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.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
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
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
Friday, July 6, 2012
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.
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.
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