UPDATE: May 31 from Jobu: "Ladies and Gentleman, the wait is finally over! The votes have been tabulated, a field has been chosen and most importantly, a shiny new website has been created to detail the registration process for everyone. So read on TBBL players, and get ready to play ball!"
UPDATE: May 21 - Jobu has the results of the 2nd park vote. He
will be posting the results and new roster list later tonight as he's
currently predisposed with a "luncheon function." My guess is Wendy's.
UPDATE: May 13: Jobu's back, and he brings with him the voting
results plus some very important news which may change the league
permanently. Please read on if you're on the TBBL roster.
VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE: April 26 from Jobu - "The All-Important
April Update is here and is required reading for all league members.
Inside you'll find information for our MANDATORY home field vote which
you have a week to complete, an updated league roster, and finalized
league fees. Let's PLAY BALL!"
UPDATE: April 19 - Jobu, not being a student who finished his
winter term on just the seventh day of exams, has been more busy than
he expected. He apologizes and promises a league-wide vote sometime
next week. "No worries, everything is on track."
UPDATE: April 5 - The league is entering its final registration stages. Jobu has posted
a list of all the names of players he has received. If you've sent him
an e-mail but don't see your name, it's just an oversight. Please
e-mail as soon as you can. Being on the final league roster is crucial,
as you have one week before Jobu brings up a very important
league vote that requires 100% voter turnout. If you are not on the
league roster by April 13th at 11:59 PM ET, you will not receive the
voting information. Any questions or concerns, e-mail Jobu (see below)
or post in this thread.
UPDATE: March 23 - From Commissioner Jobu: Thank you everyone for making my league
dream come true! As you can see later in the thread we've actually reached our
MAXIMUM and are now taking names on a "waiting list" basis. In the next week or
two we'll be having our park vote as well as giving out info on how we'll be
collecting league dues. In the meantime any questions can be sent to me
(lookatmeimflying) at hotmail or the league account (torontobaseballleague).
Let's PLAY BALL!
UPDATE: March 18 - The goal of 40 players has almost been reached -- anyone left who wants to play or has friends who will play, sign themselves up as soon as possible. A list of possible fields will be provided soon, and league members will vote on which is the best. League dues (which have not been determined yet) will be paid to Joe in person on a specified day. If you can't meet him in person, e-mail him below and he'll figure something out.
(Originally posted March 12.) So the sun is shining through the Toronto “blahs” hinting at better times. The birds are singing in the air and the bees are trying to have sex with them (as is my understanding). Do you like to pull the occasional Dennis Quaid and wonder if you still got game left in you as you misuse municipal property? Is your dusty bat in bigger need of a real hit than Ricky Martin? Then I encourage you to read on friend...
So...I’ve struck a cord, have I? Well let me tell you a story, a story about a guy who wanted to play BASEBALL. Naturally the first thing he did was go to his local league but found out that they only had a senior league full of guys who’ve been playing since flat tops were cool and he would be a bigger auto-out than Kevin Cash with the flu. Doing research the guy discovered that the only options for his age were beer league softball, or very competitive baseball. Now let me tell you something truly shocking...that guy...was ME.
Kinda like Groundhog Day only completely different, I decided to team up with fellow Bauxite VBF to attempt to create a Toronto Bauxite Baseball League! Deep in our hidden fortress using ancient magic and secret herbs and spices we’re welcoming one and all, lurkers and posters, pros and rooks to come do what we all love so much: play the great game of baseball.
This league will be a good excuse to meet some fellow Bauxites and have a great time playing ball at a level that will make rooks feel like they contribute and allow seasoned vets to dust off their A-game at the same time. If we can get at least 40 people to sign up before March 25th, the league will be created. If not, well, you can’t blame a guy for trying, can you? Well… except Guy Fawkes I suppose.
If we get enough people, we’ll put most of the little details to a vote before the season starts such as “Umpires or no umpires?”, “What day of the week shall we play?” and “Could anyone strike out Jack Bauer?” But for now here are some of the things we’re fairly sure of:
- We want a minimum of 4 teams, with a minimum of 10 players per team. If that is achieved, we would also welcome guest players on top of the 40 committed ones.
- The home field will be somewhere in the GTA, preferably subway-accessible to maximize enrollment. Some parks we’re considering are:
1) High Park by Bloor West Village
2) Coronation Park by Old Fort York on Lakeshore
3) Unlikely, but we’re playing phone tag with Toronto Parks who might let us use Christie Pits
All other field recommendations are welcomed, and we do intend to vote on this regardless.
- No manager in the world would let Rick Vaughan purposely load the bases just to face Jack Parkman.
- Fees would be kept the lowest possible, and would probably be something like everyone chips in a few bucks on gameday which will go towards park rentals and hopefully umpires.
- We will be playing regular, overhand baseball. And while this league should have the healthy competition and drive to win as any league ("Jobu's batting! Move in!") we expect the utmost levels of sportsmanship that a league of Bauxites should expect so rooks are always welcomed and no one's going to get spiked.
- Each team will pick a team captain to communicate to me or VBF who’s going to show up for each week’s game.
- Each player on the championship team will receive the “Tom Selleck Memorial Trophy.” No, seriously.
- Each team will be responsible for their own equipment and batting helmets will be mandatory. While this may lead to one team being sponsored by Nike and the other strapping magazines to their legs like the Mighty Ducks, we can’t really afford to shell out equipment. So if someone has catching gear please post (see below) that fact and we’ll put one “catching gear guy” on each team.
- If you’d like to be a part of our inaugural season or have questions email me [Joe “Jobu” Buscemi – lookatmeimflying(at hotmail dot)com] with your name and telephone, along with any friends who are committed, and then please post in this thread your experience level and whether you have any equipment you wouldn’t mind letting your team use on game day. Based on experience, equipment, and requests, VBF and I will make teams.
- Again, we have until March 25th to collect at least 40 players or the league folds faster than the Canadian Baseball League.
That’s all I have to say for now. I hope to hear from a lot of you and hope this year we can all PLAY BALL!
Once again, if you are interested in playing in the Toronto Baseball League, contact Joe at [lookatmeimflying(at hotmail dot)com]. Include the following in that e-mail so he can keep track of everyone: full name, phone number, and all the information you will post in this thread (see below).
VBF would also like you to send a copy of that e-mail to torontobaseballleague@hotmail.com "just to double confirm."
Please post, in this thread, your baseball experience level, whether you can actually pitch and/or catch overhand baseball, and a list of baseball equipment you have available. Also send this information to Jobu and VBF at the addresses above -- don't forget your full name and phone number in the e-mail. (No need to post the contact info here.)
If the Smythe Park map isn't enough --- there is a