2018 player survey

I sent out a survey via email just after the season ended. I’ve been going through the results, and there seems to be a great satisfaction with our league and our product. Fifty-six percent responded (28 of 51).

Some insights:

• The average score for rate the season on a scale of 1-10 was 8.58
• 100 percent felt the league was heading in the right direction.
• Those planning to return was 89.3 percent, not returning was zero, and unsure was 10.3 percent.
• The level of competition was rated 9.4 out of 10
• Umpiring rated an 7.9 /10
• Managers, in terms of communication, organization and treatment of players, rated 8.3 of 10
• The league president, in terms of communication, fairness, and leadership, rated 9.3 of 10.
• 71.4 percent feel the league is the right size, 28.6 feel we should expand.
• 89 percent are happy with 14-man rosters.
• 82 percent felt the length of season is just right, and 18 percent felt it should be longer. No one thought the season is too long.
• Night games for the playoffs at McKenzie rated 9.1 out of 10. And 89.3 percent felt we should do nighttime playoffs again next year.

3A: If no or unsure, briefly explain why (4 responses)

Team leadership

Week days are tough for me..

Family issues may prevent return.

I'm probably coming back, but I have occasional issues with management that make playing for the Plugs challenging.

4A:What should be done to improve the level of competition? (28 responses)

Nothing (3)

Teams were evenly matched, perfect

Seems about right to me, given the parity this year.

Not sure

Leave it as is

League is good. Great guys

Level is fine

I don't really know

Try out for new players

Mandatory Batting practice & Fielding!

It's fine as-is

Just right

Keep recruiting people who can pitch

Good parity. Wonders certainly improved their roster in the off season.

I think it's great the way it is. Each team is pretty close

More recruitment?

Give me 4 strikes

make it over 45 league

Nothing

none

Pretty good parity

Good balance of competition between all teams.

Out with the old, in with the new...

I felt this year was our best year in terms of competition. It didn't always work in our favor, mind you, but it certainly felt like the most competitive season in the four years we've been playing.

It's fine like it is

6: If the league expands, how should we find new players? (1 team = 14 guys)28 responses

Recruitment

1 more team

I don't know how you can increase the league and still have games on Wednesday or Thursday nights. Changing that might mean scheduling issues for some folks.

Anyway possible? Don't really have a unique suggestion.

Word of mouth

Good question

Facebook word of mouth 878

yy

Advertising and player recruitment level is fine

Tap the over 30 leagues

Advertise

Not sure if we need to expand?

Facebook ads, stories in the Republican/MassLive about a Field of Dreams

Word of mouth, advertise

Not sure

Word of mouth 13 per roster Only expaand if 26 new players could be added.No byes.

Expand evenly so there are weekly games for all teams. Perhaps contact over 30 league teams to solicit older players

Advertising in local media and social media

Advertise? Take out a few cheap ads, in Penny Saver, etc.

troll the halfway houses

raid other leagues

Sure

feature article in the newspaper

Get commitments for activities

Word of mouth.

We had success getting more guys to Sandlot by reaching out to the hockey leagues. Maybe we can find athletes there or through 50+ basketball leagues.

I've been playing in Quabbin Valley and there are plenty of late 40's/early 50's players in that league who are not already with us. I imagine it's the same with Western Mass wood bat and with other leagues. I also suggest mining the Amherst Sunday Sandlot game that has plenty of folks in our demographic. A word about # of teams: it's been great with four and I'm happy we have an even number, but would love to have a 1-2 more teams.

Draft

10A: Why? 19 responses

Didn't play there

Great conditions and no solar glare.

High grass

Never played there

No sun problems

Sun

Perfectly fine

Better mound than Herlihy, but infield dirt is too shallow on SS side

Intimate for our age

Grass is tough, outfield uneven, great location, awesome view

Infield in a little better shape than Herlihy

The Hopkins field feels a bit of a weird, I think because of the way the field slopes. But it seems fairly well maintained, though perhaps they let the grass get a little long in the summer months? On the plus side, we don't lose foul balls! But the big plus is that the sun sets in a way that doesn't make playing defense impossible.

far better field per reasons above

field is ignored after high school season

I seen worst

No first base sideline, uneven foul areas

No sun issue, pitchers mound needs attention

Infield grass is not great, and is not cut inline with basepaths.

