An Easy Way to Determine Class B

Have you ever heard the old saying, "If you think you can or if you think you can't--you are right."  That pretty much sums up my idea of who should be class B.

To start off I would make every team in a town over 10,000 a class B team. That would pop in more than 20 teams right off the bat. I think we should also designate bigger towns (Albert Lea for instance) without a team as B right now.

What about a new team in a big town.  Class B.  The thing is, and I've seen it over and over, is that once a team is  allowed to play as a class C team they never want to go to B.  It is always "We can't compete with the good teams."

It's not that they can't compete, it is that they don't want to.  That is no good anymore.  There are a lot of C teams that can compete with any team in the state.  The teams that have been moved down are showing by not dominating Class C,  that there are plenty of good teams in Class C.  They are not dominating Class C although they made a better showing in the C tournament this year, with two of the final four being teams that changed classes.  This was an improvement over 2010 and 2011. 

To let teams know right from the start that they will be class B is a good thing.  They will be more serious in building their teams and that will help them. 

The only real reason the Board gave for moving the current teams up to B from C is the potential access to a lot of players.  The same is true of a larger town.  If you get a comitted baseball man running the operation, things will go fine.  Every town runs in cycles.  Sometimes the baseball program is very good and other years it is a struggle.  No one team has been dominant for a number of years.  I think it goes more in regions or areas of the state.  Once a team in your area gets good, it puts more pressure on the other teams to get bettter.  Right now the River Valley has been the dominant area for a few years.  That will change and another area will get better.  No one wins every year (except Minnetonka). 

Here are the teams that I think should be Class B (I know that some of these cities don't presently have a team) with their listed population from the 2010 census:  Albert Lea (18,016), Austin (24,718), Alexandria (11,070), Andover (30,598), Anoka (17,142), Appple Valley (49, 084), Bemidji (13,431), Big Lake (10,060), Brainerd (13,590), Buffalo (15,453), Burnsville (60,306), Champlin (23,089), Chanhassen (22,952), Chaska (23,770), Cloquet (12,124), Coon Rapids (61,476), Duluth (86,265), Eagan (64,206), East Bethel (11,626), Elk River (22,974), Faribault (23,352), Farmington (21,086), Fergus Falls (13,138), Forest Lake (18,375), Fridley (27,208), Grand Rapids (10,869), Ham Lake (15,296), Hastings (22,172), Hutchinson (14,178), Lakeville (55,954), Mankato (39, 309), Marshall (13,680), Monticello (12,759), Moorhead (38,065), New Ulm (13,522), North Branch (10,125), Northfield (20,007), North Mankato (13,394), Otsego (13,571), Owatonna (25,599), Prior Lake (22,796), Rochester (106,769), Rosemount (21,874), St. Cloud (65,842), St. Michael (16,39), St. Peter (11,196), Sartell (15,876), Sauk Rapids (12,773), Savage (26,911), Shakopee (37, 076), Waconia (10,697), Willmar (19,610), Winona (27,592), Worthington (12,764).    (54 Total)

Then there are the smaller towns that are already Class B:  Dundas, Elko, Miesville, Isanti, St. Francis, Hibbing, Nashwauk, Cold Spring, Albertville and Victoria.  (10 Total)

Also I feeel that Green Isle, Winsted, Jordan, Maple Lake, Dassel-Cokato and Waseca should all be Class B teams again.  (6 total)

That is 70 teams that could be in Class B.  I realize that all of the towns listed do not have a team but they have had a team in the past and might again in the future.  

If you put all of these teams into Class B it would pep everyone up.  The Sections would all have at least eight teams in them.  No more eight teams in one section and four teams in another.  There would be more spirited Class B competition and the teams that are not in Class B would make a nice Class C field. 

