A Captain's meeting was held on Tuesday,
March 21, 2006. We had 14 teams
represented. To all of those who
attended the Captain's meeting, thank you.
For those who were not able to attend and for those who did attend, here
is a recap. Please note that I have
added some details when relevant.
The Agenda was as follows:
v
Expectation
of Captain's
v
Overview
of field space
v
League
Fee
v
Code
of Conduct / End of Game Procedures
v
Banned
Bats
v
Extra
Hitter
v
Extra
Hitter #2 – Bonus Hitter
v
Pitching Styles
v
Mercy
Rule
v
Playoffs
v
Field
Condition and Maintenance
v
Who
was Kevin?
v
Bulk
purchasing of equipment and Uniforms
v
Distribution
of Scorebooks
v
Open
Discussion
v
Final
Thoughts
Captains are my eyes and ears for the
league. The captains are the most important keys to
running a successful and efficient league.
Unless specified, the League uses ASA
rules. Captains should always have the
League specific rules with them when playing to clarify in the event that the
League rule overrules the existing ASA rule.
Constant
email updates are sent out throughout the season that indicates schedule
changes, rule clarifications and the infamous playoff scenarios. The primary and secondary contacts are
included on the emails unless otherwise specified. If captains know they will be out of town and the secondary
contact is unavailable, a backup contact should be indicated.
Late last season, I had put together a new captain’s guide. If I have time over the next week, I’ll
update it and post it on the League website.
Responsibilities include:
I updated everyone on where we stand so
far for the permits for this season.
Again, I reiterated that the Parks Department had purchased a new
software system for ball field scheduling that has been delaying the process and
creating some confusion.
Brooklyn
Parks Department Update
We'll again be on Commodore Barry fields
01 and 02. We will be starting on April
17th.
Manhattan
-
Parks Department Update
The Manhattan permit office had some confusion related to our permits. I’m not expecting us to have similar space
as last year playing on the East River and at Dewitt Clinton. Times will vary from 6 to 9 pm.
I have spoken with Con Edison and expect
that we will again receive the fields to use starting in July.
We will now have 14 dates at Murry Bergtraum
this year. We’ll have usage starting in
April through June on Monday’s and then in July on Friday’s. We’ll return to Monday’s for August. This field is one that is closely
watched. It is by far the most
expensive field that we use and our costs have gone up dramatically for this
year as they’ve recently added a number of additional charges. Unfortunately, I have set the league fee
and will find a way to make things work.
There is still an outside chance that we
may acquire some additional space in Manhattan on the upper west side at
Riverside Park. If you know of any
location, public or private, that may have space, please let me know.
The League Fee this year will be $1100.
The fee is due by Monday, April 3, 2006.
Any team that has not paid the fee in full will not be part of this
year's league. Currently, we have 24
teams slated to participate this year.
Depending if I can secure some additional space, I may be able to add 2
more teams.
The price of the permits for public space
remained the same for this season. As
of 2003, the permit cost is now either $16 or $32 plus the cost of lights. You may see these differences in costs on
the front of the permit that you bring to game. Murry Bergtraum is a private field that has its own cost
structure. It is now about five to six
times the cost to use this field.
In addition, I informed everyone that the
Personal Liability insurance that the league takes out per team was raised
again. These costs are included in the
League Fee.
If you require an invoice or a W-2 to be
filled out, please let me know via email and I will produce an invoice or
complete a form for you.
When the game starts, the Umpire owns the
game. If I am present or reachable by
phone, the Umpire is still in charge.
Along the same lines, team members must
maintain courteous and competitive behavior.
Taunting, fighting, and lewd behavior will not be accepted. Unless I have missed something, this is a
recreational softball league. No one is
going to the majors and we all participate in order to have a good time in a
competitive and sportsmanlike atmosphere.
Most teams in the league are corporate teams that are made up of players
with different skill levels. There were
a couple of incidents last year that were embarrassing to a few players and
their teams. This is a reflection of
the league and depending upon who was present could potentially result in us
losing the permits.
There was some conversation regarding the
behavior and timeliness of the umpires.
