2013 was amazing. 

As a start-up league in 2013, we were able to build a foundation on all our beliefs of what amateur baseball in the state of NJ should be. It's one thing to have a vision about something, how you think things SHOULD be done... it's another for others to see that vision and believe in it too. What Tim and I found after countless phone calls, e-mails, advertising campaigns and word of mouth was... our vision had legs, and players believed in what we were doing.

I think there were 8 moments in 2013 that were the most memorable for me. In no specific order they were:

1. January 27th Winter Manager Meeting: Nearly 60 days after our launch, over 70 managers showed up to our Inaugural Manager Meeting where we unveiled our league, structure, league fees and everything New Jersey Amateur Baseball League. It was the moment when things became real, and I officially had butterflies talking to a room of managers. We were lined up at the starting line for what was going to be a wild ride in 2013

2. April 7th Opening Day: Throwing out the first pitch, standing behind home plate looking at the Linde-Griffith Piledrivers & Montclair Bulldogs facing the American flag in the Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium, it was a moment where things became official. We were about to go live, with 52 teams signed up and the season was about to begin. Standing on the field, realizing all the hard work was about to pay off... the excitement in the players eyes, the 350+ fans that came to the stadium to watch a men's league Opening Day was unreal. It's a moment I won't forget, as Mike Walker tossed the first pitch to Ben Lunin at 4:05pm we were officially open for business.

3. All-Star Games: You will be hard pressed to find anybody who puts as much effort into recognizing their all-stars than us. The All Star games this year were fun at every level, and really made guys realize we were doing this for love of the game. I think when you consider the intricacies of how we operated those days, you could see we put a lot of thought, effort and passion into delivering some of the best all-star experiences anybody had ever been part of. When I say "best" I am quoting over 100 players who participated, who made their opinions known those days. Joey Oliva, Carlos Cruz, Dennis Lipari, Marc Tainow and Dylan Williams were our ASG MVP's this season, and their teammates those days were all in agreement. Bringing roughly 150 guys together, from different teams, for games like those... truly a great experience for everybody involved. When I say we plan to improve the games in 2014, you better believe the experience will be better this coming year. 

4. January 7th Announcement with Newark Bears for Spring Partnership: There is no greater feeling than accomplishing something nobody had even considered in the past 20 years, partnering with a Independent baseball team and making it known there is an agreement in place. I went to school at Rugers-Newark from 1997- 2002, played baseball for 4 years and Riverfront Stadium was our home field for many of those Scarlet Raider home games. 11 years later, to come back launch a league and host 12 games there, play exhibitions vs Newark and just raise the bar on amateur baseball was a great feeling that we believe trickeld throughout the league. Newark believed in us from the beginning, and opened that door for us. It's something I will never forget, and always be thankful for.

5. November 11th Announcement of Somerset Patriots Partnership Family for 2014-2015: On the heels of a tremendous Spring, we opened some doors and really achieved our own dream in 10 short months. As many in New Jersey who follow baseball know, the Somerset Patriots are an organization in the Atlantic League, who have a loyal fanbase. With an average of 5,500 per game, 70 home games, they seemed to be centrally located to where our operating area was. In fact, we have roughly 70% of our teams within a 25 mile radius of their ballpark. We had a trial run this fall, and the feedback was amazing. To now be considered part of that family, only strengthens our league and direction for the future. 

6. August 18th New Providence Reds Walk-Off Grand Slam in Game 3 of the Finals: Sure, I wasn't there... but Timmy called me moments after it happened as I was at Newark's West Side Park about to hand the Somerville Giants the Premiere South trophy. It's amazing how a moment I experience on film, really captures the essence of what we are doing. It's moments like that, we can relive through photography, through experiences and make us understand the beauty of the game. Sure, it's tough for the Tri-County Twins to relive that moment... but this is what sports are about, moments that define a season or even a players career. Pat Rooney will never have a moment like that again in his life, and if he does, he caught lightning in a bottle twice. I was able to talk to a few of the players on the Reds a few weeks later at TD Bank Ballpark when we handed them their player awards, and the smiles were still ear to ear on their faces. This was one moment, amongst many this season, that assured me we were doing something right. 

