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.

Reactions to the Class C Proposal

Last week I wrote a story about the proposed new format for the Class C State tournament.  Here are the replies that I have received so far:

From Brent Schloe:

As a 15-year veteran of Minnesota amateur baseball as both a player and manager, I couldn’t disagree more with the proposal that regions with strong attendance numbers should be awarded more teams to the Class C state tournament.  This proposal clearly implies to me that making money at the gate is more important than the quality of competition.  The reality, though is that each region tournament has little or no control over their attendance for various reasons, so rewarding some regions and not others based on attendance is completely unfair.  This proposal also not only diminishes the overall integrity and gamesmanship of the state tournament, but each region tournament as well because it takes away any pride from the teams that actually earned their way to state by winning on the field.  One can only imagine how many teams will try to change leagues and/or regions just to increase their chances of going to state under this new proposal, not to mention all the ways attendance numbers can be easily manipulated, so there are already major flaws in the system before it’s even implemented. There’s no doubt that playing in front of a large crowd is always more fun, but teams care more that they’re actually still playing in August than how many people are watching them.  I also understand there are many expenses in organizing and hosting a state tournament and more fans would help cover these costs, but declining attendance numbers should in no way be the responsibility of the participating teams, and their fans shouldn’t have to feel obligated to attend every game either.  Maybe the problem with attendance lies in the overall planning process of the state tournament and needs to be re-evaluated instead of changing who gets to participate?  Regardless, the state tournament shouldn’t be an entitlement program just because certain regions have strong attendance numbers; it should be the teams from each reagion that played and earned their way in on the baseball field, period. Rather than a reward system based on region attendance, why not consider other options like lowering ticket prices or going back to a full double elimination format?  Lower ticket prices might naturally attract more local fans as well as those already paying high gas prices from farther away.  My personal opinion, though, is to go back to a full 32-team, double elimination format, even if it means more games, starting earlier in August, and/or involving another host site.  This not only ensures that the top two teams from each region are in the tournament, but also gives teams with strong fan support and/or talent the opportunity to play more than just one game if they happen to lose in the first round.  This format is also consistent with most league and region playoff formats and allows for better all around competition, which may lead to better attendance numbers as well.  After the first round now, 16 teams plus their fans likely won’t be coming back to watch any more games, and 8 more teams follow after round two.  However, by guaranteeing all teams a second game, those with strong fan support will come back through the ticket gate a second time at a minimum, which translates to higher attendance overall. The bottom line is that amateur teams play for the love of the game and to have fun, not to make money or make sure attendance quotas are met.  We also compete against each other on the baseball field, not at the ticket gates.  The reality in all of this is that we live in a world of 4G smartphones, internet streaming with live updates, and more players and fans going back to college, playing fall sports, or having other social activities to choose from, so attending amateur baseball games in person isn’t what it used to be, especially in larger cities and towns with other sports teams and programs at all age levels to follow.  Therefore, certain regions will always tend to benefit from this new proposal while others will not, which basically penalizes the latter regions just because their fans don’t make going to a region or state tournament game a top priority.  Changing who participates in the state tournament because of declining attendance and without considering any other factors or options doesn’t seem right or fair to me in any way.  I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in ten state tournaments and each one was a unique and exciting experience.  However, each time our team had to earn our way there by winning on the field.  Under this new proposal, though, teams can back their way into the tournament through their fans without really winning anything.  For the integrity and gamesmanship of amateur baseball, I sincerely hope this proposal is not implemented because it’s an unfair and subjective way to determine a state champion each year. Brent SchloeUltimate Sports Grillers (Class B – Lakewood League) – 1997-2005Saint Joseph Saints (Class C – Lakewood League) – 2006-Present

From Jon Rademacher:

I know there are a lot of out-state teams in the class ‘C’ level and sure if you add more teams of course the attendance will be greater. Isn’t the obvious answer to more attendance to the State Tournament moving the Tournaments closer to where most people live? This year the weather was perfect to attend ball games but nobody wants to drive down to Brownton or Glencoe… Even the players… Nothing against those places because they put on a great event but it’s just the facts… Another way is to spend a little extra money advertising, we need to get people interested. If you make the State Tournament a “Big Deal”, people will treat it as that. The allure of small town ball in beautiful parks during beautiful summer days is enough for us who romanticize about baseball but in the suburbs people are losing touch with what “Town ball” can offer for its quality of play and entertainment value. You will get more people to the State Tournament simply if more people follow their local teams. If I knew the answer to getting people interested I would be happy to share but something needs to be done on a State and local team level to get fans interested in Amateur baseball again.

From Andy Johnson:

The new 48-team Class C State Tournament proposal should be thrown out.  When we start sending extra teams to the State Tournament based on their Region's attendance and not because they were #1 or #2 in their Region, then the integrity of the State Tournament is ruined and it's not as meaningful just to get there.