We contract the umpiring to the Big Apple Umpiring Association, which is
a group of umpires who are certified by the ASA. I communicate regularly with the Umpire Chief and raise issues
with him regarding umpires timeliness, skill level, and professionalism. If you have any complaints about umpires,
please contact me and explain the situation.
I will then follow up with the Umpire Chief.
Upon completion of your games, it is
necessary to have the umpire sign your scorebook in order for you to have a
record of which umpire did your game.
This will further assist you if you have a problem with any of the
umpires. When submitting your results
this season, please include the name of the umpire who did your game, as I will
be tracking more closely this season. Along
the same lines, we have a ton of great umpires. If there is an umpire that you have positive feedback on, feel
free to share that information as well.
Positive feedback is appreciated and helps me work with the umpire chief
in selecting the umpires to officiate during the playoffs.
I reminded everyone that ASA had banned a
bunch of bats last season. All players are recommended
to read the rules as I’ve listed the previously banned list. Use of an Altered Bat will result in
immediate suspension. Cracked, worn, or damaged bats are not altered bats,
but will be removed from play. This list is final and not open to debate.
A list of
approved bats may be found at http://www.asasoftball.com/about/certified_equipment.asp. You should look for the ASA approved
seal. If a bat’s status is uncertain,
then the team should remove the bat from play.
The Extra Hitter often creates a lot of
unnecessary confusion. The Extra Hitter
may be substituted in and out of the game as long as the individual remains in
the same spot in the batting order.
Only ten fielders may be in the field at any point in time.
Today the lineup may consist of 11 batters. A request was made to enable
for a 12th batter if and only if a team chooses to bat a 12th player. To
reiterate, only 10 players would be eligible for the field for any given
inning. Effectively, this rule introduces a second Extra Hitter now
referred to as Bonus Hitter. Like the
Extra Hitter, this player may be substituted in
and out of the game as long as the individual remains in the same spot in the batting
order.
The Bonus Hitter may not be added to the
lineup once the lineup has been turned over.
Pitching is always an interesting topic for discussion. The league does not have a clock rule. You may go as far back as you can, but you
can only have one step and throw. There
is no hopping or throwing from the side.
The umpires will be told to enforce the pitching rules more stringently
this year.
An
approved diagram of pitching styles may be found at http://www.gwhynot.com/pitching.pdf.
ASA
states that the losing team should get five full at bats. Today, we have rules
to only allow for four at bats. If the winning team goes ahead by more
than 15 runs after their at bat during the 4th inning, then the losing team
must receive their fourth and fifth inning at bats to score runs.
After some extended discussion, it was suggested that the
following rule be added regarding the Mercy Rule.
“The Mercy Rule only impacts regular season games. In the event that a team is ahead by 15
runs or more at the end of four innings, the losing team will receive their
fifth inning at-bat. In the event that
the losing team is the home team, then the winning team will receive their
at-bat and be limited to having everyone in their lineup receive one
at-bat. If the half inning has not
ended before the final batter receives an at-bat for the winning team, then the
winning team’s at-bat will be terminated and the number of runs scored will be
added to their existing run total. If
after the fifth inning the winning team is up 15 runs or more, then the Mercy
Rule will be executed.”
Presently
everyone makes the playoffs. I have heard from a few teams over the last
few years that maybe it may make sense to establish some criteria. Some suggest
that only the Top X make the playoffs. The basic consensus from everyone
was there was no pressing need to limit the number of teams and that there was
a comfort level leaving the existing structure in place.
If
I were to add additional teams, then I consider limiting the playoffs to 24
teams.
The Brooklyn permit office is undergoing a
large-scale effort to regularly check the maintenance and usage of the
fields. Various individuals from the
permit office will be visiting the fields this season checking permits and
field conditions. Never use buckets to
remove water from the field. A rake is
fine to use, but it is imperative that the field is properly maintained. In addition, there will be a checklist to
check to make certain that trash and other related items to the field are in
working order. I also discussed the possibility
of having a key to the bathrooms for Commodore Barry. If you are interested in receiving a key and being in charge of
locking/unlocking the bathrooms for your team, please contact me.
