WITH OUR ‘SEPTEMBER MADNESS’ PLAYOFF TOURNAMENT BEGINNING ON SEPTEMBER 8, HERE IS A PRIMER ON WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE DAYS AHEAD AS WE WIND DOWN THE 2015 SEASON
Pictures from the 2015 Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball Season.
It’s hard to believe that it’s already time for it, but our end-of-year tournament is almost upon us. The tournament schedules for the Mosquito and Peewee divisions have been sent out and posted on our website. When you receive the schedule please print it off and make careful note of the games that involve your child(ren). The tournament rules sheets have also been sent out and posted. Please take the time to read them and let your coach know if you have any questions. We’d also like to go over a few things.
Please note that we’re no longer following a standard division night schedule…games can be any night and also throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. Please read the schedules carefully to see when your team plays. Each Mosquito and Peewee team will play one or two round-robin games during the week of Tuesday, September 8 to Friday, September 11, and two or three more round-robin games on Saturday, September 12. Some teams will play their final round robin game on the morning of Sunday, September 13. The first round of elimination games in both the Mosquito and Peewee divisions will take place during the afternoon of Sunday, September 13. Semi-finals and the Championship Final in both the Mosquito and Peewee divisions will take place during the week of September 14. We’ll e-mail parents before finalizing the schedule for semi-final and final games to find out who will be observing Rosh Hashana with their families and not available certain evenings.
There is a lot of baseball taking place over the first week and weekend after Labour Day in September…this is so the players get the chance to play as much baseball as possible before we have to pack it all up again until next year. Although we’re keeping standings during the round-robin schedule, the emphasis during the tournament is still on having fun, building skills, and being good sports, and we ask all of you to help with this by being good role models for all of the players.
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE NOTE:
- ALL games WILL start at the scheduled time, regardless of how many players are there. Defensive teams will have to start the game fielding with as many players as they have (up to 9 of course!).
- Please arrive as close to one half hour before game time as possible to allow coaches to make lineups.
- Full uniforms (houseleague hat, houseleague jersey, houseleague pants) are to be worn.
- Decisions regarding rain outs will be placed on the website/Twitter/hotline 1 hour prior to game time. If games are cancelled due to weather, the tournament will run longer than indicated on the schedule. Please note however that during the tournament we will play through light rain because of the need to get the games completed, so players and parents should dress for the weather.
Players, coaches, and umpires will receive a free lunch from the BBQ on Saturday, September 12. We will also be selling lunch from the TP Baseball BBQ Zone on both Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13 from approximately 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We require some volunteers to help run the BBQ, so if you could be available for an hour or two on either Saturday or Sunday, please contact us at tpbaseball@gmail.com as soon as possible. We greatly appreciate any help that you can provide. Thanks in advance!
Updated scores, standings, pictures and other news will be available daily on the Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball website (www.tpbaseball.ca) and on Twitter (@TPbaseballnews) throughout the tournament. Remember to check the website, Twitter, or the hotline (416) 392-1914 if the weather is suspect.
Finally, let’s keep our actions and our comments positive, and help the players and coaches be good sports. Thanks for your participation and on-going support of our league!
Steve Smith
Coordinator, Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball