are concerned, Whitaker says they can hopefully expect to see a higher caliber of baseball in this collegiate league.
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Whitaker says they have already begun recruiting for the upcoming season. This includes for coaches as well as players.
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As recruitment and plans for the 2022 season continue, Whitaker says the need for host families to house players remains. The roster, however, will be bigger, at between 30 to 35 players. Whitaker says they will need probably 20 pitchers just to stay competitive with the number of games they will have scheduled. With this move, Whitaker says, comes higher expenses, particularly for travel.
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He anticipates the ticket costs to remain close to the same, allowing for families to spend a day at the ballpark and to meet some up-and-coming athletes with a reasonably inexpensive price tag. Whitaker says they will likely be playing about five games a week with the home opener on Memorial Day. There are 42 games scheduled, with 21 home games on 16 home dates. Details on the season and how to become a host family can be found through the information below.
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Merchants information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarrollMerchants/
Chamber of Commerce: https://www.carrolliowa.com/merchants-baseball
Information or sign up for becoming a host family:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarrollMerchants/
Email: carrollmerchants7@gmail.com
Phone: 712-830-7176