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MBA Board of Directors votes to change success points value , reviews proposed changes to rule book
BY NICK GERHARDT Minnesota Baseball Association
The Minnesota Baseball Association Board of Directors covered a lot of ground Saturday at its meeting at the Eastside VFW in St . Cloud after it reviewed proposed updates to the 2024 handbook and voted to change the success points value for 2024 .
The board voted to change the success point structure for state tournament games to one point for each game appearance in both the Class B and the Class C state tournaments beginning for the 2024 season . Class B state tournament entrants received six points for a state tournament appearance , 12 points for a final eight finish and 18 points for reaching the final four . Class C state tournament entrants received two points for reaching the state tournament , four points for reaching the final 16 teams , six points for the final eight , eight points for the final four , 10 points for the final two and 12 points for a championship win .
The new structure means each game a team plays in the state tournament will receive one success point . The motion passed 6-1 with Directors John Gerads and Ken Vogt absent after leaving the meeting early due to family commitments . Treasurer Mike Nagel cast a nay vote .
The move potentially impacts two teams : Sobieski and the Northwest Orioles . Both teams could potentially have the option to move down to Class C in 2025 , based on projections .
Young America was one of the other teams impacted by the new point structure but petitioned to move to Class C in 2024 at Saturday ’ s meeting and the board granted the move after the Cardinals played the previous two seasons in Class B and last season under the point threshold of 45 . Teams that move up to Class B have to play a minimum of two years in Class B and the second year under the points threshold while also removing any players who use a college address before the twoyear period begins .
The handbook discussion covered a number of items to clarify language and add language to other items . One of the proposed changes included a recommendation to have teams and leagues that do not register by the deadline will have to pay league and team fees . The MBA has
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Another proposed item included removing the language in a contract that stipulates that high school players must comply with the all-star rule and removing the requirement for pro players to receive a deposition from their professional team after they ’ re released from their professional team . The proposed rule change would align the process to that in place with players who play in the Northwoods League . Players who are under contract and on the previous year ’ s playoff roster of a team do not need to play in four league games .
Other proposed clarification items included adding language that spells out clearly that a player who changes teams mid-season must play in four league games with their new team to become eligible for playoff play . Also , the members of the board proposed the addition of language to stipulate that a player taken off a playoff roster should sign a new contract if they play with their former team .
An increase in the cost to file an appeal following an ineligibility decision of a team will receive consideration . The cost stands at $ 200 to file an appeal now , but the board is considering increasing the cost to $ 500 .
The board will also consider allowing inactive players from a suspended team to become eligible to play with a different team while spelling out clear language that illegal players remain suspended from play for the season .
Other updates to the handbook under review are modifying language to clearly state that a team moved up to Class B that wishes to move down to Class C must play two years in Class B and play the second year under Class C roster rules .
Another proposed language update included modifying ejection penalties beyond two games , if deemed necessary by the board for an egregious action .
The board will vote on the proposed rule changes and handbook updates at its February meeting .
The board also presented possible scenarios for state tournament configurations and class designations . The four possibilities included : Keeping things as is with a two-class system Modifying the two-class system to reduce the Class B state tournament field from 32 to 24 or 16 while keeping Class C as a 48-team field
A two-class system that lowers the criteria number so Class B includes between 90 and 100 teams for a 32-team state tournament while Class C would have between 130 and 140 teams with a 48-team state tournament
A three-class system where a Class A includes essentially the existing teams in Class B for a 16-team tournament , a new Class B that includes 90 teams for a 48- team tournament and a Class C field of 120 teams for a 24-team tournament
The board took no action on the four proposals and has a two-year agreement in place with Class A teams to play in the Class B state tournament . The 2024 season will be the second year of the agreement . The board will release more details about the proposal and seek input from teams to help reach a decision on which action to take .
None of the four proposals has received unanimous support from board members , though Nagel said the second option appears as the least attractive .
In other business , the board heard an appeal from Bluffton regarding its ineligibility for 2024 postseason play after the board found the team played two players without contracts during the 2023 season . Kyle Dykhoff addressed the board and addressed the circumstances of why the players failed to complete a contract . Dykhoff and one of the players presented internet history of logging onto the MBA contract page intending to complete a contract . The contract , however , never reached the MBA via email or appeared as downloaded on the player ’ s mobile phone . The players felt they ’ d completed the requirements to sign a contract . Players have to sign contracts prior to having a team create a player profile to be considered eligible for play .
Following a lengthy discussion , Nagel made a motion to allow Bluffton to receive eligibility for postseason play in 2024 without game shares . The motion failed by a 6-3 vote .
Other action items included reinstating Webster and Victoria for the 2024 season following suspensions and granting Sam Tellers a release from Bluffton to play with Isanti in 2024 . The proposed rule change allows Tellers , an inactive player on Bluffton ’ s roster , which is frozen , to gain his release .
Aiden and Kellen Schultz received approval via the heritage rule to play with Belle Plaine while Miguel Castro spoke to the board about creating a Class B team in Austin for 2024 .