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ENYTB Lifts Double Registration Ban On "Jerry's travel league" - Babe Ruth/ENYTB and Cal Ripken/ENYTB Members Can Now Participate In Both Travel Leagues For The Price Of One!
Last year, Jerry Francis, the ENY Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken Commisioner, forced all Babe Ruth organizations within ENYTB's membership area to register their travel teams in his newly formed travel league. Just recently, Jerry has informed all Cal Ripken leagues within ENYTB's membership area that they too will be forced to register their travel teams in Jerry's travel league beginning spring 2010. As many of you know, ENYTB has filed a lawsuit against Jerry Francis and Babe Ruth, Inc. for this policy, believing it constitutes illegal "tying" and restraint of trade under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. We are confident of the merits of our case and its eventual success in the court system. In addition, we have just recently requested the court to grant an injunction in this matter. A favorable ruling would restrain Jerry from taking any punitive action against any Babe Ruth or Cal Ripken organization for not registering their travel teams in Jerry's travel league, at least until the lawsuit is fully resolved. We are hopeful our injunction application will be ruled on favorably and before local baseball organizations are forced to make their 2010 registration decisions.
Jerry announced his controversial "you got to play in my travel league or else" strategy in early 2009, soon after ENYTB had announced that because Jerry's league was "hostile" towards ENYTB, teams registered in his league were ineligible to dual-participate in ENYTB (for a brief history of scheduling shenanigans that led ENYTB to originally adopt this policy in 2005 see below). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why Jerry chose this path:
To counter this simplistic but effective strategy, ENYTB has simply lifted its ban on dual-participation for all Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken organizations who are forced to register in Jerry's travel league. This includes former Babe Ruth/ENYTB members: Bethlehem, Guilderland, Clifton Park and No. Colonie. It also includes all Cal Ripken affiliated organizations. Simply stated, under the rules of both ENYTB and Jerry, teams from all Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken organizations are now eligible to participate in ENYTB while participating in Jerry's league.
Furthermore, and perhaps just as importantly, travel teams from these organizations who can't play a full ENYTB travel schedule because of their participation in two travel leagues, shall be entitled to an instant rebate equal to the current registration fee in Jerry's league.. Thus, teams will pay no more to dual-participate in both leagues then they would to be a member of ENYTB alone.
Moreover, these instant rebates will be grandfathered into the future for as long as any of these organization continues to dual-participate in both leagues and/or ENYTB is successful in its lawsuit vs. Jerry, whichever comes first.
NOTE: To qualify for this special offer a team would have to be:
NABF sanctioning is included in this reduced rate but any other sanctioning or tournament eligibility fees are extra but optional. Also, all dual-participating teams are subject to the restrictions set forth below re: reschedules.
This offer will expire on March 1st, 2010. To qualify for this offer, teams must be registered and paid prior to March 1st. This is a one time only offer designed to allow those teams who prefer playing their travel baseball in this league to be allowed to continue to do so. The door is wide open.
NOTE: Please read below for all special restrictions on reschedules by teams dual participating in ENYTB and Jerry's travel league.
DOUBLE REGISTRATION ISSUE
As a general matter, ENYTB does not now nor has it ever prohibited or discouraged its members from registering their teams in as many other leagues, outside tournaments etc. as they wish. A few years ago, however, when a couple of ENYTB members double registered teams in a local travel league oriented towards the corporate interests of Babe Ruth, Inc., that league scheduled those ENYTB teams to play on ALL of their "no play" dates which, of course, corresponded to the exact same dates and times they were scheduled to play their ENYTB games. Consequently, ENYTB adopted a policy that its member teams could double register with any league except that particular league.
In 2009, the same people who controlled the league that engaged in the hostile scheduling practice described above, helped form a new local travel league for ages 13-15, also oriented towards the corporate interests of Babe Ruth, Inc., the ESBL. Not wanting to go down the same road again and risking wreaking havoc with the customized schedules of our members, ENYTB added ESBL to the list of leagues whose teams could not double register with ENYTB and vice versa.
Not long thereafter, ENY Babe Ruth, Inc. adopted its infamous policy that is now the subject of litigation:
As a condition of membership in Babe Ruth, all Babe Ruth organizations within the geographic range of ENYTB participation shall be henceforth required to register all their travel teams with ESBL.
NOTE: By coercing Babe Ruth member organizations within the ENYTB membership area to join ESBL and, in the process, restraining them from exercising free choice as to which travel league to do business with i.e., that which they believe can best satisfy their travel baseball needs, ENYTB believes it is very likely ENY Babe Ruth, Inc. and Babe Ruth, Inc. have engaged in acts that are illegal under the Sherman Anti-trust Act i.e., illegal tying, and have thus filed suit against both.
