About our league

Our league is part of New York State District 17, which is made up of the following towns/leagues: Taconic, Rhinebeck, Hyde Park, Pleasant Valley, City of Poughkeepsie, Town of Poughkeepsie North, Lagrange, Beekman, Dover, Wappingers, Pawling, Phillipstown, Red Hook, and Mid County.

Our northern border is Spackenkill Road, and our southern border is Wappingers Creek.  Children living within our borders are eligible to play in our baseball league.

The spring season usually starts with Opening Day on the 3rd Saturday of April, and continues through June 15.  For most of the divisions, shortly after June 15^th, All Star tournament teams are formed to play against other leagues in our District.  Depending on how successful each team is, they could continue to play through July into August.  This play is part of the International Little League Tournament, with the finals held in Williamsport.  Our fall season starts in mid-August for players 8-15 years of age.  New teams are formed, with greater emphasis on instruction and learning.  Games are played until the end of October.

We have the following divisions of play:

T-Ball (5/6): most of the season is spent on instruction.  Team rosters are small, usually consisting of 10 or 11 players.  No real games are played, and there are no umpires involved.  No standings or scores are kept.  Kids usually hit from a tee to start, and depending on progress, may end up hitting against live (adult) pitching.  Some basics of the game are taught.

7/8 level: a good part of the season is also focused on instruction, and some games are played.  Team rosters are small, usually consisting of 10-11 players. In this division, our intent is to teach the game by running infield/outfield drills, teaching proper batting stances, base running, etc., all in small groups.  Our goal is to keep your child moving and learning, for the full time he/she is on the field.  The adults pitch, and some of the more advanced players are allowed to pitch later in the season.  Another goal is to prepare your child for the next division, where games are played with umpires under official rules.  Focus is placed on teaching pitching so that kids are ready to enter the next division, where only kids pitch.  

Major/Minor divisions: at these two levels each team plays approximately 14 six-inning games, and our goal is to have your child play as many of the innings as possible when he/she comes to a game.  Teams are re-drafted every year, where in the past, your child would stay on the same team for two years.  A player evaluation committee will evaluate all the players.  Teams are formed based on guidance from the committee to assure competitive balance.  Typically the older, more skilled players will play in the Major division.  Both divisions use teen and adult umpires, who are trained by our league umpire-in-chief.  When the regular season ends, 9 and 10 year olds are eligible for selection to the 9/10 All Star team, and 11 and 12 year olds are eligible for selection to the 11/12 All Star teams.   

Junior (13/14) and Senior (15/16) divisions:  these divisions typically play 16 seven-inning games during the season, and play on a Major League sized field.  Depending on enrollment, our teams may play teams in other leagues.  We contract with the Hudson Valley Umpires Association for umpires to officiate these games.  Both of these divisions have All Star tournament teams as well.