NILES — The boys of summer are back.

So too are the fireworks, the bobbleheads, the Buck Nights and other promotions that have become a summer staple at Eastwood Field in Niles.

Tonight the Mahoning Valley Scrappers open their 2022 season when they host the West Virginia Black Bears for the start of a four-game series. First pitch is slated for 7:05.

“This really feels like a whole new start in many ways,” said Scrappers general manager Jordan Taylor. “This marks the first time since 2019 that we’ve started the season full throttle. We’re also settled in as a league, so we feel like we’re going to have a very exciting and fun-filled summer of baseball.”

From 1999 to 2019 the Scrappers were a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians and a member of the New York-Penn League. COVID canceled the entire 2020 season. Then in 2021 the Scrappers joined five other franchises as founding members of the MLB Draft League.

The start of last year’s season was met with restrictions on fan attendance due to COVID concerns. The season ended with five of the Scrappers’ final seven games being canceled due to COVID.

“This was the first time in three years we’ve had a traditional offseason, and we spent that time gearing up for what we believe will be one of our best summers ever,” Taylor said.

Tonight’s promotional schedule includes a Buck Night ($1 admission, hot dogs and drinks) and a post-game fireworks display. The four-game home series against West Virginia also features fireworks on Friday and a youth jersey giveaway on Saturday. On Sunday, fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to Eastwood Field to take part in Bark In The Park.

The 2022 home schedule features nine fireworks displays, six Buck Nights, and a trio of bobblehead nights (Nolan Jones, Coco Crisp, Aaron Civale). There will be other giveaways including hats and travel mugs, while the promotional schedule also features celebrity appearances and charitable jersey nights.

“We kept all of the most popular promotions while adding a few new ones to the mix,” Taylor said. “We really have a packed promotional schedule this year.”

On the field, fans will notice many new changes — including a record number of games played at Eastwood Field. The MLB Draft League expanded its schedule from 68 to 80 games, giving the Scrappers a 40-game home schedule.

This year, the league will include both amateur and professional players. The first half of the season will feature amateur, draft-eligible players and will follow a similar format to last year’s season. Additionally, each Tuesday, the league will play seven-inning games.

Following a mid-season break which will coincide with the MLB Draft and All-Star break, the season will resume and will feature professional players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility or otherwise wish to begin their professional careers.

The season will conclude Sept 6 with the league’s first-ever championship game.

A year ago, 14 MLB Draft League games ended in a tie. That won’t happen this year, as the league established a unique sudden death format to decide a winner if a game is tied at the end of regulation.

Before each game, the home team manager will decide to play either offense or defense in the event of an extra-inning game. The inning will begin with a runner on first base and the scheduled hitter at the plate. The team starting the additional half-inning on offense will have three outs to score a run and win the game. If they fail to score a run, the winner is the team that began the half-inning on defense.

Also of note, all Sunday home games begin at 2 o’clock, four hours earlier than recent years.

Last year the Scrappers averaged roughly 2,500 fans per home game, comparable to attendance figures from 2019. Their final two scheduled home games, which were both canceled, would have drawn crowds in excess of 4,000 based on pregame ticket sales.

“We had restrictions to start the season and a rough ending, but even with all the issues we had a pretty good showing, both as a franchise and a league,” Taylor said. “We’re very excited about the future.”

sports@vindy.com