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.