Blue & Gray Baseball

League Operations
The Blue & Gray League is located in the heart of Virginia in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties, and the towns of Fredericksburg and Manassas where much of the Civil War was fought.

We are affiliated with the National Adult Baseball Association (NABA).
Click on Logo to get to their site

  Officials:

Blue & Gray Baseball has three Operating Officers and all Managers or selected Team representative are League Officials

The President; who was selected and entered into contract under the N.A.B.A. Presidential authority and reports directly to him and his officers.

Two (2)  Vice Presidents, which are 1 year terms, report to the President.

  • The Vice Presidents are selected as follows, one Vice President is selected by the President, the other Vice President is selected by the managers by vote. (The President and selected VP do not vote)

All Franchises have One (1)  Member who is an Official in the League.

  • This can be the GM, the Manager or any selected member from the Franchise.

(a)  Articles:

  1. All Managers and all operating officers have equal votes on all matters.
  2. No official may preside/vote over any incident that directly or indirectly involves them or their team.
  3. The President does not decide or engage in any League directives during the time he is participating in his own game.
  4. The Vice-Presidents does not decide or engage in any League directives during the time he/she is participating  in his/her own game.
  5. Vice Presidents have Presidential authority only when the President is currently engaged in his own game or have been granted that authority by the President.
  6. Vice Presidents can and are to act accordingly to enforce established rules/regulations without seeking the Presidents approval.
  7. In matters that concern the Presidents or Vice Presidents games directly or indirectly, they are removed from the decision process and another League Official, a Manager or Managers, are brought in to preside in accordance with article 2.
  8. Managers can and do preside over appeal processes in accordance with article 2.
  9. Managers may go to the Vice-Presidents in accordance with article 6 but adhering to article 2.
  10. Managers are to refrain from contacting and expecting the President or VP's to interject on problems in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 only.

 

Voting:

1 Franchise 1 vote.

Any matter that requires a change to the current league structure must come before all officials of the League. All teams should be present for the voting, if a schedule Meeting has a voting requirement and a team is not represented they are considered in absentia and having a sustained vote.

For a vote to count in a scheduled meeting only a majority of present officials is required to pass anything. , in other words it is up to each team to make sure they are represented at each scheduled meeting.

  • If the Recognized Official from a Franchise can not attend they can authorize another from their team to represent their interest.

League:

The  league is set up to accept a Franchise a.k.a. Team as a whole, not individual players.   Each team runs their operations as they see fit, each team is officially represented in the League by their Manager, Coach or GM or whatever title they like but only 1 person is recognized for voting purposes.

Franchise:

Franchise or Teams are run at the sole discretion of the Owner, Manager or GM.  Blue & Gray has no say so over the daily operations of each team. Only in the matters of finances or dispute between teams will the Operating Officers of Blue & Gray get involved.

Fees:

Each team is required to pay a Franchise Fee to join the League. (determined each season, $2100 for 2007)

Each team is required to Pay Umpires Fee to join the league and to be put on the Schedule. (determined each season, $2400 for 2007)

Teams can carry any number of players the wish, the first 16 players are included in the Franchise fee, each subsequent player, number 17 and above is an extra $40 per player.

Contracts:

All Players, Managers, Coaches and anyone who steps on the field of play must be under Blue & Gray NABA contract, any one not meeting this requirement is not allowed to participate in any way, the penalty is an automatic forfeit of that game with no appeal.

Rosters:

Teams are not limited to the number of players on a roster as long as the Fee requirements are met, there is however a maximum of 25 players for a teams play-off roster.

 (a) Roster details:

  • A Player must be under contract to play for any team.
  • A team that has paid their franchise fee may carry any number of players until May 1st, after May 1st all players over 16 must either be dropped from the team or paid for ($40 each).
  • Play-Off rosters (25 man maximum) must be turned in by the prescribed time for those players to be eligible, (this varies each year but usually 4 weeks before the play-offs start and Managers will be notified in advance)
  • A player may not play for more than one team in this league.

Rules:

Since Blue & Gray is affiliated with the National Adult Baseball Association we adhere to the rules and regulations they set forth. Each Franchise is given a copy of those {link} NABA Managers Rulebook and the Officers of the League enforce them.