The Board Does Some Things Right

The latest minutes of the Minnesota Baseball Board of Directors are up and on the website at www.MNbaseball.org.  There were a few things that got my attention.  Number one, the agenda was on the website before the meeting and according to Dave Hartmann, the agenda will be posted a week before each meeting.  Hopefully, it will be updated right up to the day before the meeting.  Number two, the minutes were posted within two days of the meeting.  This is a great benefit to all that are interested in Minnesota amateur baseball.  Hartmann assured everyone that the minutes will be up within two days of every future board meeting. 

Hartmann also ranted about the Blogs and message boards around the state that "misrepresent" things in dealing with the Board.  The biggest thing that he spoke about was "secret meetings".  He mentioned meetings that were closed in preparation of pending litigation and also because the Board always met in private to choose State Tournament sites.  "If those are secret meetings, then so be it," he said. 

He is right.  Those aren't secret meetings and I have no problem with them.  What this blogger is concerned about is the wrong times and places that have been posted in the past for Board meetings, meeting and talking over things in an informal setting with no notification and being asked several times by Board members not to attend certain parts of meetings because it tends to inhibit some of the Board members in discussions. 

My view and I've said it over and over is:  All meetings should be open.  That is not to say that meetings are open discussions.  If you attend a meeting there should be no talking unless asked by a Board member.  If you want to discuss something at the meeting, you should be on the Agenda.  There is nothing that is discussed at a Board meeting that anyone involved in Minnesota Amateur Baseball should or could not hear.  If you are not comfortable expressing your opinion for all to hear, you should not be an elected Board member.

Hartmann also stated that he felt that "individuals should not put their personal agendas ahead of what is best for baseball in Minnesota."  I totally agree with that sentiment.  I have been an advocate for the Dundas Dukes since I started playing for them in 1975.  But my overall philosophy has always been: what is good for the State of Minnesota Baseball is also good for Dundas.  The State comes first. 

I don't think that the Board has paid enough attention to Class B in the past.  Then two years ago, the Class B teams got together, put in a lot of work and the result was a very successful year and tournament.  Last year the Board assumed all of the Class B duties.  I don't think things were thought out as well as they should have been.  Now the Board has a chance to add teams to Class B and work with the Class B group again.  Let's hope personal agendas don't get in the way. 

Why Change Should Come

At their annual meeting in October, 2010, the Minnesota Baseball Association Board of Directors was pressed to find a solution to re-classify teams.  They appointed approximately 13 section and region commissioners and other interested baseball people to attend a meeting on Friday night before their meeting on Saturday, November 20.  This meeting was supposed to be a workshop dealing only with re-classification. 

When the time came there were about 25 people that came to the meeting.  We were expecting to have a vigorous discussion on how the state should be divided.  I thought there would be maps of the state, breaking out into groups and really getting into the task of who should be class B and who should be class C.  The 25 were ready....the Board wasn't.

First, President Richter announced that the meeting would only be a little over an hour long.  That was changed.  Next they had everyone introduce themselves and tell the group what concerned them.  We had heard this before.  We spent the next hour and a half covering old ground and not really accomplishing anything.  Never took marker to paper, never came to any conclusion, just another feel-good, thanks for coming, meeting with the Board.

I should have known better than to expect groundbreaking area.  I came expecting to have maps all over the walls, groups of interested baseball people making good points on re-classifying teams and finally people working together to actually better baseball in the state of Minnesota.  This group wasn't just any group getting together, it was an expoerienced group that had all been at the annual meeting and really knew something about Amateur Baseball in Minnesota! 

Instead everyone travelled to St. Cloud, paid to spend the night and got nothing out of it.  The next day the Board made their own changes letting 11 or 12 teams go from class B to class C and dropping class B to under 35 teams.  There was no mention of this happening that Friday night.

This led to the B group meeting and trying to control their own destiny.  It worked pretty well in 2011 and even though the State Tournament was excellent, things have already begun to fall apart again in 2012.  These things take planning and the Board just doesn't spend the time working at it. 

This is the same Board of Directors that ran the MBA in 2010.  It is the same Board that refuses to enter the 21^st century by not posting meeting agendas, have email as a form of communication, and clings to the principle that secrecy is good.  It is time to change.  Let's elect people that want to work for amateur baseball and will include everyone.  The election is Saturday--Make sure your league officers and Region and Section Commissioners go to the meeting and vote for change.

It's up to You!

I received a couple of calls and a few emails overnight claiming that I was responsible for the State Board changing their minds and rescheduling the Class B State Tournament.  That is not true.  I have been going to State Board meeting since 1979 and I think that I have helped change some things, but my influence over the last few years has been minimal.  We have covered the same ground so many times that they just won't listen to me anymore.

In fact, the most recent conversation I attempted to have with a Board member, Fred Roufs, ended after my first line to him--he turned, crossed his arms over his chest and stomped away to his chair at the table where the meeting was being held (they were taking a small break).  On his way over he said that he was not talking to me.  As he sat down I thought I heard him saying lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala (I'm not sure about that). 

Anyway, you get my drift.  What happened in the schedule turnabout was that concerned people noticed the deficiencies in the old schedule and did something about it.  They emailed and called the State Board directors. I know, it didn't do much good to email (only about four of them actually get email) but the word got to them and the reschedule was accomplished. 

My point is that if you want something done or changed, you have to get involved.  Contrary to a lot of the things I read on websites and at league meetings, things can be changed if you get involved and voice your opinions to the proper people.  Good job.
Keep it up.  

Class B takes it in the Shorts Again

The Class B State Tournament schedule still isn’t posted, however, by looking at the Class C schedule, it is apparent that the first two rounds of Class B games will be held Thursday and Friday night August 23^rd and 24^th.  It is a shame that after competing in Section and Super-Section tournaments the EIGHT teams making the State Tournament will have to play on week nights making it mandatory to miss work or not play in the game. 

For years the State Board has been trying to eliminate Thursday night and Sunday night games to accommodate players and fans alike.  In fact, last year the B group voted overwhelmingly to play all of their first round games on Saturday at Hutchinson.  That made it so no one had to take off work during the week to play.  It also made it a fun day for the fans in that they could go to one site and watch all of the B teams play. 

This year, even though the games are on fields separated only by a parking lot, the games will be played simultaneously meaning a fan can’t see all of the B teams play. 

When there were 16 teams in the Class B tournament, it was fine to play either Thursday (although that day has always been a terrible one to play on) or Friday because that was the only game played during the week.  Now, the first two rounds will be played on week nights.  That shouldn’t happen when you are down to the eight best teams in the State.

The State Board took control over Class B this year.  Last year they basically approved the formats set up by the B group.  The only real decision the Board made was seeding the State Tournament.  This year they haven’t done B any favors.  It seems that they are catering to their ill-advised 48 team Class C tournament.  I don’t mean to downplay Class C in any way (in fact, the Class C tournament is great fun to watch) however, basing State Tournament berths on whether or not your Region draws more attendance is against every thing a competitive person has ever believed.  Competition is the key in athletics, not attendance. 

The Board was working to increase the number of games at the third site the last few years of the tournament (it was even big in the bidding), but now has decided to eliminate all games except in an emergency for the third site.  It seems like a real shame to have a great park like Cold Spring’s just sitting there when all four of the first round games could be played there on Saturday, eliminating the Thursday night and Friday night games.   

Here are the a few questions I have concerning the Class B process:

1)  What criteria is being used to seed the Super Sections and State Tournament?

2)  Who are the Super Section Commissioners?

3)  What are the Super Section rules—Home team etc.

4)  How is the money split? 

5)  Does the host team (if playing) get a game share?

6)  Are the rules readily available to players and managers?

7)  Why would the C State Tournament and the B Super Sections be played at the same time?  Why compete against each other? 

8)  How much time has been spent planning the B Super Sections and State Tournament?

