LL Draft question

[obbay]

In our LL there is a "sister rule" where if you have(or pick) one sister on your team, you have to have the other sister as well.

This year in the draft there will be twin sisters who are both excellent, 1st round pick-type players. The team that gets the first twin will get them both. my concern is that it gives the team an unfair advantage in that they get two 1st round picks for the price of a 1st and 2nd round pick.

I'm trying to think of a fair way to adjust for this. the only thing I can come up with is that when they get two in the 1st round that maybe they should give up 2nd and 3rd round picks. getting these two girls at the cost of 3 picks is still a deal.

just wondering if anyone out there has dealt with this or similar situation before and how was it handled?

 

[SoftSocDad]

Epic focus on the wrong thing.

No matter how much you put into trying to make everything equal, they are not. In any league, whether you have carryover teams or a re-draft every year, there are always going to be the haves and the have-nots. That's a fact of life that you cannot just wish away. If you don't like the outcome of your rule, make a new rule.

So, this team starts the season with two great players. What - exactly - is stopping the rest of the teams from developing their talent throughout the season?

 

[quincy]

Our League does an auction. You get 2000 points for every opening on your Team. So in our League you would bid 8000 points and get both girls. I have been involved in a few different types of drafts but like the auction method the best.

 

[starsnuffer]

It's rec ball. Do you really expect the parent to be able to drop the kids off at two different practices and two different games, attend two different coaches/parent meetings ect at the same time?

I'm on the board of our league, and I can attest that we spent a significant amount of time during our November rules committee meetings refining and clarifying draft rules. The best thing you can do is make sure that your league follows the rules as written, and if you don't like the rules, participate in their creation during the appointed time (which is never during the draft/season).

-W

 

[nanotech14]

I'am sorry to say , but most LL programs are for some, more about the social aspect and fun than about winning. I have coached many teams with only 2 or 3 really great players on the team and still had success winning games , and the girls still had lots of fun and kept it a social event for the girls that are there to have fun with their friends. Who knows if you teach them the game. You might find that diamond in the rough . Well thats my take on it .

 

[obbay]

Just to clarify- I don't think there's anything wrong with the "sister rule" and I don't need them on my team. imagine two Jennie Finches, one pitches and one catches and both hit like Crystl Bustos. what is a fair way to address the pick when you have 2 1st round picks in one shot? I want the talent spread out as evenly as we can.

As far as training them goes, I like to think we'll be teaching our girls more than most.
in this league, the coaches are out to win (and most of them don't really have a clue). I want our girls to do well, hold their own and if we show some real improvement and have fun in the process, then the season was a success. two years ago our U10 team went to the championship and lost. you would never know it when the game was over. in fact the other team was a bit put out after the game because our girls were having so much fun!
"They lost!!?? what are they celebrating for??" it was a great season, we played a good game and we had fun together, that's why!

 

[KevinC]

The sister rule makes a lot of sense and there is a downside to picking sisters - both might miss some of the same games due to a vacation or a class trip.

In our rec league players who want to return to last spring's team can do so and are not included in the draft. All players are evaluated by the coaches just before the season and the scores are combined to rank the players. The ranked list is split up into "rounds". On draft day the teams that already have a "1st round pick" returning to their team don't get a 1st round pick. This system allows the teams with less talent returning to pick up the more talented girls and tends to even out the talent. We also have a provision to allow teams with no decent pitchers returning to pick one up in the 1st round. No system is perfect but I think this one works pretty well.

For example last year I had 6 girls returning to my team and they were all ranked in the 6th round or higher so I did not get a draft pick until the 7th round.

I wouldn't penalize a team for getting two talented sisters if you have some system in place to allow the teams with less talent first shot at them.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Have tryouts and rank the players on a 0 - 10 point system. If you have 50 players and 5 teams, you pick players in 5 rounds of 10 players each. You draw numbers to decide with manager picks first in the 1st round, number 2 picks second in the first round, etc.. The team with the most points (with the best player in the draft) after the 1st round picks last. In your scenario, the manager who picked the better sister, will also get sister #2 in the second round by default. In the third round, that manager will have to pick last (i.e. a late 3rd rounder) based on cumulative points. I recently attended a draft where a manager went to a 3rd round player as his first pick in the first round. The reason he did this was a) she was an underated player; and b)he was almost guaranteed to have the first pick in the second and third rounds based on the cumulative point system. I understand your concern with one team getting two good players in the first round, but there is also some draft strategy involved and the best players may not necessarily be in the 1st round. We also have a rule that the team(s) with the most points have to take the extra player(s), at the end of the draft i.e. 11 players instead of 10 since on paper they have the better team.

The bottom line is that some teams will always have some players that are better than other teams' players, the big difference maker is how good are you at evaluating players for your team and how well prepared will you get your team for league play?

 

[obbay]

yeah, I don't want to overhaul the whole system (they wouldn't go for it anyway, no one likes change) so I guess I'll just let the chips land where they may. thanks for the advice.

 

[shockcoach]

Our local LL has the brother/sister option. When the 1st sibling is taken, the 2nd one has to be taken within the next two draft choices. The player agent is the one who enforces this rule. Coaches kids, in minors only, have to be taken in the first 3 draft choices.

Good luck