Take Me Out to CL Baseball!

officially kick off its first season Saturday morning with a ceremony that featured a parade of teams, a field dedication, an American Idol contestant and Mayor Aaron Shepley throwing out the first pitch.

After a scheduling conflict forced the league to technically launch Friday night (our dropped a close one to the Dodgers 10-8), the real fun kicked off Saturday morning.

Every team was announced as they ran out onto the field to applause from the families who came and braved the cold wind.

An official color guard from the Great Lakes Navy Base presented the colors before former American Idol contestant and current Crystal Lake resident David Radford sand our National Anthem.

Check back this week for a video of the festivities.