Joining the Tucson Amateur Baseball League

Two lists, two different needs

Tucson runs two separate routes and distinguishes them clearly on its front page. New player? Join the Player Pool. Want to play more? Join the Taxi Squad.

That distinction matters and almost nobody makes it. The pool is for a man without a team. The taxi squad is for a man who already has one and would happily fill in elsewhere -- which is exactly who a manager needs to call at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning.

The league also publishes its current Player Pool, so managers can see who is available rather than requesting a list.

Its guidance on divisions is unusually permissive: aside from age eligibility there is nothing preventing a player joining a team in any of the four, and it depends on his own skill and comfort level.

A High Cheese league page keeps both lists at the league's own address beside the rosters they feed, so a taxi squad member is one tap from a manager who is short.