Guide to Being a Captain
What It Takes to be a Great Captain
- First off, we ask our captains to be intimately familiar with the league rules. Captains should be the ones to settle any disputes about calls during play.
- Whiteboards & markers will be provided to Team Captains to post your lineup and keep score.
- Captains do not pick teams in Riverdale Sandlot, but they keep the games moving at a quick pace.
- Your team will likely have 12 or 13 players. 10 players will play in the field at a time. That means you will have two or three players sitting on the bench each inning.
- The goal is for the first games of the evening to begin around 5:45pm. Captains should be able to arrive at Seton Park by 5:30pm at the latest.
- Your lineup should be set before 5:45pm. Where each player will play in the field for the first inning, should also be decided before 5:45pm.
- Find the other team captain to do rock-paper-scissors to determine who is the home team before 5:45pm as well. That way you can get started on time.
- Players may arrive late, but if both teams have at least 9 players present, captains should begin play. Late players can be slotted in as they arrive.
- If both teams are ready and have enough players to begin before 5:45pm, go ahead and start whenever you’re ready. The earlier you can start, the better. There are no lights at Seton Park and the sun doesn’t stay up forever.
- A stellar captain may consider creating a lineup grid like the example below before even arriving to the field. This will make your life a lot easier during the games.
If you don’t make a grid ahead of time, you should be thinking about who will sit out each inning as soon as your team comes to bat. Once your team makes the third out in the field, and you head back to the dugout, begin assigning players positions and decide who will be on the bench for the next half inning. That way, when your team makes the third out when batting, players can immediately take the field and everyone knows exactly where to go. If you wait to assign positions until after your team makes their third out while batting, you will slow the game down significantly. So please plan ahead.
Many captains just go in order of the lineup to determine who sits. (Batters 1,2,3 in the lineup sit the first inning, batters 4,5,6 sit the second inning, 7,8,9 sit the third inning and so on and so forth)
Please make sure every single player, including yourself and your pitcher, sit at least once, before having people sit on the bench a second time.
Please be in constant communication with the opposing captain about the score and the inning. After each half inning, confirm with the opposing captain how many runs were scored and what inning it is so everyone is on the same page.
Lastly, be prepared to think quickly and adjust on the fly. Sometimes players show up late or not at all. Sometimes a player needs to leave in the middle of a game or after the first game. In these instances, you may have to alter your lineup at a moment’s notice.