RDBL Preps to Celebrate 10th Season with Potential Rule Challenges to Mull

As we turn the page to the 2023 Season, the Roger Dorn Baseball League will celebrate its 10th Anniversary Season after a decade of success that has included the crowning of eight different champions in nine seasons the play. Established in 2013, the then Danville Aristocrats kicked off the league's inaugural season with the first RDBL Championship while the Spokane Fightin' Fish are the only Franchise with more than one title to their name.

To celebrate the league's run of success, the new "10" RDBL logo will be featured throughout the 2023 season as we as at the top of the RDBL website.

As they do annually, the Roger Dorn Baseball League Commissioner's Office will leverage the next two months to review the landscape of the league while working with the Ownership groups to make any improvements to the rulebook that would benefit the league.

Here is a review of the RDBL Off-Season Schedule as well as some potential rule changes that are currently being reviewed.

November 1st - RDBL Rosters Must be Trimmed to 40

Implemented at the conclusion of the 2021 season, the RDBL Commissioner's Office mandates that all club's can have a maximum of 40 players under contract by November 1st.

RDBL Transactions Frozen Until February 1st

While Front Offices can communicate and finalize details privately, all trades and player movement will be frozen from November 1st to February 1st. This "quiet period" led to significant condensed transactions in February and March last season as well as provided all clubs a shortened schedule to focus on the RDBL.

Monday, March 27th

The 2023 Roger Dorn Baseball League Draft is set for Monday, March 27th at 12:30pm PST.

---

Three Rule Changes Being Discussed for the 2023 Season

The league made positive changes in the 2022 season, pushing the prospect activation date from Period 7 to Period 9, leading to a more aggressive approach to activations by many clubs.

Trades were also frozen from the Keeper Roster Deadline to the completion of Period 1 which was a big positive following the firesale of clubs during the 2021 Auction.

Lastly, the move to add a third season of control to big league players selected in the Reserve Draft was highly regarded by RDBL Front Offices with Miles Mikolas, Michael Conforto, Merrill Kelly and Patrick Sandoval standing out as some of the most likely candidates to see those options exercised in 2024.

With those tweaks in mind, here are three potential adjustments the Commissioner's Office is currently reviewing:

Trade Deadline Adjustment: There seemed to be consensus that the RDBL Trade Deadline was too early in the League Schedule. While we would deal with the repercussions of not matching up with the MLB Trade Deadline, the RDBL Commissioner's Office has proposed moving the deadline up two weeks prior to the MLB Deadline which will typically fall in mid July. The current setup has allowed clubs to ride the line of buying and selling as it falls too late in the RDBL Regular Season.

Addition of 1.0 Points for Holds: The RDBL Commissioner's Office has kept a close eye on player usage trends which have changed greatly over the last 10 seasons. The use and importance of high-leverage relievers and the shrinking pool of true full-time closers has created a potential need to add 1.0 points per hold, adding value to high-end setup men and to relievers on clubs that utilize more of a closer by committee approach. Much like catchers, the league maintains a view that there is a top-tier of closers that are worth a higher price which is evident by $20 and $15 bids to the top two available closers in the 2021 Auction.

FAAB System for Waivers Being Considered: The RDBL moved towards more Front Office control over the weekly roster when clubs were given access to make internal lineup changes two seasons ago. The Commissioner's Office is taking a deep review of the Waiver and Free Agent process with the potential of moving the entire process "online" through CBS while installing a Free Agent bidding system which would allow every club access to the top available talent weekly should they submit the highest bid. The move would also open up teams to more unlimited claims/drops per week.

While more details will be provided as options are reviewed, each club would be provided with a $100 Free Agent Budget which can be used throughout the season for weekly Sunday Waiver Claims. While sticking to the current 40-man roster limits, clubs could submit multiple claims which would be processed overnight Sunday with the highest bid earning the rights to players that received multiple bids.

Feedback over the current manual process and limitations of doing that work on Sunday night as opposed to submitting potential bids days in advance for the upcoming Sunday have led to the option gaining traction.

CHAMPIONS! Stacks Dominate Playoffs to Capture First League Title

The Alamo Short Stacks spent the first four weeks of the RDBL Playoffs trading punches, and often haymakers, with the Spokane Fightin' Fish and Burlingame Blue Ducks as the three Franchises battled for the 2022 RDBL Title. As the final period opened, the Stacks were clinging to a 40.0 point lead with 10 days remaining in the season when their lineup took their production to another level, pushing the club to a 231.5 point margin over the second place Ducks and their first RDBL Championship in League History.

