Minutes of the Vintage Softball Club June 5th, 2012 Board Meeting ...

Minutes of the Vintage Softball Club June 5th, 2012 Board Meeting 

[Note: There are a couple of important items that are included in this message at 

the end of the minutes. These items were not discussed as written but are pieces 

of information that members of the board feel should be shared with the club 

membership] 

Attendees: 

Mike Friedman, President 

Jim Callan, Vice President 

Jim Gross, Treasurer 

Larry Murchison, Secretary 

Pete Chen, Director 

Bob LeFevre, Director - Absent 

Mark Loveless, Director 

Ernie Gomez, Director 

Lester Sutherland, Director - On Phone 

Roger Anderson, Evening league Co-Commissioner 

Dana Maslak, Evening League Co-Commissioner - Absent 

Frank Kadlecek, Fun league Commissioner - Absent 

Jack Boniface, Tuesday/Thursday league Commissioner 

Lou Silver, Saturday Co-Commissioner 

Opening Remarks 

Mike Friedman's quotes of the month: 

In ‘honor’ of June being the first month of summer: 

James Dent: A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, 

the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. [… and I'll add: and we're all out 

playing softball.] 

In ‘recognition’ of the US Open golf tournament being played at a small town to the north of us 

this month: 

Rogers Hornsby: I don't want to play golf. When I hit the ball, I want somebody else to 

go chase it. 

Minutes of the previous meeting 

The minutes were approved. 

Treasurer’s Report 

Jim Gross' treasurer's report mentioned that we need a budget prepared. This budget should 

consider the fact that we may not always have the free facilities at Moffett. There has been talk 

that the softball fields may be sacrificed for some other NASA use early next year. [Jim Gross 

can you help with the wording here] 

If so, renting two fields on Saturdays may put a serious dent in our coffers. This may cause an 

increase in dues. 

Page 1 of 6


Old Business 

RULES COMMITTEE REPORT 

Note: Jack Boniface has replaced Larry Maibaum as the chair of rules committee. 

The rules committee has suggested and the board has approved the addition of the following 

paragraph to the Players Handbook: 

A base runner on first or third base, in the interest of safety, may move into foul 

territory under the following circumstances: 

1. The base runner must announce his/her intention to begin play off the base prior to 

exercising that option. 

2. The base runner must be in a direct line from the base he/she occupies to second base. 

3. No coach can be between the base runner and the base 

4. The base runner must be at rest until the batter hits the ball. 

5. The base runner must “retouch” the occupied base after the batter hits the ball and 

prior to advancing to the next base. 

6. A base runner who has not yet “retouched” the base is in jeopardy of being forced out 

[Note: This is not a tag play but a force out. It is OK to dive back to the base.] 

25th ANNIVERSARY PARTY PLANNING 

Since this is a very special year for Vintage, we are going to make our annual dinner/dance a 

very special event and are deviating from our usual practice of making it self-funding. Jim 

Batterson, chairman of the planning committee, requested a budget of $5000.00, which was 

approved by the board. This sum is for subsidizing tickets, paying for a guest speaker, and other 

one-time expenses to make it a very nice event. We want a really big turnout this year so please 

plan on attending. Ticket prices will be reasonable even though it will be a great meal at an 

excellent place. We already have some ideas about places and guest speaker, but if anyone 

has suggestions please contact Jim Batterson at jim@taylorbatterson.com. 

The anniversary celebration is scheduled to be Friday November 9th. The board of directors 

wishes that all past presidents be there to bask in the glory of our club. 

We will be holding a silent auction at the event to add to the fun and to recover some of the 

subsidies provided by the club. We would like help from all of you rounding up donated prizes to 

be auctioned off. Watch for an email soon with details. 

PICNIC PLANNING 

Jim Gross will once again head up this club event and, as always, will be looking for volunteers. 

The picnic will again be on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. 

Reminder Regarding Discount at Charlie Rose: 

Jim Gross received a stack of “Use As Often as You Like (through 7/31/12)” 15% discount cards 

for purchases at Charlie Rose. See Jim or Mike Friedman if you’d like one. 



New Business 

HANDBOOK UPDATE 

The discipline committee and its function should become part of the handbook. Jim Gross and 

Jim Callan, members of the discipline committee, proposed the addition of the following 

Paragraph H as noted below. This wording was approved by the board. 

H. Discipline Committee 

When a potential violation of the Vintage Code of Ethics is brought to the attention of the 

president, he or she may refer it to the discipline committee, which consists of a 

minimum of three (3) club members appointed from time to time by the president. As 

soon as practical after such incidents, this committee will host one or more hearings at 

which the participants involved in the incident and any witnesses have an opportunity to 

present the circumstances surrounding the incident and defend their actions. Participants 

and witnesses are invited to attend, but cannot be compelled to do so. However, such 

hearings will proceed whether or not they are present. The hearings are open to all 

interested club members, but strict order will be maintained, and any person disrupting 

such hearing will be asked to leave. 

Following the hearing(s), the committee determines whether infractions took place, and if 

so, decides on appropriate action/penalties to recommend. At the next board meeting, the 

committee presents in writing its recommendations and the rationale behind them. The 

board is then free to inquire of a committee member any circumstance surrounding the 

incident or the subsequent hearing(s), and then decide to accept, reject, or alter the 

committee’s recommendations. The participants’ names and their associated discipline (if 

any) will be included in the minutes of the meeting. 

