It's Opening Day For The New Smyrna Beach Gnarlies Baseball Club
- Charles I. Guarria
- Jun 1
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 3
(Note: This blog has been updated to represent consecutive rainouts. on June 1 and 2. The result of which means that the New Smyrna Beach Gnarlies will open the season on Wednesday, June 3.
One Orange State League game was played before the rain came. The Cocoa Tailgators beat the St. Augustine Sardines, 14-3. )
Baseball in Florida received a boost this week with the June 1 Opening Day game between the Cocoa Tailgatores and St. Augustine Sardines.
The Orange State League is a wood-bat summer league featuring collegiate student-athletes who hold the dream of playing professional baseball.
Players in similar wood-bat summer leagues have hit and pitched their way to the minor leagues, such as the Florida State League, Major League Baseball, the myriad of independent baseball leagues scattered across the fruited plain, and in foreign leagues such as Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and the Australian Baseball League.
The four teams that comprise year one of the Orange State League. are the Cocoa Tailgators, New Smyrna Beach Gnarlies, Palm Coast Big Buoys and St. Augustine Sardines. Each team will play a 36-game schedule that began with Cocoa Tailgators beating the St Augustine Sardines, 14-3, on Monday and runs through July 26.
The regular season will be followed by a yet-to-be-determined playoff schedule. Though it is conceivable that all four teams will participate in the postseason
"It's a whirlwind," NSB Gnarlies General Manager Eric Torres said earlier this week. "It's a really big learning experience for everyone involved. but I can tell you that we are excited to have a team on the field this evening at 7 p.m. (June 3) and to put on a great show for everyone attending."
The Orange State League's goal is to "create a player-centric league structurally designed for the players' enjoyment,” the OSL website reads. “Additionally, we aim to assist college baseball coaches in the region by providing opportunities for their players to stay local throughout the summer season.”
Collegiate players who avail themselves of summer leagues such as the Orange State League have a decent chance of turning pro. My research shows that exact numbers are hard to find; however, perhaps the most popular of these leagues, the Cape Cod League, estimates that as many as 15% of its players are on an MLB roster at any given time.
Digging a little further, there is data showing a range of 10% to 50%+ of players within any collegiate wood-bat summer league will play pro ball in any of the aforementioned leagues. (Note: it was not possible to corroborate exact percentages.)
"Their efficiency in filling the rosters, and their very smooth social media and ticketing process, I expect well run games," texted Ben Ianotta, regarding the NSB Gnarlies. Mr. Ianotta is the writer behind New Smyrna Beat.
I will be covering the New Smyrna Beach Gnarlies via this blog and my show, The Opinion Guy.
Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read.
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