League Overview


ENYTB was established in 1996 to foster the growth of youth travel baseball in the eastern region of Upstate New York and adjacent areas. The League has no geographic boundaries per se. Its geographic center is the No. Colonie/Clifton Park, NY area, and stretches as far west as Syracuse and the Utica-Rome area, as far east as Pittsfield MA, as far north as Queensbury, NY and Rutland, VT as far south as Poughkeepsie, NY and as far to the southwest as Binghamton, NY. Teams from Montreal have participated in the League's fall baseball program as well.

Total league membership in 1996 years ago was 8 teams, all in a single age division (14U) and under a single sanctioning body (AABC). A record 187 travel teams participated in the League's 2011 spring/summer league program (3 competitive classifications in 12 age levels with up to four sanctioning choices). We must be doing something right!

One of the key elements of the League's successful growth strategy has been its membership rules, which encourage League participation and growth:

(1) No team in good standing with the League shall be denied entry to the league provided its roster is comprised exclusively of players who did not participate in the League for another League member in the prior year or if they did, their team is not active in the League in the current year, or the player has been "released" by his previous club/team or qualifies as a free agent under any of the League's several exemptions. see ENYTB Constitution, Article XVI

(2) Furthermore, any team, once started in the League, has the right to continue in the League forever, provided it remains in good standing with the League.

To see a timeline of ENYTB's history and record of growth, see League Info > About Us > Timeline

Another key element in the League's successful growth strategy has been its ability to strike a balance between the interests of players and members in the matter of player movement from one club to another. ENYTB's rules have evolved over a decade and a half, and rely almost entirely on "roster protection" as opposed to territory (residency). There are two predominant schools of thought on free agency. One believes that players should be allowed to make a new choice each season (unlimited free agency) while the other believes players should have no say in choosing where they play (ban on all free agency). ENYTB has chosen a path of limited free agency. It believes that total free agency would not provide the stability and continuity required to maintain club programs from year-to-year. At the same time, the opposite extreme where players are limited to playing for one club based solely on their place of residence is unnecessarily rigid, leading to much player dissatisfaction and less overall participation.

ENYTB ROSTER PROTECTION
The League expanded its scope in 2004 by offering an adult baseball program that includes sanctioned play in both the College (22U) and Unlimited Divisions. Many players who graduated from the ENYTB youth program have returned to the League as adult players.

COMPETITIVELY BALANCED PLAY - REGULAR SEASON & POST-SEASON

ENYTB offers a continuous program of competitively balanced travel league play from 9U through Unlimited, with the opportunity to qualify for approximately 100 berths in more than 40 sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS) under four different national sanctioning bodies: AABC (1996); NABF (1999); PONY (2003); and, CABA (2011). ENYTB also hosts numerous tournaments every year, including at least one at every age level. Teams qualify for these berths in two different ways - based on regular season won-lost records (standings) and orderof finish in ENYTB's members only June Madness tournaments. In addition, ENYTB sometimes sponsors its own end-of-season tournaments from mid-July on.

ENYTB teams are classified for regular season play according to their age and overall skill level. The Gold Division provides our most advanced teams a level of competition far superior to that commonly found in league play. The HiSilver Division includes a broader range of teams, including many who can give our gold teams a run for their money on any given day. The LoSilver Division offers teams a lesser but still challenging level of competition.

Depending on registrations, ENYTB will sometimes earmark some of its sanctioned tournament berths to specific skill classifications. This is done so that every ENYTB member team, regardless of its skill level designation, begins the season with a realistic chance for success, including the potential to compete in a sanctioned championship tournament and even possibly a World Series and become a national champion. (All remaining berths, termed "wildcard" berths, are made available based on order of finish in regular season play irrespective of a team's competitive classification.) Beginning in 2011 ENYTB added a new tournament concept, dubbed June Madness. Extra berths in sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series are purchased and awarded based on the results of this tournament alone. All teams that pay the entry fee play in the June Madness tournament. It is a single elimination format but it uses a play-in format where lower ranked teams play each other in the early rounds. Teams are seeded according to the regular season standings prior to the start of the tournament. This format is more fun for all because it produces more competitively balanced games. The urgency of single elimination adds excitement as well. The ENYTB program has produced four consecutive national champions: In summary, regardless of age or ability level, ENYTB offers every member team a first class travel league experience every step of the way from customized online registration and scheduling, to competitively balanced regular season play and abundant opportunities for participation in one or more sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series (NCTS).

