2003 AGM / Banquet Minutes

The Annual General Meeting for the 2003 Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League season was held in conjunction with the year-end banquet on Saturday October 18th 2003 at The Master Club in Bell's Corners. For those who were unable to attend, here is a summary of the items discussed, voted on, and agreed to during the meeting.

  1. The Executive Committee for the 2004 season is comprised of:
    President:  Norm Philips
    1st Vice President:  Eric Rosenquist
    2nd Vice President:  Al Read
    Equipment Manager:  John Moore
    Treasurer:  Charlie Durning
  2. In order to encourage participation in the AGM, all those in attendance qualify for a draw with the winner receiving free registration for the following season. The winner of the draw for the 2004 season is Ben Gigliotti.
  3. Long weekend Monday evenings should not be used for regular season games; they should only be used for make-up games.
  4. The pinch runner rule will remain unchanged from the 2003 rule with the exception that a pitcher who needs to change into metal cleats may take an unrestricted pinch runner when there are two outs. This is similar to the rule in effect for catchers and is intended to reduce the time required by the pitcher / catcher between innings. There was a proposal to allow three unrestricted pinch runners per team per game but it was voted down.
  5. The league will continue to use two umpires for all regular season and playoff games.
  6. There was some discussion regarding alternative formats for the mid-season tournament, but in the end, none of the proposals were deemed better than the current format. The current format will remain in effect for the 2004 tournament.
  7. Proposals to alter the draft / protection list were discussed. A proposal to require all teams to protect six players was voted down, as was a proposal to move the extra picks gained by teams which protect fewer than six to a later stage of the draft. A vote was also held to gauge interest in moving the league to an open draft; it was defeated by a count of 33 to 24.
  8. A discussion of the pitching rules was held and it was agreed that for the 2004 season, the umpires would be instructed to call an illegal pitch if a pitcher uses a "crow step". A hop will be allowed so long as it is initiated while the pitcher's back foot is in contact with the pitching rubber.
  9. Playoff games will last for a full seven innings unless the mercy rule comes into effect. Playoff games which cannot be completed will be suspended and resumed at the point of suspension. Note that this new policy will need to be refined by the executive and captains in order to arrive at a wording that is clear and does not cause more problems than it solves. Such a policy raises many questions that will have to be addressed before a new rule can be adopted. For example, at what point is the game replayed vs. resumed? What if the same players aren't available on the rescheduled date?