Olde Tymers Softball of Delmarva

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

December 11, 2018

All Executive Committee members present: Steve Unger, Steve Carey, Jesse Bare, Tom Wendorf and Carl Pierce

All team mangers present: John Allen, Pat Carey, [Steve Carey], Dave Lovelace, Phil Martin, Grady Meredith, Bob Miller, Dick Mullins, Keith Purdy, Dave Sroka, [Steve Unger], John Walker and Bo Wood

• The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Steve Unger. Steve welcomed the new team manager for Community Bank, Phil Martin.
• Jesse Bare presented the Treasurer’s report. The current bank balance is $17,661.19, which, he commented, is very sound, but significant expenditures will be pending as preparations for the season progress.
• Steve U. updated the attendees on several items:
  • The irrigation system will be winterized by Lord’s on December 12. A contract is in place with them to open and close the system at $100 per job.
  • Fence protective padding will be ordered in January and stored in the Church of God tractor shed for protection until the weather is suitable for installation. The cost is just over $1000.
  • The financial review by Paul Litwin and Joe Oswald was acknowledged and suggestions have been activated. The one suggestion that needs repeating is the need for formal receipts in place of casual, handwritten ones on scrap paper.
  • The possibility of a new (third) field at American Legion Post #28 was discussed. OTS members met with the board on 11/1, but due to a change in officers at the Post, the process was slowed. Follow-up will continue through the year. (Post-meeting update: The management team at Post #28 advised Steve U. on 12/15 that as of now they will not be going forward with any action on the new field. However, they will still be a sponsor for a team in 2019.)
• Steve established a committee to determine the advisability of a two-division league. That group is composed of members across various levels of age, skill, OTS experience and background. They are:
  • Brant Collins
  • Bob Argonish
  • Russ Bufflap
  • Pat Carey
  • Dave Lovelace
• Carl Pierce reported 96 registrations as of this day compared to 90 at the same date last year and reminded managers of the January 15 deadline for assurance of priority in the draft. So far, the plan is for 13 teams, each with 12 players, but that could change depending on the total number of registrations.
• Pat Carey reported on work for the OTS Hall of Fame project and gave a review of procedures and functions along with two handouts (see addendums at the end of the minutes) containing more details. At the moment, movement on this is slow largely because of seasonal events. An update will be given to the Executive Committee at their next meeting. Members of this committee are:
  • Pat Carey
  • Russ Bowen
  • Steve Carey
  • Harry Gowl (inactive on committee at current time due to health issues)
  • Grady Meredith
• Several motions for rules changes were discussed and voted upon. All approved motions are in effect immediately. The By-Laws will be updated to reflect these rule changes prior to the start of the season.
  • The board unanimously passed a motion made by Dick Mullins and seconded by John Allen to move the 165’ line to 175’ in order to afford some batters a better chance to reach first base without being thrown out from the outfield. (By-Laws Section 7.3.B.1)
  • A suggestion had been made by some players to move to a 0-0 count without a courtesy foul. Many board members believed that would extend the game time because of the extra time for the pitchers to throw more pitches and the extra time for the catchers to return more pitches. A motion for a 1 – 1 count with no courtesy was made by Jesse Bare, seconded by John Allen and carried by a 12 – 4 vote. In addition, it was concluded that this could contribute to absolving part of the heat controversy by speeding up the game. (By-Laws Section 7.3.K.1)
  • There was a lengthy discussion on the substitute pitcher rules that allow, in certain situations, a higher-rated pitcher to be a substitute for a designated pitcher and play in the field but not be allowed to bat. A motion was made by Dave Lovelace and seconded by Pat Carey to limit the use of the designated pitcher/higher-rated substitute rules to only the situation where the designated pitcher is the only player missing on a team. If 2 or more players, including the designated pitcher are missing from a team, it will be the manager’s responsibility to find a pitcher that is either already on the team or meets the allowed substitute rating rules as defined in the By-Laws. The motion was approved unanimously. (By-Laws Section 7.3.D., especially paragraphs 13 and 14, in conjunction with paragraphs 4 through 9)
