Some Yorkton baseball parents aren't seeing eye to eye with the Saskatchewan Baseball Association after their kids were told they can't play for Melville's midget AA team.
Following the decision by the SBA, the parents of the four boys took legal action that is currently ongoing.
"No one wants to go to court, but we felt it was our only option for the boys to play baseball," said Karen Marshall, the mother of one of the boys. "In this day and age, when we are promoting health and fitness, I can't understand why they are putting up obstacles for the boys to play baseball."
The decision was made by the SBA because the boys live outside of Melville's zone, even though two of them played for the team last year.
The parents aren't happy with the timing of the news. The boys were told they can't play in Melville when they were already two games into the season. And there isn't enough time to put together a team in Yorkton.
"We should have been told sooner," said Marshall. "The season already started. It leaves us in a very tough spot."
There have been other examples where the SBA has turned a blind eye to kids playing outside of their zone. It seems in this instance they chose to take action because they believed Yorkton had enough players to form their own team.
In a letter to the four players, here is what SBA executive director Mike Ramage wrote.
"It was determined that Yorkton had six players registered for Midget baseball with three-four others saying they would play once the additional four players in question came back to Yorkton. This now means that there are up to 10 players not playing baseball now that there is not a Midget team in Yorkton."
Taking into account injuries and other obligations, 10 players doesn't appear to be enough to field a team in Yorkton. Not to mention, YTW has learned there is a lack of commitment from some of the six parents whose kids weren't registered in Melville. This could have been an issue with a team just scraping by for players.
The SBA was also concerned that four Melville-based players were cut from the AA team to make room for the Yorkton boys.
This year is more than just another baseball season for some of the four players. A couple of them have talked with secondary schools about extending their baseball careers. Not playing this season could jeopardize their futures on the diamond.
"I'm devastated they aren't letting me play in Melville," said one of the players who asked to remain anonymous. "It could affect whether I can play college ball. It will be tough to go a full year without playing baseball."
No one from the SBA would speak on the subject because of the legal issues.
If the boys aren't allowed to play minor ball in Melville this year, they will look to other options such as senior baseball. They will, however, be 'allowed to play with the Melville team in non-SBA sanctioned tournaments and on the Melville provincial team as long as it is registered in midget AAA.'
