New A division lets more teams play in NAFA
By Brian Rosenthal-The Hutchinson News

"Our first game was against Seattle," said Mike Ryan, a pitcher for the Los Alamos Nighthawks.

And yes, he was referring to the home of Ken Griffey Jr.

"They've got 2½ million people to choose from," Ryan said.

The Nighthawks, playing in 1996 in Class AA, lost 7-5 to that Seattle team. But this year Ryan's team is in Class A - a new division for younger or smaller teams in the NAFA World Series, which began Wednesday in Hutchinson.

"I'm very for it," said Ryan, who is also assistant director for NAFA in New Mexico. "In New Mexico, fastpitch is kind of not as popular as slowpitch, so a lot of the teams don't have the depth, like a team from Seattle might have."

Rudy Thoman, NAFA director from Indiana, said the Class A was formed for the increasing number of lower-level teams.

"They've been discussing it for a couple of years, and they wanted to try it and see what happens," Thoman said. "My judgment is, they're probably going to continue it. It gives those teams who've never played in a world tournament an opportunity to do that."

The new class has also increased the number of teams at the NAFA World Series. Of the 125 teams entered, 48 are in Class A. Last year's tournament drew 102 teams to Fargo, N.D.

"It's good for the sport," said Steve Capelli of the Blackhawks. "Competition wise, it breaks it down."

Los Alamos first baseman Scott Lewis said he's happy so far.

"I'd have to wait until after the tournament to see how things go, but the more teams you can get involved, the better off you are," he said.

Todd Baber, center fielder for the Snookers of Galena, Ill., said his team played in Class AA two years ago in Hutchinson, but has been rebuilding some since then. Nine of the team's 15 players didn't play in 1996.

"These are a lot younger guys, too," Baber said. "I'm one of the older ones, and I'm 33.

He said the new class gives the younger Snooker team a chance to still compete nationally.

"We're not quite the caliber of team we were a couple of years ago," Baber said. "A lot of these guys, it's their first national tournament of any kind - ASA, NAFA, ISC or any of those."

But the new class isn't without potential flaws, Baber said.

"I think it's a good idea. But the problem is see with it is that teams that do well one year to the next - just at the national level - ought to move up," Baber said. "Maybe teams like the top five. It seems like a lot of times teams that do well at nationals come straight back to the same division. A lot of teams are afraid to move up a classification just so they can stay at a successful level."

If Snookers has a successful run in this year's tournament, would it move up to Class AA next year?

"Oh, we definitely would," Baber said. "I'm sure our local commissioner would want us to - and make us."

Ryan said he wasn't concerned about successful teams sticking around in the same division.

"I'm just concerned about a team that's from like Dallas or New York City, where they have several million people to choose from and a big league that's very competitive," Ryan said. "We play in a league with four teams. It's a struggle for us to keep our team alive and be competitive at this level."

When the Nighthawks came to Hutchinson in 1996, it was by invitation. This year, they had to qualify in a regional tournament.

"When we entered the tournament, we had a choice to go either single-A or double-A, and we thought we'd have a better chance in the single-A division," Ryan said. "And we were still playing teams from like Amarillo, which is 10 times as big as the town we're from."

So will the new class be a success?

"It's already a success," Ryan said. "I mean, teams like us can be in this tournament."

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