This radical policy change by Babe Ruth, Inc., combined with ENYTB's existing policy on double registrations with ESBL, effectively locked out all local Babe Ruth organizations from participating in ENYTB. Thus, subsequent to that announcement, all Babe Ruth organizations who were also ENYTB members reluctantly informed ENYTB that they were resigning from ENYTB despite having had every intention of returning to ENYTB in 2009. As they stated, they were Babe Ruth organizations first and foremost, therefore, in order to maintain their Babe Ruth membership, they were compelled to comply with the directive from ENY Babe Ruth, Inc. that they register their travel teams with ESBL. Prior to resigning, one of these Babe Ruth organizations asked ENYTB to reconsider its double registration policy vis a vis ESBL so that they could dual-participate in ENYTB. However, it was late in the registration season and rather than grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis, ENYTB chose to stand by its policy for 2009 and revisit the issue during the off-season.
RESULTS OF ENYTB RECONSIDERATION
Upon consultation with the newly formed ENYTB Members' Council, it was agreed that a change in this policy would be desirable, provided it could be done in a way so that ENYTB teams would not be harmed were ESBL to intentionally schedule conflicts for the teams that chose to dual participate in ENYTB, as the comrades of ESBL had done before. In particular, the Members' Council was concerned that under such circumstances, an ESBL team would seek to postpone its ENYTB games in favor of honoring its ESBL schedule.
As a result, ENYTB has amended its policy re: ESBL teams being allowed to dual participate in ENYTB as follows:
Teams registered with and participating in ESBL are free to register with and participate in ENYTB with the following additional requirements and restrictions:
(1) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall be required to black-out all play dates provided or to be provided ESBL for scheduling purposes;
(2) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall not be allowed to postpone any of its ENYTB scheduled games for any reason other than bad weather (this rule is no different than ESBL's own rules);
(3) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB that is unable to play an ENYTB scheduled game for any reason other than bad weather, shall be required to forfeit the game with penalty (again, this rule is no different than ESBL's own rules);
NOTE: Forfeits by any ENYTB member are subject to penalty ranging from a warning for the first forfeit, to escalating fines for additional forfeits and to loss of post-season eligibility and, ultimately, possible league suspension. For this purpose, all ESBL registered teams shall be required to pay a $200 deposit for potential infractions. This deposit shall be refunded at season's end to the extent the team did not incur any fines or other financial penalties for forfeited games (this too is very similar to ESBL's own rules); .
(4) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall not be allowed to cancel any of its ENYTB games under the ENYTB's "no harm/no foul" cancellation option (again, the same as ESBL's own rules);
(5) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall be required to provide usable home field dates/times for at least 50% of its total desired games (again, same as ESBL's own rules);
(6) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall enjoy full ENYTB roster protection while registered with ENYTB but not from one season to the next unless the following year's registration fee is paid in advance by August 15th (non-refundable); and,
(7) An organization's applications for membership as a dual participant must be completed, including payment, before March 1st each year.
ENYTB believes the above requirements/restrictions should be sufficient to protect ENYTB members from any potential scheduling mischief that could arise as a result of this policy change. Just as importantly, it allows every team that wishes to participate in ENYTB to be able to do so, which has been the purpose of this league since its inception.
Jerry announced his controversial "you got to play in my travel league or else" strategy in early 2009, soon after ENYTB had announced that because Jerry's league was "hostile" towards ENYTB, teams registered in his league were ineligible to dual-participate in ENYTB (for a brief history of scheduling shenanigans that led ENYTB to originally adopt this policy in 2005 see below). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why Jerry chose this path:
- ENYTB doesn't allow its members to dual participate in Jerry's league;
- So, Jerry forces Babe Ruth/ENYTB members to register their travel teams in his league;
- Thereby effectively forcing Babe Ruth (and now Cal Ripken) travel teams out of ENYTB.
To counter this simplistic but effective strategy, ENYTB has simply lifted its ban on dual-participation for all Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken organizations who are forced to register in Jerry's travel league. This includes former Babe Ruth/ENYTB members: Bethlehem, Guilderland, Clifton Park and No. Colonie. It also includes all Cal Ripken affiliated organizations. Simply stated, under the rules of both ENYTB and Jerry, teams from all Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken organizations are now eligible to participate in ENYTB while participating in Jerry's league.
Furthermore, and perhaps just as importantly, travel teams from these organizations who can't play a full ENYTB travel schedule because of their participation in two travel leagues, shall be entitled to an instant rebate equal to the current registration fee in Jerry's league.. Thus, teams will pay no more to dual-participate in both leagues then they would to be a member of ENYTB alone.
Moreover, these instant rebates will be grandfathered into the future for as long as any of these organization continues to dual-participate in both leagues and/or ENYTB is successful in its lawsuit vs. Jerry, whichever comes first.
NOTE: To qualify for this special offer a team would have to be:
- sponsored by a BR/CR organization;
- participating in Jerry's league; and,
- limited to an ENYTB travel schedule of 12 games or less.
NABF sanctioning is included in this reduced rate but any other sanctioning or tournament eligibility fees are extra but optional. Also, all dual-participating teams are subject to the restrictions set forth below re: reschedules.
This offer will expire on March 1st, 2010. To qualify for this offer, teams must be registered and paid prior to March 1st. This is a one time only offer designed to allow those teams who prefer playing their travel baseball in this league to be allowed to continue to do so. The door is wide open.
