Remember when you were a youngster? You’d head up to a park, pick captains, choose you favorite players, and then play ball until it was too dark to see. It was sandlot style baseball and usually ended when you started Little League. After Little League, however, unless you were good enough to play at an advanced level, baseball ended for most. From then on, your only option was to play softball. Softball is fun, but it’s just not the same for some people.
Matt Veto and a small group of friends addressed that problem with a unique league developed in 1998. It started as a hit around session between 7 or 8 guys. That small group of friends didn’t want to stop playing baseball. Instead of quitting, they got on the phone and called more friends out to the yard. By 2002, over 60 different people played in what was soon dubbed Veto League Baseball. By 2003 over 100 had played. Today, the VLB class is reaching towards 200 participants.
A typical Veto League ballplayer watched baseball on TV, from the stands or from the bench. They played out their time in Little League and weren’t the stars of their high school team. There are even a few that hadn’t picked up a bat in over 10 years, but they don’t care. It’s about the love of a game, a tradition.
Veto League Baseball is backyard baseball in a pure sense. It’s looking for the high school or college standout. Those guys had their time in the limelight. It’s looking for those that always wanted to play, but never got the chance, or were too shy because they never felt they were good enough. Everyone that plays in the VLB can hit the baseball. Pitches come in at batting practice speeds from behind an L-Screen. The catcher isn’t suited up in catcher’s gear. Instead a player stands off to the side of home plate to take throws. Other than that, it’s just a regular game of baseball. Scores are generally high, but several defensive battles have developed over the years.
For the second year, Veto League Baseball will play under the lights, in front of fans. Last year over 70 parents, friends, and others showed up to see exactly what the VLB was all about. It was a chance for these players to hear their name introduced on the PA, hear the crowd cheer on contact; a time to feel a tiny glimpse of what it would have been like to be on the field with the players they watched on TV or in the stands. They play for the love of the game. To learn more about Veto League Baseball, to find stats, stories and other info, look around this website. It’s all about fun.
This year, Veto League Baseball is encouraging anyone that might find the concept of the league interesting, or anyone that might like to play, to come out to the night game showcase on Sunday, July 31st at 7:00 p.m. This year, the night game showcase will be played for charity. The VLB asks that you support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation with a suggested donation at the gate or whatever you can afford to help find a cure. Juvenile diabetes is an insidious disease that needs to be eradicated. Proper diet and blood sugar regulation through constant finger pricks and insulin shots are always a concern for those afflicted. But sometimes even proper treatment does not fully safeguard a diabetic from painful complications ranging from retinopathy that leads to blindness, to neuropathy nerve damage that can lead to amputations. So in raising awareness of our league, we want to raise awareness of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation that constantly helps raise money for researching better treatments, and hopefully, someday, a cure. For further information on JDRF and their efforts, please visit www.JDRF.org.
Matt Veto and a small group of friends addressed that problem with a unique league developed in 1998. It started as a hit around session between 7 or 8 guys. That small group of friends didn’t want to stop playing baseball. Instead of quitting, they got on the phone and called more friends out to the yard. By 2002, over 60 different people played in what was soon dubbed Veto League Baseball. By 2003 over 100 had played. Today, the VLB class is reaching towards 200 participants.
A typical Veto League ballplayer watched baseball on TV, from the stands or from the bench. They played out their time in Little League and weren’t the stars of their high school team. There are even a few that hadn’t picked up a bat in over 10 years, but they don’t care. It’s about the love of a game, a tradition.
Veto League Baseball is backyard baseball in a pure sense. It’s looking for the high school or college standout. Those guys had their time in the limelight. It’s looking for those that always wanted to play, but never got the chance, or were too shy because they never felt they were good enough. Everyone that plays in the VLB can hit the baseball. Pitches come in at batting practice speeds from behind an L-Screen. The catcher isn’t suited up in catcher’s gear. Instead a player stands off to the side of home plate to take throws. Other than that, it’s just a regular game of baseball. Scores are generally high, but several defensive battles have developed over the years.
For the second year, Veto League Baseball will play under the lights, in front of fans. Last year over 70 parents, friends, and others showed up to see exactly what the VLB was all about. It was a chance for these players to hear their name introduced on the PA, hear the crowd cheer on contact; a time to feel a tiny glimpse of what it would have been like to be on the field with the players they watched on TV or in the stands. They play for the love of the game. To learn more about Veto League Baseball, to find stats, stories and other info, look around this website. It’s all about fun.
This year, Veto League Baseball is encouraging anyone that might find the concept of the league interesting, or anyone that might like to play, to come out to the night game showcase on Sunday, July 31st at 7:00 p.m. This year, the night game showcase will be played for charity. The VLB asks that you support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation with a suggested donation at the gate or whatever you can afford to help find a cure. Juvenile diabetes is an insidious disease that needs to be eradicated. Proper diet and blood sugar regulation through constant finger pricks and insulin shots are always a concern for those afflicted. But sometimes even proper treatment does not fully safeguard a diabetic from painful complications ranging from retinopathy that leads to blindness, to neuropathy nerve damage that can lead to amputations. So in raising awareness of our league, we want to raise awareness of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation that constantly helps raise money for researching better treatments, and hopefully, someday, a cure. For further information on JDRF and their efforts, please visit www.JDRF.org.