So, in DC, there are a myriad of softball leagues for which you can play and they all have tournaments. For the purposes of this exercise, I've selected six leagues/tournaments that I have played in or seen and will compare them in a bracket style tournament of their own. The scoring will depend on three categories: talent level, organization, extra credit.The Bracket:
3. Mid Town
v.
6. National Confederation of State Society Tournament
4. Senate Softball League
v.
5. Congressional Softball League
Byes: House Softball League and Arlington Men's League
Round 1
Mid Town v. NCSS - The Mid Town softball league is one I've only seen part of but I happen to know a ton of people who play in it. I think the highlight of this tournament isn't necessarily the talent level of the league, though it tends to be very high, but the free food and beer. I mean, it's hard to top that. Plus the seeding is based on tangible records and quantifiable data. It gets 8 out of 10 for talent, 9 out of 10 for organization and 10 out of 10 for extra credit (i.e. food and beer).
The NCSS in fairness is only a year old, but if it wants to live to see its second birthday, it needs a serious overhaul. It lacks coherent organization, clear cut guidelines, defined rules, and most of all, talent and participation. It checks in with a score of 4 out of 10 for talent, 1 out of 10 for organization, but you get free coffee, water and donuts so it scores a healthy 7 out of 10 for extra credit.
The Result: Mid Town wins 27-12 in a route.
Senate League v. Congressional League - The Senate League is mostly an organized ringer-fest with bizarre rules. For instance, you can't play for two different teams during the regular season for fear of being Pete Rosed from the league, but there's no rule on games played for your playoff team, and the lack of organization regularly allows teams to submit tourney rosters as late as Tuesday before the tournament. On top of this, along with it's opponent in this match up, the SL is one of THE WORST offenders for stacked seeding. Using no coherent principle, the league simply picks who they want in what bracket and frequently stacks up power houses in the same bracket. They provide some water I believe, but outside of that do little to earn extra credit and the talent level generally falls to one or two good teams and three or five other ringer laden teams. It gets a 6 out of 10 for talent, 2 out of 10 for organization and 4 out of 10 for extra credit.
The CSL might be the worst offender when it comes to gerrymandering seeds and brackets. The league commissioner is a joke and his blatant rigging of the tournament was the catalyst that prompted the formation of the House Softball League. The tourney regularly lumps the good teams in one bracket and the bad teams in another (including the commissioners team) and the overall talent level to begin with is lacking. The CSL gets a 3 of 10 for talent, 2 of 10 for organization and a 0-10 for extra credit.
The Result: Senate League 12, CSL 5 in a low-scoring, pathetic affair.
ROUND 2
Mid Town v. House League - The House league earned the #2 seed based on a storied history of success and participation. With 48 teams taking part every year, the HSL has rapidly gained traction since it's inception in 2006. That said, there is still a lot left to do. The large field of teams makes it a single elimination tournament, but the 16 first round byes do tend to give teams a fair shot at winning at least one game. The rules are in place to make bringing ringers illegal, but the enforcement is lacking without serious overhaul. The one thing it does well is notify people well in advance of the brackets and the seeding is the most intricate with an actual RPI. The talent level is some of the best coed ball you'll see around when you get into the later rounds. The HSL gets a 8 out of 10 for organization, 9 out of 10 for talent, and a 5 out of 10 for extra credit (you get T-shirt for the Sweet 16 and there's at least one great meltdown every year).
The Result: Mid Town checks in with it's 27 and tops the House Leagues 22 to advance to the Finals.
Senate League v. Arlington Men's League - This is a bit unfair because it is a men's league, but the Arlington leagues are run extremely well. It's a perfect blend of simple best record seeding and double elimination. The talent level is hard to compare to a coed league, but for the most part it's pretty darn good for men's leagues, plus there are varying levels of competition which further elevates it's organizational structure. It has an added advantage of being funded by a city, and it does cost a lot more. It gets a 9 out of 10 for talent, 10 out 10 for organization, and a 4 out of 10 for extra credit (big ass trophy but not much else).
The Result: Arlington Men's League checks in with a stout 23 to topple the Senate Leagues 12.
CHAMPIONSHIP
The Arlington Men's league edged the Mid Town league in talent, 9-8 and organization 10-9. But when it came to extra credit, the cost levels of men's league, and the lack of free food and beer led to a route in favor of Mid Town, 10-4.
The Result: Mid-Town pulls away 27-23 with a late rally.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPS: Mid Town Tournament
