General Information

ENYTB was established in 1996 to make youth travel league baseball more widely available in the eastern region of Upstate New York and adjacent areas. The league has enjoyed ten years of unprecedented growth, expansion and success. What started as a single age division (14U) of eight teams under one national affiliation (AABC) expanded into all age divisions (11U to 18U), 88 teams and three different national affiliations by 2003 (affiliation with NABF was added in 1999 and affiliation with PONY was added in 2003).

The league further expanded its scope in 2004 by offering an adult baseball program that included both an Unlimited Division (AABC and NABF) and a College Division/22U (NABF only). Many players who graduated from the ENYTB youth program have returned to the league as adult players.

Today, ENYTB offers an organized program of play every age level from 11U through Unlimited. This program includes opportunities to qualify for one or more National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS) at every age level. In addition, ENYTB hosts a sanctioned NCTS event at every age level and sponsors its own open tournaments throughout the summer and fall.

Membership in the entire league was 115 teams in 2004 and is expected to grow to about 140 teams in 2005, based on current applications. The 13U and 14U age groups had the greatest number of teams in 2004, 24 teams each. Each of these groups is expected to grow to approximately 30 teams in 2005.

Within each age group, the league divides teams into competitive divisions according to their overall skill level. Each league division, regardless of its skill level designation, competes for berths in sanctioned NCTS events. Every ENYTB member team begins the season as a potential national champion. Our Gold Division includes our most advanced teams, offering teams a level of competition far superior to that commonly found in regular season league play.

Regardless of age or ability level, ENYTB offers every member team a first class league experience every step of the way from convenient online registration and fully customized scheduling, to competitively balanced regular season play and abundant opportunities for participation in sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS) play.

The League has no geographic boundaries per se and stretches as far west as the Utica-Rome area, as far east as Pittsfield MA, as far north as Queensbury, NY and Rutland, VT as far south as Poughkeepsie, NY and as far to the southwest as Binghamton, NY. Teams from Montreal participate in the league's fall baseball program as well.

The league's rules on membership and player rights, as contained in its Constitution, are designed to encourage participation and league growth as well as to provide an orderly structure to the competition for players among its members. These rules have evolved over 10 years and seek to carefully balance the interests of the players and members alike. The league rejects both extreme views on free agency. Total free agency would not provide the stability and continuity required to maintain a team or a program from year-to-year. The opposite extreme is seen as unnecessarily rigid, leading to player dissatisfaction and less overall participation.

A two tiered system of player rights has evolved. At 16U and above, the league is open competitive. The only restriction on player procurement in these age divisions is that no member can sign players from the current or previous year's ENYTB roster of another member's team without a release. This "protected" player rule applies to the younger age groups as well, 15U and below. The younger age division teams are granted an additional right regarding "original" players, their place of residency and the member's own "franchise area". An original player is defined as a player who has not participated in ENYTB play previously. Members who are active in these age divisions are assigned a specific geographic area, based on school districts, known as a franchise area. Original players usually, but not always, prefer to play for their home area franchise. When this is not the case, regardless of the reason, the league has no interest in requiring the player to play for his home area team, other than to ensure that the player is fully aware of the opportunities available with his or her home area franchise. What this means is that original players are bound to follow a procedure that grants the home franchise a full opportunity to persuade him or her to sign with them. The league Constitution classifies such players as restricted free agents and contains explicit rules governing this procedure, including a timetable. If time expires and the restricted free agent has not been persuaded to sign with his home franchise, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with the league franchise of his or her choice.

Members and registered non-members are generally referred to as owners in the sense that they own one or more league teams. Member owners with "full franchises" have the right to register as many teams in as many age divisions as they like. To obtain a full franchise and be active in the age groups 15U and below, an owner needs a significant portion of his players to reside in an available school district i.e., a school district that is unclaimed as the primary core area of an existing franchise. A three year probationary period is applied to all new full franchisees. During this period, the franchisee must register more than one team each year and register a team in the same age division in at least two of those three years. Sub-franchises and special single team franchises are available to owners who can't meet the conditions for full membership. Current league franchise membership is comprised of about 75% independents and about 25% organizations that are affiliated with other national baseball organizations such as Babe Ruth, Little League, etc.

All members and participating non-members are required to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of sportsmanship and conduct at all times.

To get answers to specific questions about ENYTB options and procedures contact Ed Frye, ENYTB's League Director and President. Applications for new memberships are processed year-round. An non-refundable initiation fee of $100 must accompany every application for membership. It is often possible to join the League, either as a member or non-member, and register all your teams in one phone call following receipt of payment. Call Ed now at (518) 356-9089 to get started for the upcoming season or email him at fryes@nycap.rr.com or mail him at 5227 Bridle Pathway, Schenectady, NY 12303

For teams not interested in participating in sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS) or unable to participate in full League play, ENYTB offers many of the same benefits of membership to non-member teams. Some of these services are free and others are fee-based. A description of each non-member service can be found by selecting the same menu button on the League Intro menu list as you would for member services. Non-member services are also summarized in the menu item "Fee Summary". Non-members must activate and register their teams with the League Office to be eligible to receive any ENYTB services.