MLW Wiffle Ball

'We want this to be the start of something special': MLW's goal to continue planning out-of-state series for 2023

By:  Matt Byrne

January 2, 2023

In 2022, Major League Wiffleball proved its eight-team Michigan-based model could captivate live and internet audiences repeatedly when playing in four out-of-state venues across the country. 

The first trip brought two teams, and other MLW players on separate rosters to Minor League Baseball stadium Fifth Third Field in northern Ohio, home to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. In the second trip, MLW returned to the Shangri-La Resort in northern Oklahoma, following the league's All-Star Break. By the season's end, MLW had traversed both coasts of the country. 

The Downtown Diamondbacks and Coastal Cobras arrived in northern Vermont in August for the Mini-MLB Series supporting SlamT1D, a nonprofit organization supporting children, families, and adults living with Type 1 diabetes. The serpent teams smashed home runs and hurled wicked breaking pitches on miniature replicas of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and the Field of Dreams. 

Baranoski pitches to Schema on the Little Field of Dreams.

The same two teams then reached the MLW World Series and played on the field at SoFi Stadium in California, an NFL venue home to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers that seats 70,000 people. Kyle Schultz and Tommy Coughlin, two of the five original members during MLW's inception in 2009, said that the current 50-player league managed to keep the news quiet for months. 

"SoFi Stadium was definitely the most memorable thing that we did just due to the scale of it," Coughlin said. "The shock factor to the fans with that big reveal." 

Aside from the sheer magnitude of playing at SoFi, Schultz and Coughlin recognized that Toledo receives bonus points for being the first professional venue the league has played in. 

"I really enjoyed the Toledo game too, mostly because of the atmosphere," Coughlin said. "That was our first time in a professional stadium — with a live audience. I have to give a special shoutout to everyone who came out and was there to see that monumental series for us." 

During the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens game in Ohio, MLW players signed autographs and spoke with fans on the concourse. After the Minor League game concluded, MLW constructed their makeshift Wiffleball diamond on the thinly cut right field grass. Fans stood atop the 10-foot wall to watch the thrilling game between the Western Wildcats and Pacific Predators. Two fans said they drove two hours to attend. 

The scene at Fifth Third Field during the MLW game.

"It's so cool seeing that [fans] truly care about our videos to the point where they would want us to host an event that they would go to," Schultz said. "It's a huge community builder when we can actually meet our fans, take pictures, involve them in the videos. I can't wait to fulfill all these wishes of kids posting about come to our city, come to our stadium, because we have the most fun doing it." 

Unlike Toledo, fans in Oklahoma sat only feet away from the Green Monster-styled Wiffle ball field. Some participated in the kids clinic during the second night of the two-night event. During 2021, MLW only played once out-of-state: the inaugural Oklahoma series between the Western Wildcats and Eastern Eagles. That video remains MLW's most popular on YouTube, with two million views and counting. Schultz and Coughlin aspired to keep growing. 

Throughout 2022, MLW quadrupled the number of out-of-state events, playing four series away from their private field in Michigan, named The Meadows. On two occasions, the league played in professional stadiums: the first time in Toledo, the second time in the most expensive stadium in the nation, constructed for $4.9 billion (including development). 

Kyle (left) and Tommy (right) smile after the conclusion of the MLW SoFi shoot.

"2022, we proved to people what could be possible with Wiffleball and shocking people," Schultz said. "In 2023, it's proving to people that we're here to stay… almost become more integrated into the mainstream of baseball fans, Wiffleball fans, and sports YouTube fans in general."

In the offseason between 2021 and 2022, Coughlin remembers being asked what he was looking forward to the most in 2022. The Midwest Mallard's veteran captain responded, "the unknown." Why? 

"Because you never know what emails are going to come through," Coughlin said. "What opportunities might pop up on any given day. That couldn't have been more true with what happened with SoFi Stadium because that was not on the calendar when the year began."

But heading into 2023, Schultz and Coughlin have already started to fill out the league's calendar. Schultz announced MLW will return to Vermont in August 2023. While 2022's Mini-MLB Series supporting SlamT1D was private, this year, Schultz said MLW plans to intertwine with SlamT1D's 12th Annual Vermont Summer Classic tournament at the mini replica field complex. 

Schultz didn't budge on providing more information about potential events and locations. Yet, the MLW founder discussed the possible content schedule for out-of-state videos published on YouTube. Schultz has considered the idea that besides the first slate of series in 2023, in which he’d prefer all eight teams to play at The Meadows, slates two through five would feature one special out-of-state series. (During each slate, the league's eight teams each face one opponent, totaling four series matchups). The fifth slate would contain the Vermont trip. This model would allow each franchise to play out-of-state once during the regular season. The Metro Magic are the only MLW team that has yet to go abroad. 

"Really it's up to Tommy and me to execute and pinpoint those other ones in the regular season," Schultz said. "It's definitely in the works because people love it, we love it, and it's a great trajectory of the league to be filming in these stadiums. We don't want this to be a fluke year, we want this to be the start of something special."

 By:   Matt Byrne