2008-Pioneer Valley Over Thirty Baseball League-Year 4

The PVOTB originally 4 teams which played all their games at Pioneer Valley Regional School on Tuesday nights is now 6 teams and we play one set of games at Herlihy Field in Whately plus we play Tuesday nights and Saturday Mornings.

This season 2008 we are rolling out some changes, hopefully for the betterment of the league.

1. We are going away from the Metal bats and only permitting use of Wood or  Wood/Composite bats (Bamboo, laminates). Wood bats will be the responsibility of the individual to provide.
2. We are going away from the MLB Batting Practice shirts which over the past two years have found them increasingly harder and more expensive to replace and fill in for new players. By a manager’s vote, each team will have a new name and logo.
3. League membership fees will be collected differently this year. This year the teams will pay a 'Team Fee'. The 'Team Fee' is simply the cost of running the League divided by 6. Each team manager will collect the 'Player fees' from the players. The player fee is the 'Team Fee' divided by the number of players on the team. Teams with 12 roster players will have higher 'player fees' than a team with 16 roster players. So each team can decide how they want to manage their rosters.
4. Home team at all games will have the 3rd base bench and are responsible for chalking the baselines and batters boxes if they wish. Equipment and supplies will be made available.
5. Game Schedule: 24 league games plus 2 inter-league games with our neighbors to the north, the CRVBL. The inter-league games will happen on Tuesday nights under the lights and will be 7 innings. (Two games will be played in Ludlow)

As a reminder to returning players and those new players entering the league, we pride ourselves in having one of the best played, best enjoyed, best fields and best players league in the valley. What comes with that is a huge responsibility to maintain that standard. In the beginning we had but 4 rules because BASEBALL has a rule book (Sporting News Rules) and these were Play Fair, Play Hard, Have Fun and enjoy the company of other Baseball Fanatics. For the most part this is enough but on some occaisions, competitive juices flow a little too unchecked and situations can escalate.
Having said that, we employ one umpire per game and don’t pay them near enough for what they are able to provide.  Umpires are not to be yelled at, sworn at, bumped, threatened or humiliated, Period!  Supplying umpires is tough enough throughout the summer season, supplying quality umpires is even more difficult. Please help us retain our brothers in blue and make it as enjoyable for them to be at the game as it is for us. Thank you.

Managing the teams this season will be: Jay “Supe” Sadowski, Mike “Nails” Mercier and Tom “Hammer” Hamre, Ken Hartwright and Kyle Phelps, Andy “LaLoosh” Talbot, Tom “Smoke” Bresciano, Ken “G’DIK” Sloat and Bob “Bullet” Englehardt.
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We encourage each manager and players to monitor their and their players and teams sportsmanlike attitudes and displays.

We are looking forward to a great season of Baseball and hope everyone is healthy and able to enjoy the league for what it is worth. PLAY BALL!