It's also impossible to have a straight 48-team state tournament (48-24-12-6-3).  You would have to give a bye to the 16 teams and have the remaining 32 play in the initial round.  Assuming there is just 1 round played the 1st weekend, then the 16 teams with a bye now have to wait a whole week.  The current 32-team tournament works.  All 32 teams start the same weekend and all can throw their top pitchers.

If there still is a draft, the #1 and #2 teams from the Regions sending extra teams might have to settle for weaker draftees if the best draftees are on the extra teams that are now advancing.

This seems like a bad idea and it will upset many leagues if it happens.  Keep it at 32 teams.  Andy Johnson, Stewartville-Racine Sharks.

First Weekend,of B & C, Ken Sargent, Class A Final

The first weekend of the State Tournament is over.  It was a good experience.  All three parks, Glencoe, Brownton and Hutchinson were in great shape.  With the perfect weather all went well. 

It was amazing to see how close every game was in Class B.  With the exception of Mankato beating up on Savage 11-0, no B team scored more than five runs.  Burnsville beat Moorhead 2-1, Sauk Rapids beat Austin 2-1 and Chaska beat Austin 2-0 rounding out the first round of games.  In the second round it was Savage 3-2 over Moorhead, Mankato 1-0 over Burnsville, Sauk Rapids 5-2 over Chaska and Miesville 5-4 over Austin.  There isn’t much difference in these eight teams and that makes for great games.

In the 16 games played in Class C, eight champions won and eight runners-up won.  Regions 1, 5, 11, and 14 all won both games (champions and runner-up) and regions 2, 6, 15, 16 all lost both games.  Some of the favorites—in my mind—that lost were Winsted, St. Patrick, Blue Earth, Dassel-Cokato, Hanska, Belle Plaine, Freeport and Sobieski.  That was half the field.  It is very hard to predict the winners in C.  The thing that shows most is that every team has at least one good pitcher.  

Sargent takes a licking, keeps on umping

I was at the Prior Lake Mudcats-Freeport game in Brownton on Saturday night.  In the eighth inning umpire Ken Sargent took a vicious foul ball off his right arm.  He spun around and gave out a little howl but after a minute or so, everything seemed to be OK and the game continued.  I noticed that he wasn’t raising his right arm when he called strikes like he usually did.  In fact when I looked again, he was protecting the arm and keeping it behind his back.  The game ended in the ninth with Freeport scoring one and making the final out on a grounder to short with a runner on third. Prior Lake won 5-4. 

“If it had gone extra innings, I wouldn’t have been able to umpire,” stated Sargent when I talked to him Wednesday morning.  He had in fact broken the radius bone in his right arm.  He asid that he was in pain, but decided to finish the game.  The Brownton Fire Department gave him a cold press and wrapped the arm along with a sling immediately after the game.  His partner, Henry Hentges drove his car to Henry’s home in Lonsdale and then Ken drove to the Northfield ER from there.  The ER doctor confirmed that the arm was broken. 

Ken will have surgery on Thursday, August 25^th.  The doctor will put in a plate and screws to help it heal.  Ken said that the doctor told him it was a clean break but too big to heal with just a cast.  He also noted that the doctor and ER people told him that the Brownton Fire Department did and exceptional job in helping with the initial treatment. 

Class A Championship

On Sunday I attended the Class A Championship game.  Stockmen’s defeated Lyon’s Pub 9-5 to claim the championship.  The game (and most of the tournament) was held at Haddox Field in Bloomington.   They have done a lot of work on the field and added a very nice grandstand with a pressbox.  There were about 250 people in attendance and it was a very spirited crowd.  The Class A people talked of having found a home in Bloomington and suggested that future tournaments would very likely be held at Haddox.  You can read a write-up of the game and view pictures by clicking on the story right above my blog.   

Here is the all-tournament team for Class A: 

Nick Bjerken  Stockmen’s

Zack Goodwin  Stockmen’s

Dan Miller   Stockmen’s

Chad Ogden  Stockmen’s

Nick Wineke  Stockmen’s

Jon Hurt  Lyon’s Pub

Billy Meister  Lyon’s Pub

Tim Mettert  Lyon’s Pub

Brandon Royce-Diop  Lyon’s Pub

Rob Schildgen  Lyon’s Pub

Dave Follmer  North End

Bud Lovas  North End

Tijl Vanderwege  North End

Joe Shallenberger  Minnetonka

Chris Urbain  Minnetonka

Nick Bellmont Shamrocks

Brett Olson  Shamrocks

Pat Fix  St.

Louis Park

Sam Gotham Lakers

MVP  Zack Goodwin….. Stockmen’s Irish Pitcher…..2 wins; 12 1/3 IP  4 ER  10 H  10 SO