These are just a few of the questions that I have.  Last year these were all taken care of by the Class B group headed by Jim Johnson.  Time is getting short.  What is the Board doing to make sure things run smoothly again?  Please don’t let Class B be an afterthought. 

More Board Opinions

The 2011 State Tournaments were planned almost perfectly.  Class A had their tournament at Haddox Field in Bloomington and it went very well, finishing up on Sunday, August 21st as Stockmen's Irish won the crown.  This coincided with the first week of the B and C tournament at Glencoe and Brownton. 

The Class B tournament was the best one in several years.  When the super sections whittled the teams to eight, a quality tournament was assured.  Sauk Rapids won the B championship beating Burnsville on Sunday August 28th at Glencoe. 

The Class C tournament was a little different.  The play was excellent and there were a lot of good games, however, the schedule wasn't thought out enough in advance to please the fans. 
Having the last weekend all to themselves, Class C started out on Friday night and played two games at each site.  But then there were only three games total (two at Brownton and one at Glencoe) on Saturday and Sunday was even worse with only two games at Glencoe.  On Monday, it ended with a 13 inning championship game in Brownton that Isanti won 4-3 over Waconia. 

The C tournament just was not planned out.  It would have been obvious that Friday night wasn't needed if the Board members had played out the tourney ahead of time (I guess that meeting was in the fitness room of the Holiday Inn).  That Friday night is a big night for High School football and that is what the Board should have planned for.  Then there could have been at least three games at each park on Saturday and three games to split on Sunday with the championship on Monday. 

This year we are going to pay the price for that empty feeling on the last weekend of 2011.  The Class B tournament will still be two weekends, but it will be the last two weekends ending on Labor Day.  The C tournament will be expanded to include 48 teams and also move to single elimination (this is another major screw-up by the board--not expansion, but letting more teams from one area make the tournament because of attendance--more on that in a later blog).  The region champions will all get byes the first weekend and the other 32 teams will all play one game. The Class B super sections will be played the same weekend.  We should never have one class playing their State Tournament while another is in Super Sections or Regions. 

The Board also has moved to limit third site involvement.  I've always felt that the more teams we involved in the tournament the better.  I know that the two major sites always point out that they are the ones bidding and that they don't want to share their profits with anyone else.  Well, teams shouldn't be in the hosting business to make money.  Yes, you want to at least break even, but the goal should be to have everyone see and play on your field and take pride in the baseball amenities and community cohesiveness that you have to offer. 

Here is hoping that the Board has thought (and played) out the schedule for the State Tournaments this year and things run smoothly.

What the MN Baseball Board Needs

My last blog was about getting kicked out of an MBA meeting and how they didn't care about having open meetings back in the '80s.  Skip ahead 25 years and I see the same thing happening.  They won't actually kick people out, but they haven't had anyone really challenge them either. 

I spent the last four years writing for the MBA webpage www.mnbaseball.org and have attended almost all of the meetings over that time period.  What I saw distressed me.  More and more the board just wants to operate in their little world.  They are super sensitive to any criticism, yet make jokes and seem to have no regard for members that have put in time and effort to support their points of view. 

I used to summarize the more important points of the board meetings each month.  By my last year of writing, I was ordered not to do that anymore.  Now the only time anyone hears what happens at the meetings are from the minutes--which last month didn't even get posted until three weeks after the meeting.  The board members seem to think that everyone knows what is going on with Minnesota baseball and the ever changing scenes, but it is my contention that very few people know what is really going on. 

What should be changed?  Number one, the board should publicize their meetings and stick to it.  Right now the meeting list is on the MBA board page, but it is hardly ever accurate.  I can't tell you how many meetings I went to that were supposed to start at 11 am or 1 pm and I got there 15 minutes early only to find out that the meeting started at 10 am or noon. 

Number two, the board has been coming in a night ahead of the meeting day and meeting casually that night.  There have been many decisions made at these unofficial meetings (or work sessions as some of the board members call them--of course they say that they are not meetings so they don't have to publicize them or have them open) and the next day a board member makes a motion and it passes with no explanation  or reason.  With the cash crunch that the board keeps whining about, they should limit their overnights.  Also, business needs to be done in the open, not in secret. 

