Waiting at the plate
The league's instructions around officials are about tempo: games start on time, teams hustle out of the dugouts so the next game can start, and managers have lineups ready for the umpires at the plate meeting.
With turns between games as tight as this schedule requires, the umpire is effectively the timekeeper of the whole day.
No association, rate or route to working games is published.
Assigning crews across six divisions on four grounds, in a season being reshuffled monthly, is the same problem as the schedule. A High Cheese league page runs both from one fixture list.
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.
- 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.
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