San Francisco Softball’s Fall Classic
By Dave Powell

It’s hard to believe the summer season is over and we’re ready to start the playoffs to determine the final champions of the 2002 softball season. The division races were close in most cases, although a few teams were fortunate enough to go undefeated in the regular season. Now it’s time to match up with the best to see who comes home with the trophies and sweatshirts.

The San Francisco Softball League is one of the best in the area. We use the highest performance ball, and we play in great neighborhood ball parks. I know that parking at Moscone is sometimes challenging, but once you’re there it’s a great place to play.

During the regular season. many situations arise that require teams to juggle with their line-ups. Sometimes this includes the need to pick up an additional player in order to avoid a forfeit. For the most part, as long as the other player isn’t a true ringer, teams are okay with this as it allows them to play the game. In our league, playing the game is what it’s all about. I’ve even seen teams offer one of their own players to another team in an effort to get the game in. And, while this okay during the regular season, the playoffs are a different matter.

Teams play hard, especially in the divisions where coming in first is the only way to advance to the playoff round. It’s not fair for teams to play the entire season and then run into a team that has brought in non-roster players for the sole purpose of winning playoff games. And, sadly, this has occurred in San Francisco playoff softball games.

It’s difficult to call another team on illegal players especially since we are all very competitive. And, if the player in question has the same ability level as the rest of those league players, it might not be such a big deal. My concern lies in the upper league players playing in lower divisional games. This occurs in all levels of play from co-ed on up.

Let’s face it, enforcing rosters is a difficult job, especially since the umpires have many other duties to perform as well. Getting to know the bat list alone should be taking up a good amount of their time. To ask them to police rosters is asking a lot of these hard working individuals.

Therefore, we need to rely on the integrity of the teams involved. Is winning a championship really worth it if you need to cheat? And, what about your regular guy or gal who showed up all season and now has to sit out because you’d rather put in a better player in the games that matter more? How does that person feel?

Believe me, winning a championship in San Francisco is a great feeling. But it feels even better when you do it fair and square.

Dave Powell is an at-large member of the San Francisco Softball Advisory Board. He plays in Co-Ed, Seniors, and “C” divisions.