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Monday, March 3, 2003

N.M. Men's Senior/Adult Baseball League Thrives

By Will Webber
Journal Staff Writer
    ALBUQUERQUE — With 28 teams and more than 400 players, the New Mexico Men's Senior/Adult Baseball League is, as one player described it, "growing like a weed."
    Thanks to the collapse of the Rio Grande Men's League, one of a handful of rivals to the MSBL/MABL in Albuquerque, the place to be for recreational baseball is the senior league, said league president Rich Garcia.
    Fifteen teams compete in the MABL, a division for clubs with players 18 years and older. The remaining clubs are in the 28-and-over MSBL. Although they both fall under the MSBL/MABL umbrella, they will compete separately once the season starts.
    "Teams from each division will have just one crossover game against the other league," Garcia said.
    Santa Fe will again have two teams in the MSBL this year. Taos and possibly Española will have one each in the MABL.
    The league will extend from Taos to Santa Fe, Rio Rancho through Albuquerque and down to Los Lunas. An effort is being made to expand to Belen and Roswell before the April 6 opener.
    Each team will play 27 regular-season games and have the chance to participate in four tournaments between June and October. The culmination is the New Mexico MSBL/MABL Tournament in the fall, during which the top eight teams from each league vie for bragging rights.
    Garcia has been at the helm of the Albuquerque version of the MSBL for three years and now oversees the MABL. He said the expansion is a product of the league's popularity among its players.
    "The word's gotten out," Garcia said. "Three years ago, we had 10 teams in a league for players 28 and over. It grew to 14 the next year and 18 last year when we lowered the age limit to 18. Now with the Rio Grande league going under, it could be as many as 30 or 32 teams this year."
    The MSBL/MABL has dozens of leagues spread around the country. New Mexico has had as many as three senior leagues over the years — Albuquerque, Taos and Roswell.
    "It's an entirely different league now that we have the MABL," Garcia said. "You've got guys fresh out of high school and college. Age hasn't caught up to them yet."
    Santa Fe clubs have claimed the league's overall championship each of the past three seasons, including the Giants last year. That team has relocated its home games to Albuquerque.
    "Even so, this league is undoubtedly moving north," Garcia said. "We've picked up an MABL team from Taos and could have an Española outfit within the next week. I've talked to the managers around the league and they have no problem with playing games up there."
    As of now, only the Cubs and Snappers are from Santa Fe. Both will compete in the MSBL. One team, the expansion Storm, folded this week when it failed to raise the money required to bring a team into the league.
    "They had most of the money raised from sponsors, but they couldn't get the rest from the players," Garcia said. "All a team has to do is show that they have the money and I'll do everything else. I want this league to expand as much as possible, but it takes a first step from the teams."
    Every club is required to ante up a $3,000 entry fee, or $200 per player for a 15-man roster. Uniforms are not included, but Garcia said those can be obtained for as little as $20 per player.
    "Most teams carry at least 15 (players) but the final number is ultimately up to the managers," Garcia said, adding that any player interested in the league will have a place. "In three years, I've never turned a player away. If he's not drafted, I'll find him a team. If there's no space, I'll take any leftovers and create a new team. If you want to play, you'll play."
    League fees pay for national membership, field insurance, player insurance and umpires. Once teams pay, the league supplies a complete set of catcher's equipment (minus the glove), two dozen practice balls, seven dozen game balls, batting helmets with major league logos of any team, a helmet bag and a scorebook with a complete set of league rules and schedule.
    "Every team will have its own home field by opening day," Garica said. "We've gone out of our way to get the best high school and public fields we can. We've got 15 right now. We're even working on (the University of New Mexico's) Lobo Field for a few games."
    While most of the younger players in the MABL are still in their baseball prime, a vast majority of the players in the MSBL have gone a decade or more donning a uniform. The appeal, Garcia said, is the game itself.
    "It's not softball," he said with a laugh. "It's regulation hardball with major-league rules. In our league, you can be more than that guy who sits in the stands talking about the game — here you can actually play it."