East Hampton Little League Starting Its First-Ever Fall League

“More baseball is better baseball.” That’s what David Rutkowski said when District 36 offered to help out any of the Little Leagues within its ranks that wanted to have a fall league.

District 36 encompasses all organizations affiliated with Little League east of Route 112. Rutkowski, a board member of East Hampton Little League, was the representative at a recent district meeting, and has taken the lead on East Hampton Little League’s upcoming fall league, which is thought to be its first ever.

The league will comprise eight baseball teams and six softball teams, with each team playing two games per week, one during the week and one on Saturdays. There will be 10-and-under and 12-and-under divisions for both baseball and softball, with opening day being played on Saturday, September 9.

The season will be expected to wrap up toward the end of October, although Rutkowski did say there is a week or two built into the schedule for makeup games, which also presents the opportunity for extra games if there isn’t a need for makeups. Most of the games will be played at the brand new turf fields at the Stephen Hands Path Recreational Facility in Wainscott.

While scores won’t be kept during games, and there won’t be standings or playoffs, Rutkowski wants coaches to give opportunities to everyone and maybe even more so for the kids who don’t play as much during the spring.

“It’s just for the kids to go out there and play just for the sake of playing the game,” he said. “We would like to encourage our coaches to give kids who never get a chance to pitch to give them a chance and give them an opportunity to learn the game.”

Some may think that playing baseball in the fall, especially for those who play in both the spring and the summer, could lead to burnout for some kids. Rutkowski feels that this league is specifically for kids who love the game and to just get more reps and learn more about it.

“It’s not about winning and playing your best player the whole time,” he said. “The best player can learn how to sit and maybe the kid who only plays three innings can go out there and play five or six innings a game.”

Rutkowski said that while registration has officially ended, they are still looking for a few more players to help fill out the rosters for each team to try and get around 12 to 13 players per team. East Hampton Little League has also had trouble finding umpires the past few years, but Rutkowski feels that this is another opportunity for people to give umpiring a try given that the league is so casual and takes some of the pressure off of the umpires.

“We’re always on the lookout for umpires,” he said. “Because it’s so laid back, I hope we can attract some people who have never umpired for us to give it a shot.”

Speaking from Cooperstown, where his son Colin Grisch was playing in a tournament with his travel team, the Titans, on August 14, East Hampton Little League President John Grisch said he thought it was great that the league could start fall play.

“It’s a great thing to keep people interested in baseball and it keeps the kids busy,” he said. “It should be a fun league.”

Anyone interested in signing up their child or umpiring can email easthamptonlittleleague@gmail.com.