December 12, 2010
Great to see those who could make it. Hopefully we'll have the full group at our next mtg, sometime around Feb?
Here are the notes from our mtg on Sunday:
The Phillies are under new management: Jay Skowronski has taken over the Mgr responsibilities from Gerry Diluzio. Jay's back up will be Ted Coyle.
Most importantly, we discussed the idea of establishing a new 40+ division of the MWABL. All agreed it was a good idea, so long as it didn't take away from the current 30+ league. While all recognized that some players would opt out of the 30+ and into the 40+. We agreed that all would take every measure to make sure that we don't jeopardize a current team roster by allowing too many players to switch. We agreed that it made sense to leverage the current league set up, but to create a separate rules document to allow for modifications of our current rules, etc... Andrew will draft a league memo/press release, announcing our new division. We will post externally, and accept "applications" for new players/teams. Based on current league player/mgr interest, it appears that we have the beginnings of 3 teams as we speak. Filling in these rosters and allowing a fourth new team would be a good start for the new division. If external interest allows, and if all current league managers are in agreement, we would consider adding additional teams for an inaugural season with 6 teams. More to follow, but it is a "go".
2010 finance review: the league account sits at just over $1k balance. We have approx $400 carry over from 2009, plus we didn't spend what we budgeted for a few things in 2010 (All-Star game, etc...). The Managers agreed that we would keep the same budget for 2011 with a slight increase for expected insurance premium, and that we would apply $500 of the 2010 credit to the 2011 budget, to offset some of the costs.
REMINDER TO ALL TEAMS: PLEASE SEND $200.00 TO ANDREW ASAP, SO THAT WE CAN GET OUR 2011 INSURANCE POLICY WRAPPED UP.
PAYABLE TO "ANDREW CALKINS"
12 Meadow Lane
Charlton, MA 01507
We discussed the 2011 season schedule, and agreed to start with first games on Sunday 4/24. We will have the same 4 Sundays off (Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day). Final regular scheduled game will be 8/14. 8/21 will be used for make-up games. First round of playoffs to begin 8/28, unless there are no make-up games on 8/21, in which case the first round of playoffs will be 8/21. I forgot to have each team draw a number for the random slot assignments for the 2011 scheduling tool. If ok with all, I will pick the #'s randomly, and then send to Rich S, so that he can enter them into the scheduling tool, and then we can get the 2011 schedule set for review. Let me know if this is a problem for anyone.
We discussed the next league "Tryout" and agreed to have it on either 2/13 or 2/20. Carlo, can you check with Cormier about using his place? Feel free to get me his contact info, if that would be easier. We will use the same draft process, as outlined in the rules, etc...
We discussed the 2011 All-Star game, and agreed that it will be held on 6/28, 6/29 or 6/30. We have the following Sunday off for the 7/4 holiday. We will shoot for these mid-week dates and an evening game under the lights somewhere.
We discussed a more formal recognition/process for the "Hall of Fame". Players with 10 years of playoff eligibility will be presented to the league Managers for consideration. All those inducted will have their name added to the website page (need to clean up a bit) and the league will present an award to the player (plaque, trophy, something).
We discussed last year's agreement to extend ALL playoff games to 9 innings. We also discussed the agreement that all rules must remain in effect for 3 years (to avoid constant changes). However, we all also agreed, that if we have a large majority of team wanting to change a rule, then we should not tie our hands. So, we will re-vote on the 9 inning playoff rule at our next Mgrs Mtg (Feb 2011). We agreed that we will require a 75%+ vote to over-turn this or any rule inside the 3 year window. If you care about this rule, please be sure to attend the Feb mtg.
We reviewed the performance of the umps last season. All agreed they were pretty good, and some felt better than previous years. No issues.
We discussed home team field responsibilities, and agreed to implement a rule around how/when/where field and time changes can be made, and under what circumstances the visiting team can decline the proposed changes. We did not agree to language on this rule, but did agree to do so at the next mtg.
We discussed the league website, and how Andrew and Rich S would talk to figure out if there is anyway we can set it up so that each team is responsible for updating rosters/scores, thus eliminating the extra work for the webmaster (Rich S) to track down the info.
We discussed different ideas on how to better promote the league. Andrew and Chris C agreed to connect on setting up a Facebook page, and possibly linking to the Boston Amateur Baseball Network site, etc...