Cal Ripken Baseball League Proposed For N. Caldwell, West Essex

CALDWELLS, NJ — It’s a classic sandlot dilemma: getting enough players together to have a baseball game.

A group of community members in the West Essex area – North Caldwell, Essex Fells, Fairfield and Roseland – are trying to revive the youth baseball experience in their communities. Their proposal? Merge the existing recreational baseball/softball leagues from each community into a “West Essex Cal Ripken Baseball & Softball League.”

North Caldwell residents Anthony De Stefano and John Michalski recently reached out to Patch with more details about the group’s suggestion, which was discussed at a public meeting at North Caldwell Borough Hall on Jan. 8.

“The consensus of the group attending the meeting was that a West Essex Cal Ripken Baseball & Softball League charter should be created immediately. Since the West Essex recreational baseball/softball leagues already rely on each other to pull together enough players and teams for games at each level, it would not be a major transition to formally combine the communities’ recreational leagues into one chartered West Essex Cal Ripken Baseball & Softball League, and could be done so at a nominal expense.”

According to De Stefano and Michalski, the benefits of the charter would include:

• “Preserving the existing municipal Recreation Baseball/Softball Departments so that youth baseball and softball remain community based and open to players of all skill levels”
• “Enhancing the existing municipal Recreation Baseball/Softball Departments by providing an opportunity for more advanced players to continue on after the regular season and participate in the Cal Ripken district tournaments (in fact, two district teams can be formed at each level, allowing more players to participate in tournament play)”
• “Creating an opportunity for children from the West Essex communities to interact at an earlier age to ease the transition into the West Essex Regional School District.”

Here’s what would need to happen in order to start the new league, De Stefano and Michalski said.

“To facilitate the opening of the West Essex Cal Ripken Baseball & Softball League charter, a Board of Directors must first be created. The Board will have to be comprised of at least one resident from each town. It is imperative that parents from each town step up as leaders in their communities to help organize and get the League off the ground. Once elected, the Board of Directors will need to work closely with their respective community Recreation Directors & Council Members. A Rules and Fairness Committee also needs to be created, to oversee the rules applicable to the games, the drafting of teams, and the selection of players for the district tournaments (Cal Ripken does provide a rules book that can be modified as the community sees fit).”

For those interested in forming the new league, a meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the North Caldwell Borough Hall at 141 Gould Avenue. Anyone interested in more information regarding the League, in volunteering for a position on the Board of Directors, or participating in a discussion regarding the formation of the Charter and the Rules and Fairness Committee should attend.

Those that are interested in more information or volunteering but are unable to attend the meeting can contact Anthony De Stefano at Anthony@Emergent365.com.

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