Furthermore any rule or regulation that is not covered in the NABA handbook defaults to {link} Major League Baseball Rules

 (a) Local rules:

  • All local rules are submitted and voted on by the Officials of the League

 (b) Current Local rules:

  • NABA rulebook states that 2 non-runners are to be declared BEFORE the game starts,
    • The local rule allows that if a team declares none (0) or only one (1) non-runner prior to the game they may use their remaining non-runner (s) for an obvious injury during the game only if no substitutes are available.
  • NABA Rule book states that a team must finish with the maximum numbers of batters that a team used during the game with the exception of  injuries prevents that player from continuing and there is no substitute. 
    • Local rules allows continuation of the game, no forfeit, if a player is ejected and there is no substitute but the ejected players spot in the batting order is an automatic out regardless of how many batters are still in the line-up. (example:  more than 9 batters)
  • Regular season 8 player rule states a team may play with 8 players but the 9th spot in the order is an out.
    • Local rules say the 9th spot is not an out in the regular season it is still an out during the play-offs.
  • A team may borrow players from any other team to put at least 8 or 9 on the field to play the game.
    • Local rule allows this, but that player may not pitch.

Penalties:

Blue & Gray have specific penalties in place for teams, managers and players that do not follow the rules as outlined by the Mangers Rule Book.

(a) Team:

  • Any team forfeiting a game is required to pay for new forfeit bond prior to their next game .
    • (see Forfeits section for further explanations)
  • Any team that forfeits 3 games during the season is subject to expulsion from the League with no Refunds*
    • * Special Circumstances will be considered.

 (b) Managers/Players:

  • Managers and Players are subject to suspensions for ejections and other infractions as put forth in the NABA Rule book. Blue & Gray Baseball goes one step further and all ejections carry a 1 game minimum suspension.
  • Egregious behavior as outlined in the NABA Rulebook can/will carry a three (3) game suspension at the discretion of the League Officers.
  • Managers and players may appeal the suspensions in accordance with the Articles of the League.
    • An appeal must be in writing/e-mail within 48 hours* of the incident to be heard, else the suspension stands
      • * Special Circumstances will be considered.

 (1) Players:

  • Players ejected from a game receive an automatic one (1) game suspension
  • Players may appeal the suspensions in accordance with the Articles of the League.
    • A successful appeal still keeps the original ejection on record a player who gets ejected a second time must serve a one (1) game suspension with no appeal allowed.
    • A player who is ejected that and any other ejections are kept on record for future discipline.
    • A player who has served a suspension, may use the appeal process.
    • A player may attend his teams next game while he is under suspension.

 (1) Managers:

  • Managers have a much greater chance of being ejected just by the nature of their position than a  player does.  Blue & Gray realize this, so the following guidelines are in place for a Manager.
    • Managers do not get an automatic suspension for an ejection.
    • Managers are still subject to suspensions at any time for egregious violations and in certain instances if they were playing in the game as a regular player which resulted in that ejection.
    • Managers may appeal the suspensions in accordance with the Articles of the League.
    • A successful appeal still keeps the original ejection on record a Manager who gets ejected three times must serve a one (1) game suspension with no appeal allowed.
    • A Manager serving a suspension may not be at any game his team plays in during his suspension.

 

League Setup:

Blue & Gray League is currently divided into two Divisions the Prince William Division (North) and the Stafford Division (South), in which an unbalanced schedule is made weighted towards Division play. (2007, 6 non-division games 16 division games). Blue & Gray believes that the Regular season should mean something and only the top teams should play for the Championship similar to all levels of professional baseball. So a Championship Series Play-off structure and a Tier II Play-Off structure is in place for the end of the regular season,

 

The Schedule:

Blue & Gray supplies the entire regular season schedule  for the entire season in advance, play-offs are slotted into possible dates at this time, but due to the nature of our play-off system those dates can not be known until all teams are seeded.

(a) Season/Play-Offs:

Blue & Gray Currently offer a regular Season Schedule that when played out determines the Play-Off seeding and two guaranteed Play-Off games.