Number three, there is no agenda for interested parties to see before the meetings.  Many times when some big decision has been made the parties find out about it after the meeting.  Then the big meeting is the next one.  Many teams have been moved from one class to another in one meeting and moved back at the next one.  How much more efficient if people knew to attend a meeting before-hand rather than after.  Is there any other state-wide governing body that meets every month that does not have an agenda? 

Number four, they should start believing their members.  When Andy Johnson came before them with a poll that he conducted of Class C teams (about adding more teams into the C state tournament based on attendance) the board poo-pooed the idea because he only had 67 responses out of 250 possibles.   Seems to me that is about 60 more responses than they had before they made the decision. 

In another example, Juice Johnson told the board about his workings with the Class B teams.  Many times he had 25-28 responses from the 34 teams possible.  And he had contacted the other teams repeatedly for their opinions.  The board belittled the B effort with the retort that they thought he and the other people that helped Juice were just being self-serving.  It was Johnson's effort that made the B tournament so successful in 2011. 

Finally, number five, the board really does need to work.  They need to have work sessions where they actually get up and move around exploring ideas and other things to make Minnesota Baseball better.  Take a day and actually work on some maps and new ideas on what makes a B and C player and town.  Is there any way we can get the A people back into our fold?  How can we get more people into attending the state tournament?  Is it people we want or money?  How can we lower our expenses?  Do we need a few all day meetings.  How can we get more people aware that the board actually meets every month and makes decisions that affects every team in the state? 

One of the old-timers that has been involved in baseball a long time said to me as he was leaving a meeting, "It was better in the old days when the board met in private and whoever paid them the most got the votes."  I don't agree.

I

The Day the Law Caught Up with Me

In November, 1987 I had just finished my three year term as a Director of the Minnesota Baseball Association.  I was publishing the Minnesota Amateur Baseball News and still playing baseball for the Dundas Dukes.  It was a busy time in my life, however, I still made time to attend most meetings of the MBA. 

When I attended the November meeting of the MBA in St. Cloud, it created a stir that I will never forget.  As I sat in a corner chair in the meeting room of the Holiday Inn, I noticed a certain chill enter the room.  As soon as the meeting started, Dick Putz, the MBA President, told me that I had to leave because the MBA meetings were closed.  I replied that I felt that all MBA meetings should be open.  "What could possibly go on here that anyone that is involved in baseball in Minnesota should not hear?" was the jist of my response.  I was then told that the meeting would not start until I had vacated the room.  I told them that I would not leave.

Putz called the manager of the Holiday Inn to evict me.  When he came into the room he told me that I was in a private room and that I must leave.  My response was "it's going to take someone bigger than you to get me out of here."  His response was "if you don't leave voluntarily, I will call the St. Cloud Police."  I told him to go ahead and call, I wasn't going.  So he did.

We sat in that room for over 25 minutes while waiting for the public servants to arrive.  In that time I attempted to talk to some of the board members and get them to realize that open meetings should be mandatory. In the last year the Board had testified in court that they held open meetings.  No one would say a word.  None of them would even look at me.  It was a sad, sad turn of events.

When the police arrived, I got up and was ushered out of the room and into the party area by the swimming pool.  "Are you going to attempt to go back in?" asked the cop.  "No," I replied, "that is enough for today." So he took off and I pondered the whole situation. 

The next meeting, I went again and no one said a word.  I sat through the meeting and took notes.  In the Spring of 1988, I went to the March meeting (all leagues come and get their packets) and explained what had happened to all of the attending league members and Directors.  The league officiers made a motion (I think it was Tink Larson) that all further meetings of the MBA be open.  It passed unaminously. 

What does this have to do with the present?  I think the present MBA board is drifting more and more to closed meetings and I don't think we should have to fight that battle again.  I will explain more next week. 

