Call it in by Sunday, check it on Tuesday
The league's instruction to its managers is direct: be sure to call in your scores this weekend to the league number, the standings will be published Tuesday, and ensure your win-loss record is correct.
Managers carry two other responsibilities against the table. They must ensure their team plays the correct number of games -- the 18+ and 55+ divisions play each opponent four times, nobody three nor five; the 25+, 35+ and 45+ play each opponent three times, nobody two nor four -- and they must ensure the standings record is correct each week.
Standings matter here beyond the bracket: the June 18 standings determined how many players each team sent to the All-Star Game, and the final standings decided who managed the All-Star teams.
Standings that rebuild themselves from reported scores are what a High Cheese league page produces without anyone telephoning anything, and a manager checking his record is checking the same record the league is using.
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 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.
- Tryouts once a year, in February, and you pay to play.
- 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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