  • Regular Season consists of 20-24 games (2007, 22 games)
  • Play-Offs consist of two Tiers
    • Championship Series: 2 Division Winners and 4 Wild Cards.
    • Tier II Double Elimination bracket for the remaining teams.

(b) Schedule rules:

  • Once the schedule is posted no Manager may change unilaterally or "work out" a schedule change with another Manager, all schedule changes are to come through the league office for approval.
    • Franchises are given a "Managers Conflict Questionnaire" before the season starts so they may cross out certain Dates and time their team can not play, else all other dates are deemed acceptable.
      • Play-Off schedules are not negotiable by any Franchise due to the nature of the play-offs being determined by your season record and availability of fields.
  • All Scheduled games are clearly listed as which team is home which team is away, changing the home and away teams is also not allowed, teams that do this unbeknownst to themselves or the league, the final will still be recorded as shown on the schedule and no changes will be made to correct the mistake.
  • All Scheduled Double Headers are set for nine (9) innings for game 1 and seven (7) innings for game 2, no exceptions.
  • The Schedule Clearly defines the Game time, the time is not to be changed unless changes come through the League office for approval.
  • Rain Outs, or cancelled games:
    • These games will be slotted into available dates and timeslots in accordance with your Managers conflict forms as soon as possible.
    • The league takes note not to overburden a team when re-scheduling these rain outs or cancelled games.

Forfeits:

Blue & Gray has rules in place for forfeits so that all Teams on both sides of the forfeit know what to expect and to make the penalties stiff enough so teams will avoid forfeits.

  • A forfeited game occurs when one team is unable to field enough players (8) at game time. However; There is a 31 minute grace period with a run being acessed at game time & 1 run every 15 minutes thereafter. (With 31 minutes that is up to 3 runs)

    • Note: it is not the other Teams fault your team is late or shorthanded, do not put the onus on the other team as if they are being unreasonable or should bend the rules to meet your short comings, IE be responsible for your own team.

  • A Scheduled DH Forfeit; A team forfeiting Game 1 does not Forfeit Game 2, A game 1 forfeit ends baseball that day for both teams as the umpires are instructed to leave.

  • A Game Day forfeit:
    • Results in a loss of fees paid for that game, for BOTH of the umpires AND the forfeit bond. A new bond must be paid before your next scheduled game.
  • Prior to Game Day Forfeit:
    • If you know you are not going to produce a team for a game in advance, the umpire fee for that game is forfeited but  not the forfeit bond, this is the cost of doing business.

 

Umpires:

Blue & Gray uses and has a contract with the Northern Virginia Umpires association and both organizations work though all issues good an bad for the betterment of both parties..

  • Only the Blue & Gray Officers are recognized to officially discuss anything with the NV Association.
  • Managers have recourse by use of a Umpire Evaluation form.
    • Blue & Gray will not recognize any complaints about umpires without use of this form which must be filled out completely.
  • Managers are encouraged to get the name of your umpires at the plate meeting.

Managers Section:

Blue & Gray has a tools for their Managers:

  • A Website {link} Managers Corner, with all the information and paper work needed for anything in the league.
  • A message board {link} Managers Message Board once signed up that only the Manager can access.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Blue & Gray Area History:

     Abner Doubleday was in the Fredericksburg area from the summer of 1862 through the Battle of Fredericksburg that December, and for the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863,  Baseball was played "extensively" by Union soldiers in Stafford County, said John Hennessy, chief historian at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park.

    The Civil War helped fuel a boom in the popularity of baseball evidenced by the fact that a ball club called the Washington Nationals was born in 1860 -- 145 plus years before a Major League Baseball team was given the same name in the District of Columbia.

 

" ... for Americas Game. "

-  TL Nargi  -

 

  President:  Tim Nargi
Phone #:  (703) 583-8579
Address: 5905 Cyclamen Ct Woodbridge, VA 22193
Email:
Blue & Gray Commissioner
     

Attendance:  Hit Counter

 

Graphic Designs by: Tim Nargi Jr.

Copyright © 2006 [Blue Gray Baseball]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 12/18/07