by posted 01/14/2012
 
At a recent meeting of our Board of Directors, we agreed upon the price structure for the upcoming 2012 spring season. In the past, we have relied on a great deal of sponsorship and fundraising money to supplement the costs incurred for our leagues to play. It has made it increasingly difficult to continue to make improvements to the concession stand at the Legion as well as prepare for future costs including game jerseys for AAA, majors and Babe Ruth and the replacement of old equipment. In order to better prepare for these things, we have raised costs in the appropriate areas.
 
Over the past few years, we have heard concerns from many parents that the teenagers that we have been using for umpiring AAA have not been doing a consistently good job. It has caused people to question rules and results of games, some resulting in on field confrontations. As bad as we feel for the kids that were just trying to stay involved with the program, we feel that it would be best to follow the same path that we are in the majors and use umpires that are patched with the state of Massachusetts. This was one of the factors that we considered when raising the price of AAA from $110 to $120.
 
Our majors program has been an area of concern as well. In comparing our majors program with other local programs, we have found that we play a significantly higher amount of games, all with the same patched umpires and escalated costs. For those of you who have not seen games at this level, our umpires in town are second to none. Not only do they call the games according to the rules, but they also assist in the teaching process in a very positive manner. Other towns play between 12 and 15 league games, while we play 21 games. Combined with a minimum of 2 playoff games and 2 games against teams from Milford and Upton, our season is twice as long as some other towns. While other towns are charging between $90 and $110, we feel that our league at $150 is a bargain.
 
For Babe Ruth, the league that we have participated in during the past two springs has now grown into a new, full spring and summer league. NJBL has decided that the success we have had with the Cal Ripken program coupled with the great relationships we have made with surrounding towns, it makes sense to charter with Ripken’s parent affiliation, Babe Ruth, Inc. Our 13-16 year olds will now compete in similar fashion as the Ripken teams from 9-12. Our spring league plays 14 games plus playoffs and the summer session will be 15 games plus playoffs. We are charging $150 for each session. The spring Babe Ruth is the biggest increase in cost for the 2012 season, mostly because we found that the league has operated at a loss for the past 2 years. We still feel that if you were to put our two Babe Ruth sessions together it is also a great bargain. Players will have more than 30 games for $300. Most AAU programs in the area charge well over $1000 for the same number of games, most that have to be played in doubleheaders that take up most of a weekend day.
 
We hope this helps explain the new fee structure, and hope that you also feel that our leagues are as much of a deal as we do. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us either via email ( ) or by contacting me at 508-234-0337.
 
Thank you and hope to see you this spring!
Rob Fraser
President
NJBL