2016 Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball ‘Derby for Distance’ Event On Deck for October 23

THE FOURTH EDITION OF OUR FUNDRAISING BATTING CHALLENGE EXTRAVAGANZA IS SCHEDULED FOR A LATE OCTOBER SUNDAY AT CHRISTIE PITS

Photos from the 2014 Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball ‘Derby for Distance’ Event at Christie Pits on October 5, 2014.

Tally-ho! Tally-ho!

The Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball Committee is proud to announce that the fourth edition of our fundraising Derby For Distance Event has been scheduled for Sunday, October 23 at Christie Pits from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Have you ever wanted to try your luck against the pitching machine? We know you’re curious, so now is your chance!

Here’s how the Derby works….we will have pitching machines set up on Christie Pits Diamonds 1, 2, and 3. Each machine will be pitching at a different speed….

• 30 to 40 m.p.h. on Diamond 3
• 50 to 60 m.p.h. on Diamond 2
• 70 to 80 m.p.h. on Diamond 1 [a.k.a. Dominico Field]

Participants can decide which speed they’d like to hit at, and then proceed to”buy” ten pitched balls, and then step in and have their ten swings.

• 10 pitched balls will only cost $10.00

We’ll have distance markers set up with a certain point value awarded for each hit depending upon how far it goes. Each participant will then receive a total point score for all ten of their hits. Prizes will be awarded for the first, second, and third highest point totals in each age category…the winners will be determined after the last batters hit at 4:00 pm.

When we’ve held the Derby in the past years, they’ve been a lot of fun and have raised a fair bit of money for our house league baseball program. This year all of the monies raised will be put towards our fundraising campaign for installing lights on Christie Pits Diamond 3.

However, in order for us to put this event on we require a lot of volunteers from our baseball community…we’ll need people to sell tickets, people to collect tickets at each diamond and record participants names and scores, people to measure the hits and call out the point values to the recorders, people to sell refreshments, etc. And remember we’re planning on having machines going on all three diamonds, so we’ll need people filling those volunteer roles on all three diamonds.

In fact, given the large number of volunteers required, the committee is going to hold off on making the final payment for the Special Events Permit for the Derby until we know we have enough people willing to help out. We’re looking for people to take on ninety minute shifts:

• 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
• 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

We will need five people at each diamond for each shift, so that’s 15 people per shift (or 60 people over the four shifts). So please let us know by return email as soon as possible if you’re able to take a shift…let me know what time works for you and if you have a preference as to what role you’ll be doing. If you’re willing and able to do more than one shift that is great!