That infield is a groundball graveyard with the thick grass. I don't know if there's anything to be done about that. Everything else about it is awesome (escepting the lack of lights).

13A: Why? 19 responses

Grest till the lights were on

Fun to play on a bigger stage, with great conditions.

Fun to play under the lights

Nice field, under the lights was special

Fun

It was something different

Highlight of the season - fun!!

Excellent field conditions

Love MacKenzie. Field in great shape, playing 9 needs lighted field in late August.

Great field with dugouts, and the lights adds some flare

It's a great field. Though seeing the ball under lights can be a bit challenging.

It was fun and different, but lights are too low and insufficient

a fun environment

It’s a really nice

full game and no dusk playing when have lights

Nine innings, under lights is fun

Great idea.

Great field (except outfield grass), and playing at night was cool.

What can I say? It's a great field and the lights got us to nine innings. It is so well maintained it was a real treat. So glad the league made that happen.

15A: If unhappy with the umpiring, list why (12 responses)

They were generally solid. Pesche seemed unhappy with us after the unfortunate events of May 18, which was really too bad.

The strike zone is very inconsistent

Some umps seemed like Nader qualified

Umping was fine for what it is - appreciated having two umps for playoff games. That's key.

Too many umps want to be part of the game this year, like Artie. Best umps are ones you don't notice. Consistency preferred.

Not unhappy, but a 2nd ump in the field would greatly help some situations

umps inconsistent and do not position themselves well, and you better be ready to swing...Still, it's a thankless job and I am glad they do it

very inconsistent strike zone

late

Umps had a great attitude.

Umpires effort always good, having a second umpire would be preferred.

Well given that we only have one ump for regular season games they do a hell of job under a difficult circumstance, and pretty much all of our umps were great. But with one ump there are blown calls from time to time and you can't get around that. And teams need to keep their cool when that happens because what the hell else is the ump gonna do?!? Only one set of eyes. My only complaint was that there was a game early in the year with Peschi (who is usually great) where there were some inconsistencies in what he was calling, leading to some serious confusion and frustration. I can't remember the exact issue, but it was well beyond a confusing strike zone or calling a guy safe who was out...I think it was whether a pinch runner could steal or not? Anyway, the Plugs reaction was disproportionate to the situation and got out of hand, but I could certainly understand the frustration when Pechi said one thing about the runner then made a call on a different set of criteria. We all have bad days at work, so in the end it's not a big deal. But in summation the umps were for the most part great. Greatly appreciated their improved punctuality this year given the limits to players time.

16A: If unhappy with the manager, list why (3 responses)

Communication, organization, and treatment of players.

Communication was spotty, and ability to work with all players on the team was fair at best.

There is a certain level of blame politics that happens under the leadership of our manager that sucks. Yes, a manager needs to motivate and call out guys who make mistakes ("you missed the cutoff man...you gotta make that throw!" or "you should have just thrown to first instead of trying for the double play there, you didn't have that at all", etc.). But with our manager it just goes to another level where we can spend half an inning arguing on the bench about a blown play in the field, an argument initiated and unnecessarily prolonged by the manager. Instead of trying to help us it just feels like blaming and bitching and shitting on us and it seemingly doesn't motivate players to do better. It just creates more resentment on top of the resentment from the previous weeks. Yes, every manager has their different style and Earl Weaver and Tommy Lasorda wouldn't be HOF managers if they had held group therapy sessions with their teams. But this is Over 50 baseball. Really?!? I don't' think everyone on the team is affected by this dynamic, but I've seen and heard enough from some players to make me concerned. There have been some communication issues where certain players would get emails from the manager and some would not...totally inconsistent throughout the season. I had to find out from a teammate about the playoff scenario, for example. Substitutions have been unfair. Some players on the Uglies will sit for 4 innings of a 7 inning game while other play the full 7 innings and are not subbed out ever. I think this is a situation of the manager being afraid that certain players will complain louder than others, so he'll play the players who bitch the loudest and sit the ones who don't bitch so loud. It's insulting to that guy who sits for most of the game when he paid to play.