  • The rule that does not allow a substitute when only 1 player is missing from a team (unless that player is the designated pitcher) was discussed. There was no motion to change this rule, so the rule will remain in effect. (By-Laws Section 7.3.D.14)
  • Significant discussion took place regarding the Hi-Lo Substitution Rule. The general opinion, in spite of some perceived flaws, was that it helped balance the teams’ competitive abilities. A motion to maintain it as written was made by Grady Meredith, seconded by John Walker and carried by an 11 – 5 vote. (By-Laws Section 7.3.D.8)
  • A request was made to ensure that each team keeps a scorebook during the game. It was noted that this requirement is already in the By-Laws. (By-Laws Section 3.5.D)
  • It was noted that a heat policy needs to be created. It was also noted that we play in a summer league and summers in lower Sussex County are generally hot. Several suggestions were made to speed up the games so they get over before the worst of the heat. Among them were adding time limits to games on super-hot days, making sure substitute runners are ready to go when needed, playing games at 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 starting July 1st and/or playing 5-inning games on super-hot days. Postponing games was not the board’s first choice, although it was recognized that sometimes that may be needed, and that it may be possible to play the two early games and postpone the noon games. It was agreed that any games postponed because of excessive heat will be at the discretion of the league secretary with the help, if needed, of other board members who can offer significant input. No rules were changed or added, but It was agreed that a draft heat policy will be developed by the Executive Committee to be used as a basis for further discussion with the Board of Directors.
  • Jesse opened a discussion about not selecting team managers until after the teams were drafted. This would mean that only the manager would attend the draft and only his rating would be used to determine the starting draft order and draft limits for the first round. Once the teams were drafted, an assistant manager would be selected from the players that were on the team. An informal vote was taken that indicated there wasn’t much interest in pursuing this option, although some managers bellieved the idea should be thought about more in the next year.
• Steve U. announced that about 45 showed up for the Toys for Tots event at Fox’s, which is lower than the 60 or so that have attended in the past. At least three boxes were filled with toys.
• Steve U. mentioned that Mike Ohr is willing to work with our sponsor Bin 66 to have a Wine Tasting fundraiser. The last time we did this was 2015, and OTS realized a profit of about $700. The tentative date is Sunday, February 17, 2019 from 4:00 – 6:00.
• It was noted that a Board of Directors meeting will be scheduled for late winter/early spring to approve a heat policy and discuss other items in preparation for the 2019 season.
• Steve U. expressed a need for a league Safety Officer who would be an additional Board of Directors member. Steve U. suggested Dick Mullins for this position. Dick said he would be happy to continue his safety-related efforts and would enlist the help of other players in the league who had EMT, fire-fighter or other related experience. After further discussion, it was decided to not make this a Board of Directors position, but rather appoint an ad hoc Safety Committee with Dick Mullins as chairman. The Safety Committee will report administratively to the Executive Committee through the Vice President. Details of the duties of the Safety Committee, which so far include the oversight of first aid kits, defibrillators and identifying conditions which may prove hazardous to players, will be developed.
• Pat Carey asked about plans for OTS to send teams to the Delaware Senior Olympics in Dover in September. So far no plans have been made, but the Executive Committee took an action item to address this at their next meeting.
• Steve U. reminded attendees of upcoming events:
• Shark Tank Holiday Event – 12/13 at noon (Post-meeting update: Approximately 65 people attended.)
• Bowling Tournament – 3/29/19 Golf Tournament – 10/23/19
• The meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

C. Pierce, Secretary

ADDENDUMS BELOW (THESE ARE BOTH DRAFTS. NOMINATIONS ARE NOT BEING ACCEPTED YET.)

Addendum 1 – Hall of Fame Eligibility

Addendum 2 – Hall of Fame Nomination Form

To access the addendums, click on the Handout link below.