Dundas Baseball Starts Strong--Then hits an old Bump

The Dundas Dukes started the year with three convincing victories beating St. Louis Park 9-3, Wanamingo 11-0 and Pine Island 7-0.  Then they went to Cannon Falls on Sunday and hit that old speed bump named Keith Meyers.  The Dukes were a little short-handed, but that's the way amateur baseball is played--there is always something going on in the players' lives--and Sunday was mother's day.  The Bears took it to the Dukes 11-3 and all of a sudden the Dukes are 0-1 in the CCVL.  Last year the Dukes were the league champions and they also lost to Cannon Falls at Cannon. 

This makes me think of the 1988 season.  We had an excellent team and we were primed not only to make the State Tournament, we thought we could win it.  Well, we went to Cannon Falls and played the Comets with Dick Jacobson pitching against us.  Jake wasn't what you would call a dominating pitcher but we ended up losing to him and the Comets. 

After the game we were having a couple of beers in the dugout and talking about who we would draft when we went to the State Tournament.  Tom Graupmann, now the A.D. at Northfield High School, who had just played his first game for us after moving from St. Peter, listened for a little bit and got a little hot under the collar.  "We just lost to Jake and you're talking about going to the State Tournament?" was the jist of his comment.  Lew Olson looked at him and told him to settle down and have a beer. Lew patiently explained that it is a long season and we were just getting started.

Tom continued to rant and rave but Lew and the vets would have none of it.  We knew Tom was just a rookie and needed to learn the Duke ways.  The '88 Dukes were indeed fine and went on to win the State Championship. 

The Dukes of 2012 will be just fine too.  They have everyone but Robin Moore back from last year and they added two vets that will fit in.  Steve Loos and Brandon Rolloff have both rejoined the Dukes after being gone for the 2011 season.  Loos thought he was too old and retired--now he knows that you shouldn't even think about retiring until you hit 38.  Rolloff played the '11 season with with Owatonna--recognized the error of his ways and is back to play with the Dukes. 

Helget Played in 2003 State Tournament in Dundas

I just did a story for the MBA webpage.  It was about Terry Helget, from Sleepy Eye.  He will play his 25th season this year for the Essig Bluejays.  While we were talking, he mentioned playing Monicello in the 2003 State Tournament in Dundas.

It was the first State Tournament that Essig had played in and they were playing the last game of the night in Dundas.  If you have ever run a tournament, you know how much work it is and the State Tournament is even more work.  We would usually finish the last game of the night around 10:30 or 11:00 P.M.  Then it would be cleanup and getting ready for the next day until midnight or so and home to bed.  We would be back at the park the next day by 7:30 and start it all over again. 

Anyway, Terry talked about that game and he mentioned how they won it.  Essig was behind 1-0 and they had runners on second and third.  He was the runner on second.  Essig executed a suicide squeeze play and the first runner scored easily.  Terry rounded third and saw that he had a chance to score so he motored in and was safe. Two runs on a bunt.  Not bad!  It was Essig 2, Monticello 1.  That's how the game ended.  Terry was also the pitcher for Essig.  He told me he liked to "work fast and throw strikes."  That he did as the game only took an hour and a half. 

The game ended about 9:30 P.M. and the work was all done by 10:15.  If you have ever seen Cool Hand Luke (this is a movie I would recommend) you would know how we felt.  In Cool Hand Luke, Luke (Paul Newman) was on a chain gang and his group was working on a local road for the day.  Big dump trucks were bringing in loads of sand and the prisoners were throwing the sand on the tar which had just been applied on the road.  The job usually took all day.  Well Luke got all worked up and started throwing the sand like crazy.  All the inmates picked up on his lead and did it too. Pretty soon the road was done and there was nothing else to do.  Everyone just looked around and saw there was nothing left to do so they just sat on their shovels and grinned at each other.  That is just how I felt when we were done so early that night thanks to Terry and his Essig buddies.