19A: why / why not? (12 responses)

Teams are more evenly matched than in the past

Love the league !! But frustrated with the playoff schedules. We are a week day league all year and the playoffs where scheduled for week days but the finals was played on Sat.

Fair and respectful

great league - stellar parity

Caution league to ensure some managers/teams don't have greater influence than others.

Seems to be a lot of players that can't wait to return year after year

Few members are too intense or too weird; I think everyone has fun.

its fun

friendly

Low key, no tolerance of bad sportsmanship/teammate-ship by Patrick, nice work.

Nicely balanced teams, good competition.

Yes, I am. Love playing in TNB + 50 and it sucks that it's over! I thought it was great season overall. For the most part the opposing teams were sportsmanlike, fair and fun to play against. Again, expansion would be fun but 4 teams is great. I'm not sure how the Wonderboys upgraded during the off-season (draft, word of mouth, etc.), but the improved parity in the league was great.

20: What rules / procedural changes would you propose to improve our on-field product? (12 responses)

Make up games on Sunday for rainouts and ties. Minimum games played to be eligible for playoffs

The one hiccup for me was the last minute re-scheduling of the finals for a weekend. I thought we had resolved to change that after the year before, and was happy to see the new schedule with the playoffs slated for midweek at MacKenzie. The change to a Saturday left our team in a big hole, through no fault of our own. I also feel the playoffs and finals should be seven inning games, as that is the format we have been using all season.

The pinch runner stealing / not stealing ruke needs to be clarified.

Shorten season...2 out 3 playoff

Play 9 innings when possible with a 5:30 start if possible also

None

can't think of anything at the moment

Might consider starting a week earlier next season

Add a night or two for makeup games if needed especially if multiple fields are available (the league is 15 weeks, not necessarily 15 games). Ensure there is more than a day and a half between playoff games to allow for recovery.

not sure

don't know, I love it as is.

Again, 9 innings every time is awesome. But if we can't get in nine innings so be it. I'd like to see the league get on managers to get players more equitable playing time in the field (see above).

Anything else you'd like to say? (19 responses)

Looking forward to next season

Thanks for all your hard work and excellent coverage of the games this year, Paddy. It's a great league and a real nice group of guys. I'm honored to be a part of it.

Thanks Pat

Schedule rain makeups at the end of the schedule by adding weeks.

I appreciated that rain affected games were decided early.

I think we should field an All Star Team and go play another Over 50 league at some point.

Love playing Baseball!

great league - stellar parity - congrats on a great 2018 season!

Please find a way to have the championship game during the week. Being excluded from it has been frustrating.

Some teams should spring for new jerseys & hats

1: Many good improvements this year. Thanks for organizing! 2: Get a better league name; 3: If roster sizes go back to 12, consider a sub player pool mailing list or bulletin board; if a team needs players, for the sake of playing, allowing league members that are willing to play to play the other weekly game to help the competition. Or use an electronic bulletin board (under the blogspot?), if teams need players that week...or the sake of playing, allowing league members that are willing to play the other weekly game to help the competition. Or use an electronic bulletin board (under the blogspot?), if teams need players that week...

Thanks for all the hard work everyone puts into this league, was a ton of fun and looking forward to next year already!

see you next year

Thank you

We are fortunate to have this league, thank you.

Terrific job by Pat Johnson working with managers and players to resolve conflicts and schedule fields. Hopefully umpire scheduling will become more consistent, insuring at least one umpire shows on time for each game.

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to play and the work that goes in to making it happen. Thanks!!

Just thank you. Not sure if I'm going to get invited back, so I'd just like to say I very much appreciated playing in this league and have had a great time these past four years. Thanks for putting it all together.

Don't change playoffs to weekend a week and a half before game. People already have plans and are used to playing week night games