Pelham Baseball Frequently Asked Questions

Registration

Q:  Does my player qualify to play for Pelham Baseball?

A:  Pelham Baseball follows the Babe Ruth / Cal Ripken age chart when considering player eligibility.  Our normal age range for divisional play is as follows.  However, we often take parent's requests for having players remain at lower levels (based on safety, etc.) into consideration.

• T-Ball (Ages 5 - 6)
• AA Minors (Ages 7 - 8)
• AAA Minors (Ages 9 - 10)
• Majors (Ages 11 - 12)
• Babe Ruth (Ages 13 - 16)

Q:  How do I register my player?

A:  Pelham Baseball has transitioned to online registration.  When open, families can register via the "Register Online" menu option on this website.  There, families can enroll their player in the appropriate division and pay online via Visa, Mastercard & Discover.

Q:  When will I know what team my player is on?

A:  Pelham Baseball normally hosts a player evalution process during early spring.  At these sessions players league age 8 - 12 will be evaluated on their baseball skill, maturity and approach to the game to help determine which division they should be assigned to for the upcoming year. Following this process Pelham Baseball will hold its draft of the older divisions (AAA Minors / Majors) where players will be placed on their teams for the season.  They will then be contacted by their coaches within a week.

Players for T-Ball or AA Minors will be placed on teams by the Pelham Baseball Player Agent and will be contacted by their coaches shortly following the draft of the AAA / Majors divisions.  Additionally, at the same time Babe Ruth players will be placed on their teams following a meeting with coaches and players will be contacted.

Babe Ruth players are not required to be evaluated.  Instead, they will be assigned to their teams by the VP of the division and coaches will contact parents.

Equipment

Q:  What kind of baseball bat should I buy for my player?

A:  Pelham Baseball will provide each team with bats to use during the season.  However, parents who want to buy their own bat for their player to use must ensure it meets the USA Baseball certification requirements to be used.  Bats which do not have the USA Baseball logo will be removed from play by coaches / umpires.  Additionally, parents wanting to buy a bat should have their player properly sized for the bat they will use.  Most commerical stores can help with this process.  You can also use the following site as reference.  

Older players in the Babe Ruth division can also use BBCOR stamped .50 bats with a 2 5/8 size barrell.

Q:  What other equipment should I provide for my player?

A:  Pelham Baseball will provide each team with batting helmets, catching gear and baseballs for the season.  At a minimum parents simply need to provide their own baseball glove for their player.  Pelham Baseball will also provide players with hats and shirts.  Parents should plan to equip their player with baseball pants (any color unless specifically requested by their coach), belt, socks and appropriate shoes.  Sneakers are fine but baseball shoes (plastic cleats or grips) are recommended.  Batting gloves and personal equipment bags are optional but parents should provide their player with water for practice and/or games..

Schedule

Q:  When do games start?

A:  Generally, most divisions will start playing games in late April / early May.  This is based, in part, on when the town officially releases the fields at Muldoon Park for Pelham Baseball to play on.  Once game schedules have been finalized coaches should begin communicating games and practices to their teams.  Additionally, parents can check the Pelham Baseball web site for their team(s) schedule.

Q:  How do I know when games or practices are cancelled due to weather, etc.?

A:  Members of Pelham Baseball will monitor weather and field conditions when rain or extreme weather threaten baseball activities.  If the fields are unplayable then games will be cancelled.  Advanced notice, via Email, will be given whenever possible.  In cases of extreme weather (e.g. lightning), Pelham Baseball will take immediate action on any baseball activities already in progress.  Families, in that case, will be instructed to return to their cars and either wait until the weather has cleared in order to resume play or consider the activity cancelled. 

Q:  Where are games played?

A:  Games for T-Ball and AA Minors are played at either Muldoon Park or Nukem Field.  Home games or games against other Pelham teams for AAA Minors, Majors and Babe Ruth are played at Muldoon Park.  Visiting games against other towns are played at neighboring park locations.  Schedules for all games will denote location.

Q:  Do baseball games conflict with other sports/activites?

A:  We generally try to plan our schedule to take into consideration school or community activities.  In terms of other sports, we ask parents to consider that spring is traditionally baseball season and that we are trying to frame our season within a given window so we can accomodate both school and summer baseball activities.  Additionally, many of our leagues play a cross-town schedule with other towns which requires flexibility on our part in terms of scheduling.  Parents should notify coaches when their player cannot make a game or practice so that things can be properly planned for the rest of the team.

Coaches / Volunteers

Q:  How can I volunteer to coach?

A:  We are always looking for people willing to coach.  Folks interested in doing so should complete a volunteer application in the document section of this web site and submit it to any Pelham Baseball board member.  Our coaching coordinator and/or division VP will reach out to talk more about the opportunity.  We ask all our coaches to complete a standard background check and, for more advanced baseball divisions, we may ask about your past baseball experience.

Q:  How are coaches selected?

A:  Coaches are vetted by the Pelham Baseball Coaching Coordinator who also works with divisional vice presidents to identify coaching vacancies.  Candidates may be interviewed to review past experience, baseball knowledge and ability to work with youth baseball players as well as to answer any questions the candidate may have.

Q:  What other volunteer positions are there besides coaching?

A:  The program is always in need of folks to help make it run.  Other volunteer positions include, concessions; umpires; field prep; announcers / scoreboard and fundraising among others.

Q:  How can I serve on the Pelham Baseball Board?

A:  All Pelham Baseball Board positions are one (1) year in length.  The board member information night and nominations/voting are normally done in late Fall and will be communicated on this web site, via Facebook and and Email.  Interested folks should also talk to a current board member about duties and expectations for the various positions.