As soon as practical after disciplinary decisions are reached by the board, written notices 

of the penalties signed by a club officer will be given to the participants who are 

disciplined, and to all commissioners and managers in leagues where the participants 

play. Any penalties meted out will become effective five days after the board action. 

[Note: This section should be inserted as new paragraph H of Part 1 of the Managers and 

Commissioners Section of the Vintage Handbook, immediately following the Rules Committee 

discussion.] 

FIELD ACCESS (Tue/Thur) 

We may be losing access to Mise in September (affecting Tue/Thu leagues). League 

commissioner (Jack Boniface) is working with team managers and reviewing other San Jose 

fields to assess their condition and availability. 

WEB SUPPORT 

Bob Strand, our web master, passed away on Saturday June 9 th (please refer to the message at 

the end of these minutes) and we will need to find a new person who can take over the position 

of supporting our softball web site, http://www.seniorsoftballsanjose.com. If someone would like 

to volunteer (family and friends welcome) please contact Mike Friedman. 



League Commissioner Reports 

WEEKNIGHT LEAGUE 

Roger mentioned that between fifteen and twenty folks are showing up to have evening fun at 

Santana Field. There is room for more players, please join them every Wednesday (game time 

is 6:00pm at Santana) 

FUN LEAGUE 

Substitute commissioner Murchison in place of Frank Kadlecek mentioned that between 20 and 

28 players are showing up. Monday the 4th we played in the rain and most went home soaking 

wet. Yes, they are hearty folks. 

TUESDAY/THURSDAY LEAGUE 

The commissioner of these two leagues, Jack Boniface announced the draft will take place on 

the 19th or 21th of this month. Mise may be lost as a place to play on Tuesday and Thursday 

mornings so Jack is looking at Columbus. It has two fields, restrooms, and fences. 

SATURDAY LEAGUE 

The draft has been set for June 23 rd . 

The meeting adjourned five minutes early. 

Faithfully submitted by Larry Murchison and edited by Mike Friedman and all the board 

members and commissioners. 

The Goal of Vintage is to be FUN and FAIR and SAFE. 

PLEASE NOTE THE ADDITIONAL MESSAGES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES 



ADDITIONAL MESSAGES 

SAD NOTE, WE LOST BOB STRAND: 

As you may know, our fellow Vintage member and webmaster Bob Strand was diagnosed with 

terminal pancreatic cancer in May of this year. He passed away at home on Saturday June 9 th . 

Besides being a great guy and ballplayer, Bob has done an outstanding job of creating, 

maintaining, and updating the Vintage website at no cost at all to us, even though he moved 

away and hasn’t played with us for years. Bob deserves our gratitude and will be sorely missed. 

Bob’s family has created a web site with information where people can comment if they choose. 

Anyone can read and comment. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bobstrand 

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO SATURDAY LEAGUE PLAYERS: 

Your Club officers and directors have been informed by Bob Bilikas, our club member 

and benefactor at Moffett Field, that there is a strong likelihood that Vintage Softball will 

not be able to use the ball fields come February of next year, due to a World Tech Fair 

that NASA-AMES desires to host. They want to use the land now occupied by the ball 

fields to house 5,000 tents, so that means the fences will have to come down and the 

sprinkler systems will have to be removed. The fields will probably be totally demolished. 

There is also talk that they will re-build the fields after the Tech Fair, but there are 

conflicting reports and circumstances that make us doubtful of that happening. 

Your officers and directors are keeping a close eye on developments at Moffett, through 

Jim Gross, our liaison with Bob Bilikas. Bob is trying to monitor what is or what is most 

likely to happen at Moffett, to keep us informed. In the meanwhile your Club is taking 

steps to locate and secure other alternate fields for Saturday League play, come 

February of next year. Unfortunately, our only source of alternate fields at this time is 

San Jose Park and Rec. We all know these are not well-kept fields, but they may be our 

only choice for awhile. In the next month or so, we will have to submit our reservations 

and payments for fields we want to rent and play on from August through March, so we 

may need to ask for additional fields/dates for Saturday play beginning in February. 

It is not guaranteed that we will be displaced from Moffett, or if it does, when it will 

happen. But the talk about using the fields for something else is still going on at Moffett- 

AMES, so we have to consider that there is a strong possibility we will have to make 

alternate arrangements for Saturday League play starting in February. It is even possible 

that the schedule for demolition of the fields could be accelerated to as early as August 

of this year, in which case we would have to move out much earlier. 



Your Board of Directors is working on this diligently, trying to avoid any break in the 

Saturday League schedules. If you have some ideas or just want to find out what is 

going on, talk to your Board members. 

DO NOT ENGAGE BOB BILIKAS IN A CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT IS 

HAPPENING OR WHAT MAY HAPPEN. RESPECT HIS PERSONAL PRIVACY! HE 

DOESN’T WANT TO HAVE TO GIVE THE SAME REPORT EACH WEEK 160 

DIFFERENT TIMES. THAT’S WHY WE HAVE A LIASION WITH HIM. 

AND PLEASE DON’T TRY TO MAKE INDEPENDENT CONTACT WITH THE 

MANAGEMENT GROUP AT NASA-AMES. BOB BILIKAS IS OUR LIASION WITH 

THEM, AND I’M SURE THEY DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH OUR INDIVIDUAL 

MEMBERS.

Minutes of the Vintage Softball Club June 5th, 2012 Board Meeting ...

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