Help

  • How Do League Participants Retrieve Their Own Password?

    Lost Password?

    enytb.com allows users to retrieve their own password at any time.

    To retrieve your own password:

    Go to the very top of the home page and click on the [Login] button. In the spawned modal, click [Lost Password?]

    Enter your ENYTB registered email address;

    Click the applicable user ID (if there is more than one).

    The system will instantly email your password to your registered email address.

    NOTE: If you get a message stating that you aren't a registered user, the system is telling you that it does not recognize the email address you have entered i.e., it is not of a valid email address/password pairing. This would happen if you have multiple email address and are entering a different email address from what you are registered under in the system. It could also mean you have typed in your email address incorrectly or that it was originally entered incorrectly to the system. If you believe it to be the latter, please contact your league navigator for assistance. If you don't know who your league navigator is, contact Ed Frye at 518-356-9089.

Custom Scheduling

ENYTB puts you in the driver’s seat in determining when and how much you team plays as well as who you play.
  • Have your schedule include the exact number of games you want week-by-week as well as in total;
  • Have your HOME games scheduled only on the dates/times your home field and team are both available;
  • Have your AWAY games scheduled only on the dates/times your team is available;
  • Automatically eliminate opponents outside your team’s competitive range; and,
  • Top priority given to scheduling games with specific opponents that you designate as most preferred. You can also block specific opponents you prefer not playing.

Schedule Reliability

Schedule reliability is the hallmark of every great league!
  • Teams are required to play all games as scheduled;
  • 100% enforcement via ENYTB website;
  • More than 90% of all ENYTB scheduled games are played as scheduled, excluding cancellations due to bad weather;
  • Games that aren’t played as scheduled (forfeits) can be made up at a later time by mutual agreement to avoid fine;
  • Fines are imposed for un-played or un-scored games;
  • ENYTB guarantees reimbursement for unavoidable out-of-pocket game expenses due to late cancellations.

Tournament Opportunities

Multiple tournaments for all ages!
  • Local tournaments hosted on premium fields, including Joe Bruno Stadium, home to the Tri-City ValleyCats, minor league affiliate of the Houston Astros.
  • Exclusive local tournaments for Members Only: Super 8, Summer Blast, Madness!, and ValleyCats Fall Classic. Each with a 2 game guarantee. Sign up available on team order form.
  • OPEN tournament: Last Man Standing. 3 game guarantee. Last weekend of July. All teams in the Capital District and beyond are welcome to join in this summer finale! Members sign up on team order form. Non-members sign up on-line through tournament menu.
  • Sanctioned National Championship Tournament Series are available to members at all ages via ENYTB affiliates: NABF; PONY; and, AABC. Sign-up available on team order form.

Nine ENYTB Teams Have Won Sanctioned National Championships. Can your team be the 10th?

Interested in Joining?

  • New members are always welcome - ENYTB continues to grow, having reached 225 teams in 2019
  • New teams are allowed to roster up to four players one year older than their team age (pre-2019 teams are grandfathered at five such players); and,
  • New teams are allowed a maximum of four players from active ENYTB teams, provided no more than three of those players are from the same team.
  • Players looking for a travel team to play for can go to Teams Looking for Players or go to Teams Hosting Tryouts.

For more information re: ENYTB membership you may contact ENYTB Executive Director, Andy Frye at (518) 545-0747 or by email at andy@enytb.com.

Interested in Joining?

  • New members are always welcome - ENYTB continues to grow, having reached 225 teams in 2019
  • New teams are allowed to roster up to four players one year older than their team age (pre-2019 teams are grandfathered at five such players); and,
  • New teams are allowed a maximum of four players from active ENYTB teams, provided no more than three of those players are from the same team.

For more information re: ENYTB membership you may contact ENYTB Executive Director, Andy Frye at (518) 545-0747 or by email at andy@enytb.com.