Questions on 2007 League Rules

[Silver Sox Fan]

Just some questions for Kevin or anyone else who would like to chime in on some of the league rules:

1. There is no minimum or maximum salary

I know it used to be a $3K/mo cap with the average player making about $1K. How does this change affect players? I know there are two owner operated franchises but has it translated into higher or lower max and average salaries for players? I don't expect an exact answer as I am sure a guy on a "league owned team" would probably be pretty upset making less than one of the players on an owner operated franchise but just curious as to a yes or know. And how do the salaries compare to other independent leagues?

2. Disabled List: There is no Disabled List. An injured player must be carried on the active roster or released.

With roster sizes already at a pretty tight level (22), wouldn't some sort of DL be in order for guys who may miss a week or two? Obviously a guy out for 1-2 months wouldn't make sense to keep but if a few guys get those nagging injuries that baseball players get it could really put a team at a disadvantage when they don't want to release a key guy but really don't want to burn out their healthy players. Is the rationale purely financial or were there other considerations?


By the way, I stopped by Sox Spring Training this morning. There was an intrasquad game that was pretty decent to watch but the truely cool thing was watching Les Lancaster coach the players and help them with mechanic issues he wanted them to work on. I'll be back for the Spring Training Game against Chico on SAT!

Keith

[Pietsch Fan]

Interesting rule changes. How does a team owned by the league compete with owners who have deep pockets? You know the GBL isn't going to start paying the big bucks for good players. And no minimum rockies? That's quite a departure from any other independent league. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

Mary

[GBLCommish]

Hi Keith/Mary,

Thanks for the interesting questions, here are your answers:

1. GBL Salary Structure
- There is no minimum or maximum salary, but the monthly player payroll cap of approximately $20K for a 22 (or in some cases 21) man roster does put the monthly average salary at about your $1K figure. This applies to all teams, league-owned or locally-owned, although teams can go over but pay a cap excess fine/tax. Most teams have a number of rookies at the low-end, a number of players around the average, and a few more experienced players over. Our salary structure is very similar to the Frontier League ($600-$1200), but less than the Atlantic or Northern Leagues that go after more veteran players.

2. Disabled List
- We eliminated the DL and Waiver Wire this year as, in our experience, they are really tools to constrain player movement. Stockpiling of players and placing them with phantom injuries on the DL, or selecting every player on Waivers to tie them up and keep them from playing for rivals are two unhealthy practices that occur frequently in Indy ball. In the GBL in 2007 for a short-term injury, the player stays with the team and recovers. For a long-term injury the player is either released and becomes a free agent after they have rehabbed, or can go on his team's Inactive List - player's choice -- and return to their team when they are ready.

3. You're right, there are minimum rookies in the Northern League, the American Association, and the Can-Am League but with complex definitions of a rookie. In some cases you can have 3-4 year players still classifying as a rooke. The rest of the Indy Leagues do not have rookie requirements that I am aware of (some of the newer leagues' rules are still hard to find). Based on the salary structure, most GBL teams will still be carrying 5 or more rookies this year as usual. It will be interesting to see how it plays out as rosters are finalized.

Reno Silver Sox observations:

I'll be at the Chico/Reno exhibition game on Saturday night for the first look at 2007 teams. Keith -- if you are there, look me up as I'd love to have a chance to catch up with you on your thoughts regarding the team and fan experience. As for the Silver Sox, they look stronger on paper this year than even their championship squad of last season. Moving 9 players off that team to major league organizations have given them a fine reputation as a place for players to showcase themselves and advance their careers. Their top experience level players by position are quite amazing for any Indy League team (now, of course, they could always be beat out in spring training...):

C: Masashi Chickazawa - Japan Major Leagues (Kintetsu Buffaloes)
1B: Cody Nowlin -- High-A
2B: Mike Done -- Triple-A
SS: Jordan DeVoir -- High-A
3B: Dustin Hahn -- High-A
OF: JJ Johnson -- Double-A
OF: JJ Sherrill -- Double-A
OF: Victor Hall -- Triple-A
P: Dusty Bergman -- Major League (Angels)

Should be a fun team to watch!

Best Regards,
Kevin Outcalt
Commissioner
Golden Baseball League
925-226-2896