One February, one chance
The league's description of how to get in is four words long in effect: we have tryouts once a year in February. Everyone pays to play, for a season of about twenty-one weekend games from mid-March to August, with tournaments extra.
The other date that matters is the managers' meeting -- one in January at seven in the evening at a VFW canteen, where balances are due and managers bring their schedule requests, and another in February.
No fee is published anywhere on the site.
One tryout a year is a hard door for a man who hears about the league in April. A High Cheese league page keeps a free agent pool open all season beside the schedule, so a player who misses February is on a list rather than waiting a year -- which in a league constantly rescheduling around forfeits is worth having.
San Antonio MSBL in detail
- Real hardball in five age divisions, in its fourth decade, on quality fields it says it earned.
- A schedule rebuilt monthly, in red, around rain, high school playoffs and stadium lights.
- Scores are phoned in, standings are published on a Tuesday, and managers must check their own record.
- Scores are telephoned in at the weekend and appear as standings on Tuesday.
- Teams are identified by number in the schedule, and managers are asked to stop them forfeiting.
- Games played is the only figure the league tracks publicly, and it decides the season.
- A league number for calling in scores, and a president who signs everything.
- Four main grounds carrying the season, including a university, an air force base and a stadium.
- Standard baseball for the 45s, and a substantially different game for the 60s.
- A president's bulletin board that doubles as the league's only public record.
- No gallery is published.
- No sponsor is named.
- Top four in each division, and an All-Star team chosen by the players themselves.
- Thirty-two-plus years, counted by the league itself.
- A president, and a managers' meeting that functions as the board.
- Divisions, season length and tryout timing are answered; the fee is not.
- League rules, league policy, league forms and a set of yearbooks.
- Tryouts in February, ball from mid-March, Phoenix in October, and a managers' meeting in January.
- Nothing is for sale, but the uniform gets its own instruction.
- Umpires take lineups at the plate meeting and hold the clock.
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