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OUR HISTORY 1989 THRU TODAY
On December 25th, 1989, an article ran in he Indianapolis Star to see if there was any interest in forming a new baseball league for men 30-years old and older. The article was written by Dave Garlick, a sportswriter for the Star, at the request of Steve Baertschi, who was interested in starting up a league. From this one article, Steve received more than 100 calls and a great deal of interest. This interest led to the formation of a 9-team league for adult baseball which would be known as the Indianapolis MSBL. Steve became the first president of the Indianapolis MSBL.
From it's inception, the Indianapolis MSBL began to grow as word spread throughout the city that the excitement of competitive adult baseball was available in Indianapolis. Until the 4th season the league had been a strictly 30+ league, and had no members under the age of 30. However, in 1993 the league directors realized that there were several players between the ages of 18-30 who were interested in playing as well. Nationally this was also becoming a trend. The new 18-30 age group was to be known as The Men's Adult Baseball League of Indianapolis (MABL). In 1993 when the MABL first began play in the league it did hot have enough teams to support it's own division. The two leagues played a combined schedule.
In 1994 things really began to develop as several new teams entered the MABL division of the league, and the MSBL league grew to over 10 teams. There was still a combined schedule played between the two divisions. 1995 was the first year that the two divisions split apart and played a completely divisional schedule. Both the MABL and the MSBL were solid enough to stand on their own two feet and play strictly teams at their respective age level.
During both 1996 and 1997 both leagues flourished and continued to grow as the league attracted new members from all edges of Indianapolis as well as the surrounding cities. Some players were driving over an hour to Indianapolis so they could continue to be apart of the league. Of course there was no shortage of players in the Indianapolis area as the popularity of the league grew to new levels. 1997 also marked the first season for a third league in Indianapolis as the MSBL expanded to offer a 40+ league on week nights. In 1997 the Indianapolis MABL/MSBL had eight games that were played at Victory Field the new home of the Indianapolis Indians. This park has been called by many "The best minor league facility in the country".
In 1998 the league boasted 15 MSBL teams, 10 MABL teams, and 3 40+league teams. Total league membership was over 425 members and still rising. This season also marked the beginning of an annual newsletter that was professionally published three times a season and mailed directly to all league members to keep them abreast of all league activities. In addition to the Victory field games, three MSBL teams also played a round robin event at the Home field of the Cincinnati Reds, Cinergy Field.
1999: Our 10th anniversary!
In our 10th anniversary season the league grew to over 550 members making up 14 MSBL teams, 16 MABL teams, and 4 40+ league teams. Not bad for a state that is known as a "Basketball State". Throughout the existence of the MSBL/MABL in Indianapolis the league has always prided itself in the fact that it offers competition for all skill levels. We have everything form ex-professional players to those who hadn't played since Junior High. The one thing that runs throughout veins of every player in the league is a love for the game of baseball. We are looking forward to another excellent season of baseball in Indianapolis. 1999 showcased the leagues first ever MSBL World Series Championship team. The Giants of The MSBL captured the Continental Division World Series Title in November. 1999 also marked the birth of our own league website.
The Indianapolis MSBL/MABL enters the 2000 season with over 560 members playing on 33 total teams, and once again we expect strong competition for it's championship trophies. In the 2000 season Indianapolis will be hosting an MSBL 30+ Regional Tournament over the Labor Day Weekend Holiday. This tournament will showcase the top talent in the 30+ division from around the Midwest. 2000 has also brought with it many changes to our website including a new section on Indiana baseball history. This section was supplied to us thorough our agreement with 3 authors/baseball historians. Be sure to check out the new sections of our site. We look forward to another great season under the sun!
2000: Season Re-cap
The 2000 season marked another successful summer of MSBL/MABL baseball in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis hosted it's first annual Labor Day Regional Tournament. 10 Teams from around the Midwest competed over the Labor Day weekend for the $500 World Series Credit, and to claim the Regional Title. The Detroit Dodgers defeated the Chicago Oaks by a score of 8-5 behind and 8th inning 3-run homer by Marvin Montgomery. On the local Front the Plainfield Patriots captured their second concessive MABL title by defeating the Red Sox in the first ever 2 out of 3 championship series. In the MSBL the Giants captured their 3rd MSBL title in 4 years as they defeated the Arrows 9-0 in the championship game. The 40+ league grew to 4 teams as the Dodgers defeated the Reds for their second league title.
The Indianapolis Giants finished in second place at The MSBL World Series. They moved up a division and competed in the American Division. They lost in the championship Game to the Austin Texans.
Indianapolis continues to be recognized on the national level by many people as on of the best MSBL/MABL leagues in the country. At a 2000 World Series meeting Dan Piro the editor of Hardball Magazine stated that he thought our website was by far the best of any of the leagues. We hope you feel the same way. In 2000 our website had over 58,000 hits. Our site was also the only MSBL site that offered "Same Day" world Series updates from their participating teams (not even the national website was able to provide this!). The 2001 season should be more of the same, a great league and another excellent summer of baseball!
2001: Season Re-cap
2001 marked the 12th successful season for the Indianapolis MSBL/MABL. Two of the three league championships were awarded to traditional powerhouses. The 30+ Giants claimed their second consecutive and 4th league championship in 5 years by defeating the Cardinals, who had the regular season's best record, 14-2 in the playoff championship game. The Giants continued to build upon their tradition of excellence having also obtained a MSBL World Series Championship in Phoenix in 1999.
The Plainfield Patriots won their third consecutive MABL championship by taking two games from the Arrows in the league's three game championship playoff format. This highly competitive, well-rounded group rosters several players who are over the age of 30 and a couple of players in their 50s.
The 40+ Astros obtained their first championship by defeating the Dodgers, who had the regular season's best record. The championship game was one of the league's best games of the year, lasting 12 innings. After escaping a bases-loaded, no out jam in the bottom of the 9th inning, the game was concluded at about midnight with the Astros scoring 3 runs in the top of the 12th inning and holding on for a 6-3 victory.
Indianapolis also hosted its second annual Labor Day Regional tournament hosting 9 teams from the midwest area. The Chicago Giants defeated the Detroit Dodgers, last years tourney champion, 8-3 in the final.
On a tragic note, Indianapolis lost two of its finest players and league stalwarts with the passing of Al Maniero and Julio Campins. Both of these players and fine gentlemen were long time players in the league and they are sadly missed. |
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