Please treat the fields with proper
care. If the field is not playable, use
your judgment. I don’t want anyone to
get hurt. At times, we’ve moved on to
the outfield to play or delayed starting by a few minutes to rake the
field.
Unfortunately, I do not own any of the
field space, but manage the allocated field space. There is a field attendant at Murry Bergtraum that will assist
you with any questions. After each game,
clean up your team’s trash and make certain that if there are any gates, that
they are shut. If you notice that there
is equipment left at the field, pick it up and let me know. Over the last few years, we’ve recovered individuals’
gloves, bats, catcher’s masks, and even bases, which have been then returned.
I left this part of the meeting out by
mistake.
Many teams looking to join the league
often ask why the league is named the Kevin McAuliffe City Softball
League. There is a link off the
homepage detailing who Kevin was and why the league is named after him. As Commissioner, I gain a great deal of
enjoyment from the League knowing that we’re continuing to keep Kevin’s memory
alive. In addition, the contribution
given in the name of the winning team each year to the NSSA and other efforts
by league members further honors Kevin.
Furthermore, we often try to raise some
money each season as a League to benefit NSSA or another organization. Last season, we did a 50/50 raffle at the
End of the Year event.
Teams often ask me if I have someone who can make uniforms. Last year we were using someone in the
Bronx. This year, one of the new teams
joining the league has a contact that will provide us with a competitive
discount. The cheapest way to get
uniforms is when you buy in bulk, so if a few teams would like to get a plain
Jersey with different colors that usually works out best.
I also have been trying to find a way to
get the Clincher Balls for a reduced cost.
At present, I calculate that I could get a dozen clinchers for around
$75. I need to know how many teams are
interested in order to see if I could do any better. It’s my understanding that I would have to order in factors of
6. Therefore, I could accommodate
either 6, 12 or 18 teams as one team already has balls for its season.
With not much else to cover, I quickly reviewed the rivalry games
and scheduling.
During the regular season this year, each
team will play one team twice. This I’m
calling the rivalry game. For example, Miramax
and Focus will play twice during the regular season. Whoever is the home team in the first game, will be the visitor
in the second game. I realize that this
may slightly impact the standings, but many of the teams have natural rivals
and know each other off the softball field.
I’m hoping to run one of the rival games on the Friday nights at Dewitt
Clinton so teams may go out with one another before or after the game. I know that the Pay Scrubs and Cornell did
this the last few years and it has been a huge success.
I also discussed the need to try and have
double headers at Murry Bergtraum. To
balance out the cost of the field relative to our other space, I am going to
try and have two games an evening at Murray.
Game times may last just an hour or an hour and fifteen minutes. For games at Murry Bergtraum and late games
at East River 08, batters counts may begin with a 1 and 1 count. I will be speaking with the umpire chief
regarding this. If you prefer not to
play on Murry Bergtraum, please let me know.
I know there has been at least one request to avoid Murry B. this
year.
Teams
will again be asked to fill out their scheduling preferences. If there are dates you can absolutely not
play, please let me know before I create the schedule. As of March 22, 2006, I have updated the
website to contact the 2006 Contact Form.
I’ve been contacted from a few individuals who wish to play, but do not have a
team. If you may need additional
players, please let me know and I will pass along their information.
A great deal of time and effort goes into
the league each year in its planning, coordination and documentation. As captains, you are my main point of
contact and are my pulse of the league.
Please do not ever hesitate to contact me. I try to keep on the main page of the website my status for the
week. If I’m traveling or I’m not
around, I often designate someone else to assist me.
Just a reminder, I provide to each team a
Rule Book and Scorebook. Teams are
responsible for supplying their own bases, bats, balls, and catcher’s
mask. The balls that we use are debeer’s
Clincher F12 12 Inch Clincher Softball.
These are the basic topics that we
discussed during the meeting. Thanks
again to all those that participated. I
hope that I have captured it all.
I will send out the League Contact Form in
Word Format for each team to complete if you have not done so. Don’t forget to let me know if you require
an invoice.
Thanks,
Larry Ackerman
Commissioner, Kevin McAuliffe City
Softball League
Email:
larryackerman@hotmail.com
League Site: www.gwhynot.com
Telephone: 917-807-0947