NOTE: Please read below for all special restrictions on reschedules by teams dual participating in ENYTB and Jerry's travel league.
DOUBLE REGISTRATION ISSUE
As a general matter, ENYTB does not now nor has it ever prohibited or discouraged its members from registering their teams in as many other leagues, outside tournaments etc. as they wish. A few years ago, however, when a couple of ENYTB members double registered teams in a local travel league oriented towards the corporate interests of Babe Ruth, Inc., that league scheduled those ENYTB teams to play on ALL of their "no play" dates which, of course, corresponded to the exact same dates and times they were scheduled to play their ENYTB games. Consequently, ENYTB adopted a policy that its member teams could double register with any league except that particular league.
In 2009, the same people who controlled the league that engaged in the hostile scheduling practice described above, helped form a new local travel league for ages 13-15, also oriented towards the corporate interests of Babe Ruth, Inc., the ESBL. Not wanting to go down the same road again and risking wreaking havoc with the customized schedules of our members, ENYTB added ESBL to the list of leagues whose teams could not double register with ENYTB and vice versa.
Not long thereafter, ENY Babe Ruth, Inc. adopted its infamous policy that is now the subject of litigation:
As a condition of membership in Babe Ruth, all Babe Ruth organizations within the geographic range of ENYTB participation shall be henceforth required to register all their travel teams with ESBL.
NOTE: By coercing Babe Ruth member organizations within the ENYTB membership area to join ESBL and, in the process, restraining them from exercising free choice as to which travel league to do business with i.e., that which they believe can best satisfy their travel baseball needs, ENYTB believes it is very likely ENY Babe Ruth, Inc. and Babe Ruth, Inc. have engaged in acts that are illegal under the Sherman Anti-trust Act i.e., illegal tying, and have thus filed suit against both.
This radical policy change by Babe Ruth, Inc., combined with ENYTB's existing policy on double registrations with ESBL, effectively locked out all local Babe Ruth organizations from participating in ENYTB. Thus, subsequent to that announcement, all Babe Ruth organizations who were also ENYTB members reluctantly informed ENYTB that they were resigning from ENYTB despite having had every intention of returning to ENYTB in 2009. As they stated, they were Babe Ruth organizations first and foremost, therefore, in order to maintain their Babe Ruth membership, they were compelled to comply with the directive from ENY Babe Ruth, Inc. that they register their travel teams with ESBL. Prior to resigning, one of these Babe Ruth organizations asked ENYTB to reconsider its double registration policy vis a vis ESBL so that they could dual-participate in ENYTB. However, it was late in the registration season and rather than grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis, ENYTB chose to stand by its policy for 2009 and revisit the issue during the off-season.
RESULTS OF ENYTB RECONSIDERATION
Upon consultation with the newly formed ENYTB Members' Council, it was agreed that a change in this policy would be desirable, provided it could be done in a way so that ENYTB teams would not be harmed were ESBL to intentionally schedule conflicts for the teams that chose to dual participate in ENYTB, as the comrades of ESBL had done before. In particular, the Members' Council was concerned that under such circumstances, an ESBL team would seek to postpone its ENYTB games in favor of honoring its ESBL schedule.
As a result, ENYTB has amended its policy re: ESBL teams being allowed to dual participate in ENYTB as follows:
Teams registered with and participating in ESBL are free to register with and participate in ENYTB with the following additional requirements and restrictions:
(1) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall be required to black-out all play dates provided or to be provided ESBL for scheduling purposes;
(2) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall not be allowed to postpone any of its ENYTB scheduled games for any reason other than bad weather (this rule is no different than ESBL's own rules);
(3) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB that is unable to play an ENYTB scheduled game for any reason other than bad weather, shall be required to forfeit the game with penalty (again, this rule is no different than ESBL's own rules);
NOTE: Forfeits by any ENYTB member are subject to penalty ranging from a warning for the first forfeit, to escalating fines for additional forfeits and to loss of post-season eligibility and, ultimately, possible league suspension. For this purpose, all ESBL registered teams shall be required to pay a $200 deposit for potential infractions. This deposit shall be refunded at season's end to the extent the team did not incur any fines or other financial penalties for forfeited games (this too is very similar to ESBL's own rules); .
(4) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall not be allowed to cancel any of its ENYTB games under the ENYTB's "no harm/no foul" cancellation option (again, the same as ESBL's own rules);
(5) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall be required to provide usable home field dates/times for at least 50% of its total desired games (again, same as ESBL's own rules);
(6) Any ESBL registered team also registering with ENYTB shall enjoy full ENYTB roster protection while registered with ENYTB but not from one season to the next unless the following year's registration fee is paid in advance by August 15th (non-refundable); and,
(7) An organization's applications for membership as a dual participant must be completed, including payment, before March 1st each year.
ENYTB believes the above requirements/restrictions should be sufficient to protect ENYTB members from any potential scheduling mischief that could arise as a result of this policy change. Just as importantly, it allows every team that wishes to participate in ENYTB to be able to do so, which has been the purpose of this league since its inception.