After a couple years of deliberation, we are about to make an exciting change to the playing format of our Major Division. The Major Division is comprised of players ages 11 and 12 years old. In 2009 we will split the division with 12 year olds playing a new format commonly referred to as 50/70 (I'll explain in a minute), and the 11 year olds remaining in the current format (commonly referred to as 46/60).

Before explaining why we are making this change, let me explain what 50/70 is. Simply put, the pitcher pitches from 50 feet away, and the bases are 70 feet apart. The current format has the pitcher at 46 feet and the bases at 60 feet. There are other differences as well. In 50/70, base runners can lead just like they can in regular baseball. Thus, the pitcher pitches from the stretch position with runners on base. So 50/70 is a great transition game to prepare our players for playing on the "big diamond" (60/90) when they turn 13 years old.

Why are we making this change now? There are several reasons, so let me explain the important ones. It's fun!! Baserunners get to lead and steal bases when the pitcher delivers the ball. No more waiting and judging (for umpires) when the pitch crosses home plate. Consequently, the pitchers will learn to pitch from the stretch (since they'll want to keep those baserunners from getting a big lead!) a year earlier than they would have had we not made this change. Second, it's safer. We are moving the fielders back about 10 feet, but not changing the bat size for the batter. So our fielders have that extra 10 feet to react to batted balls. And since the pitcher is also moved back 4 feet, the batter has more reaction time as well. Third, this is a great way to prepare our players for moving to the regular baseball diamond. Anyone who has had a 13 year old will tell you the first time they walk on that field, it's a bit overwhelming. What was once left field is now shortstop. And you've got to throw runners out at first from there. It takes some time for our 13 year olds to acclimate themselves to that big diamond. So this new format gets them closer to it at an earlier age. We hope this shortens the learning/growing cycle for our players when they move to the senior division. We also hope it reduces the number of player defections for those players who are not confident they can move to the big diamond, since they will have played a similar game as 12 year olds.

So what are the downsides? None from a baseball perspective. But there are some from an administrative and field use view. We can not play 50/70 on Booth Field. It's not big enough. So our 50/70 games will need to be played at places like VoTech and the township softball fields. We've already begun discussions with our Scotch Plains Recreation Department to make this all happen. So this year's 12 year olds will only have last year on Booth Field. The other administrative issue is splitting the division. We'll have less teams in each division, so 11 and 12 year olds will play more games against the same teams.

Speaking of 11 year olds, why aren't we moving them to 50/70? We think it's too big a jump to go from Junior Division to 50/70 right away. Although there are players at 11 years old who are capable of playing the 50/70 game, we think it would be unwise to split the age group based on ability. It would water down the division more than our registration figures can support. So we are going to keep all 11 year olds at 46/60, and they will continue to play at Booth and Memorial fields for 2009. We'll, of course, review all these decisions at the end of the 2009 season.

If you have any questions please contact Mike Dempsey at spfyba_demps@comcast.net. I'll be glad to speak with you.

Regards,
Mike Dempsey-SPFYBA President
SPFYBA Board