With the delay in the MLB CBA to start the 2022 season, the schedule changes resulted in a 10 day Period 26 which the Stacks took over. In the final period, the Stacks posted a league-high 622.0 points, an average of 62.2 points per day. Their pitching staff was the main story, allowing just 12 earned runs in 81 2/3 innings (1.33 ERA) while Emmanuel Clase, Liam Hendriks and Kenley Jansen combined for 10 saves and 92.0 points over that span.

While the Stacks added the likes of Corbin Burnes, Carlos Rodon and Jacob deGrom, their top three starters for the Playoffs were long-time Stack pitchers Brandon Woodruff, Julio Urias and Logan Gilbert.

The Stacks broke record for Total Playoff Points (2,039.0), breaking the mark 157.5 points previously set by the Mission Viejo Maulers in 2017. The Pitching Staff also set RDBL Records for Team Playoff Pitching Points (994.0), Playoff ERA (2.68), Playoff WHIP (0.96) and Playoff Saves (29).

The offense came to life down the stretch after a rough start to the Playoffs, posting the 7th most Team Hitting points in RDBL History while leading this year's Playoffs. Taylor Ward (105.0 points) locked in his Keeper spot for 2023 while Jeff McNeil (103.5 points) finished on a tear to win the National League Batting Title.

The Stacks became the third team in League History to win the Regular Season and Playoff title, joining the Spokane Fightin' Fish (2016) and Lake Merced Goutfish (2021). Their $3,760 in career earnings continues to rank second behind the Spokane Fightin' Fish, while their fourth division title and seventh cash finish both are tied for RDBL Records.

The Stacks will return much of their core for 2023 with hopes of being the first Franchise to win back-to-back RDBL Championships as the league celebrates its 10th anniversary.

The parade down Danville Blvd. is scheduled for Friday evening at 6pm starting at Norm's. For more information, contact the Alamo Short Stacks Front Office.

Executive of the Year: Greg Shelley, Stacks

For the second time in four seasons, Alamo Short Stacks President of Baseball Operations Greg Shelley has been named the Roger Dorn Baseball League's Executive of the Year. The Stacks captured their second RDBL Regular Season Title in 2022 while significant upgrades to the roster in June and July have club positioned to capture their first RDBL Title while shattering the record for most team points and pitching points in the Playoffs.

The Stacks were expected to be a contender in 2022, but took a firm hold of the top spot in the standings early in the season. That lead held strong until the club felt the heat from the Maltese Falcons and Spokane Fightin' Fish who each took hold of the lead themselves at points in June and July.

That sparked Shelley to pull off a pair of blockbuster deals with the Cloverdale Clovers and Honolulu Hammerheads to acquire Jacob deGrom, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Rafael Devers, Corbin Burnes, Carlos Rodon, Ryan McMahon, Bryon Buxton, Yoan Moncada and Luis Garcia.

While those names certainly stole the show, the Stacks heavily relied on their own activations mightily as Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. followed up his Hitter of the Year Award in 2021 with another strong campaign. The pitching staff was led by Julio Urias who has quietly posted more than 1,100 points over his first two seasons for the Stacks for a combined $4 while Logan Gilbert eclipsed 450 points in his activation season. After a shaky start, Brandon Woodruff returned to ace level with a 2.35 ERA after May 15th further strengthening the unit.

Shelley heavily invested in the club's bullpen and it paid off with the trio of Emmanuel Clase, Kenley Jansen and Liam Hendricks combining for almost 1,000 points and 117 saves with Clase earning the Reliever of the Year honors with 414.0 points entering the final three days of play. The three closers came up clutch when the Stacks needed them most, posting 80.0 points and eight saves combined over the last seven days to help grow the Playoff lead.

The Auction paid off nicely as well for Shelley as high-priced acquisition Manny Machado is firmly in the mix for the National League MVP Award while Jeff McNeil's $7 investment proved to be a steal as he fights for the National League Batting Title.

While the Stacks certainly pushed their chips in for 2022, the Amateur Scouting Department certainly deserves praise as the standout prospects used in their blockbuster deals were drafted in the 2nd Round (Marco Luciano), 3rd Round (Quinn Priester), 4th Round (Robert Hassell III) and 7th Round (Andrew Painter), allowing the club to retain expected 2023 activations Corbin Carroll, MacKenzie Gore and Miguel Vargas.

Shelley joins Ryan Atkinson (2014, 2021) and Jason Watson (2015, 2017) as two-time Executive of the Year winners with Terry Shelley, Michael Tirabassi and Nick Holz each winning the award once.

Honorable Mention: Gary Falzon (Falcons), Michael Tirabassi (Fish), Chris Ferraro, Jr. (Maulers), Garrett Shelley (Hops), Ryan Walsh (Ducks)