The following memo was written by Wes Skelton, Commissioner of Dixie Youth Baseball, in response to a letter written by the three Florida DYB National Board members, the DYB Florida State Director, and the two DYB District Directors under which NEP has played for many years on NEP's behalf.
Date: March 9, 1998
To: Charles Kirkland, State Director Florida Dixie Youth Baseball
From: Wes Skelton, Commissioner Dixie Youth Baseball, Inc.
Subject: Notification of Rule Violation
YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF NORTHEAST PENSACOLA Blue DYB Y0422
YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF NORTHEAST PENSACOLA Gold DYB Y1300
After reviewing YANEP's local rules for the placement of players on team roster's, I have determined that those rules do not meet the requirements that all managers have equal opportunity in the selection of its 9, 10, 11, and 12 year olds in both 1997 and 1998. The result was that, in each league, up to a maximum of 48 players on the team rosters of its 9/10 and 11/12 year old teams were "recruited" by the managers WITHOUT SIGNUPS, TRYOUT OR A DRAFT. The remaining roster players were selected through a conventional draft.
While an argument can be made that all managers had an equal opportunity to recruit players, I cannot agree that all managers had equal access to selecting these players nor do I feel that an even distribution of player talent is likely between the two leagues.
THEREFORE, I find that both Northeast Pensacola leagues have formed teams in a manner which is in violation of DYB regulations and both leagues will be ineligible for tournament play in 1998 unless the Northeast Pensacola organization corrects this situation by:
1) allowing the Commissioner of Dixie Youth Baseball to form two pools of players which would reasonably approximate an even distribution of the total players onthe 1998 teams for both its 11/12 and 9/10 divisions. The Commissioner of DYB would designate one pool as the Gold pool and one as the Blue pool for purposes of selecting the 1998 tournament teams. This is necessary to allow the current teams to compete in local league play without having to be redrafted;
2) rewriting its local rules on player selection in a form acceptable to the Commissioner of Dixie Youth Baseball for use in 1999 and future years; and,
3) redrafting all players in 1999 based on the new player selection system.