7. September 7th: NJABL Premiere Champion Somerville Giants walk off in 10th inning against NJIBL Champion SJ Mashers: It's no secret that we affiliated ourselves with the NJIBL in south jersey. Seemed like the logical thing to do, two amateur leagues joining forces to deliver games that nobody else could because of "anxieties" of losing teams to a competitor. We operate from Bergen County thru Ocean County. They operate from Mercer County to Cape May County. The scope of land is different, as well as knowledge. Sure, we could "attempt" to enter that space but it would not make sense for us to, because we know nothing of it. I had no idea that towns like Princessville, Delran, Palmyra exist in NJ. In fact, there are a whole lot of "villes" all around Princeton I had no clue about (Lawrenceville, Titusville, Princessville, Morrisville, Robbinsville,Mercerville, Lambertville, etc etc). How could we expand a business to an area we don't know? Seems reckless... and they agree to that as well. How can you quality control when you don't know what fields look like, umpires, team talent, etc? If we decided to expand there, it would be for the wrong reasons... so we affiliated with a league in that region instead. This game was something we planned in November 2012, before we even launched. Seemed like the right thing to do, offering a new unique game to a championship team. We plan to do more of these going forward at all levels of play. This is just the beginning. Watching the two teams battle, showcasing their leagues best, was awesome. In the end, I am thrilled to know we have bragging rights for the next year over Gary Shears and Dave Magaldi.

8. Akadema Partnership Agreement: We started off small, and worked our way into a partnership that really made sense. Our players enjoy the equipment deals, and we as a league are happy to say we are affiliated with a NJ equipment manufacturer that sponsors pro players like Bryce Harper, Shane Victorino and Derek Holland. I don't think anybody else has a deal like this in place for their players, and if they say they do they are probably lying. The sure way to know, call the company and ask for the President or VP. Ask them if they are partnered or affiliated (not do business with). Alternately, go to the company website or facebook page, and count how many times they are listed in the past year there. If they are partnered or associated, they will be noted somewhere. You will be seeing a lot of Akadema and our league in the years to come... be ready!

So now the year is done. Our champions have all been crowned. Our MVP/CY's have been announced (or will be in the coming days for Fall). We now have the luxury of enjoying the holidays and preparing for 2014. It is important that we continue to march ahead, thinking about the future for our players/teams. Innovation is what will make us different, and separate us going forward. We know that leagues are going to try and copy our formula, arriving late to the party and unable to think of this stuff themselves. So when they upgrade a website or add a mobile app, try to partner with an Independent League team, upgrade an All Star game to a stadium or even enhance playoffs to include more best of 3 series, we hope you realize who initially reset the bar. We are changing the scope of Amateur baseball in NJ, whether people admit it or not. We will continue to be innovative as we move forward. The overall effect, it's scary for some to grasp so they rely on scare tactics to keep teams on board.

Teams are their own entities, able to play where they want and for whom they want. No league controls any team. Teams don't play under contract, and are not owned by anybody exclusively except for the players that participate on it. Heck, you PAY to play. Nobody is paying a team to participate, or contracts a team to their league for years to come. I laugh when I hear these stories. We operate a men's amateur league, where players participate in organized baseball on the weekends. Who has the right to dictate where a team can participate? 

2014 will mark a banner year for the league. We have already seen the early results, and shortly will begin announcing our 2014 teams and setting the league pages up. We are in the process of discussing upgrades for the league, structure and quality of play. I believe you will see a lot of familiar faces in the future, some new competition and overall a great environment to play weekend baseball. We had a good number of our teams verbally commit early, which is always a good sign that you are delivering on promises made. It's been an amazing experience thus far, and sure looks like it's going to be better all around next year. 

In 2014, we also look to enhance our charity scope with some exciting stuff planned for the league. We have 4 or 5 items to announce, and will do so at a later time to prevent others from doing the same and claiming they thought of it first. When your team commits to us for the season, we commit excellence in customer service to you. Every player on your team becomes part of our family, and we want you to believe that we are doing everything necessary to deliver a quality league at a good price. 

With the holidays approaching, we'd like to wish everybody a safe and enjoyable holiday season. We look forward to talking with you all soon, and note, Opening Day is roughly 135 short days away! 

-Mike

PS- What do I have to do to get some comments on these blogs? Would love to hear some feedback from managers and players here!