Status quo for 2012 season

Nothing much changed from last year as a majority of team representatives didn’t find much to tweak before the 2012 first pitch is thrown on May 6 in Ryley.

The only new piece of news was the resignation of Vice President Josh Banack, who was replaced by Holden Blue Jay Stephen Hrbac, elected unanimously by the team reps.

Discussions on schedule and forfeits

Debate around a drop-dead date to be finished the regular season fell flat as teams agreed July 15 should be a deadline date to strive for, but any games remaining that impact playoffs would be taken to the league committee for ruling. With Wednesday nights free and the buffer week, the reps thought it shouldn’t be as big of a problem as last year.

Discussions then went round and round on forfeits and rescheduling games at the last minute. No agreement could be made on a day-of or 24-hour notice rule. The reps decided it would be up to the two teams but as league rules state, if one of the teams arrives for the game, the league rules take precedent. The league committee would rule on payment of umps (if necessary) and further discipline.

Baseball Alberta fees

Jason Buzzell has looked into Baseball Alberta fees and they will remain the same as the past two years. $50 per team plus $200 for the league fee. The teams will still put in $150 each to register for the PBL season.

Talk was also discussed of a possible U24 tournament for Western Canada. That has been postponed, so despite the PBL wanting to send an young stars team to compete in the Alberta qualifying, it has been delayed until at least 2013, said Baseball Alberta’s Dan Curtis.

All-star game June 28

The All-Star game was agreed if it could work for the Battle River League on Tuesday, June 28. Each team will nominate pitchers and make a case for their guys before then picking their three choices from the league list. Teams will each send two position players to round out a squad with at least 3 pitchers and 12 position players.

Cold Lake Cardinals interest

Discussion then ensued around Cold Lake’s desire to enter the league somehow.

For 2012, this seemed impossible, but a concerted effort to invite them to PBL tournaments was encouraged. Any participation in 2013 games on weekends would be discussed in the fall, likely on a trial/exhibition basis. Moving to a Sunday and Tuesday/Thursday format could be discussed after the season.

Spare list

Teams were encouraged to send Jason Buzzell at Buzzell_17@hotmail.com a list of 2-3 guys who may be interested in going to tournaments to come up with a spares list on the website. Buzzell will post the North Central Alberta Men’s Tournaments again as well. Links will be posted by May 1 to these sections from the mainpage.

Rebels shot down

The only motion of the night came from the Ryley Rebels who proposed an increase to a 20-man roster from 18. Leduc and Ryley voted for the motion while the rest of the delegates voted nay – keeping the roster rule at 18 players and the deadline being the first Friday in June.

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Jason Buzzell