The two-hour meeting took place at the MMSL’s version of Independence Hall, room 300 of the Montgomery County Recreation Department, that was the gathering point of the league’s formative “Meeting of the Forefathers” in 1992 — which The Retired One reminded everyone during a quick in-and-out visit.

The setting was appropriate, as Commissioner Rob Terry and MMSL coaches worked through a packed agenda that yielded the most sweeping changes of the league’s new era.

And that era will again feature 24 teams. The Washington Post Express is joining the MMSL this year. The free commuter daily, with a circulation of 190,000 and a growing staff of editors, contributing writers, ad reps and production folks, will be coached by Chris Mincher, who played with Post.com last year and began working with the Commissioner on joining the league in early March.

The MMSL will be rounded out by splitting the WJLA/NewsChannel 8 78ers back into two teams. That idea first gained steam last season, as the 78ers roster ballooned to more than 40 on many game days. Coach Shawn Hoder and his 78ers braintrust had the same idea and contacted the Commissioner early in the new year to hammer out an oversight structure that would guarantee an equitable division of players as well as transparency on roster moves.

New Faces
Additions were needed to the league after NBC News Channel said it wouldn’t be back and Townhall.com was not extended an invitation to play in 2007. These additions also mean the divisions have been realigned in more big changes.

NBC News Channel, which struggled with available bodies last year, has requested at least a year’s hiatus to regroup. Townhall.com, the Web-based news gathering arm of the Heritage Foundation, a think tank, was acquired last summer by a radio conglomerate. The team, comprised primarily of Heritage staffers, asked to play this season under the Heritage.org name, arguing that its Web site constituted just as much of a media platform as some other teams in the league.

The Commissioner disagreed, ruling that the website, while a media platform, is one that promotes its think tank mission, not news gathering.. The Capitalist Tools, bringing an enthusiasm and high level of play to the league not seen by a new team in some time, were clearly disappointed and will be missed.

The former 78ers — who were combined several seasons ago when WJLA and NewsChannel 8 owners Robert Allbritton and family merged both stations into a Rosslyn headquarters — will play under two Allbritton names, the Philibusters and the Vo Sox.

Hoder will serve as a general manager of sorts, overseeing a draft of players — 54 say they want to play this season — and clearing roster moves week to week. He’ll also coordinate with the league office to ensure that absolutely no jumping back and forth between rosters takes place after the draft is held.

Even if it would mean avoiding a forfeit, one Allbritton team will not be borrowing players from the other.

“This is my most important role,” Hoder said. “All roster moves and lineups will go through me every week. A player, once drafted, will not be able to play for the other team. With 14 female players and 40 male players, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Couple that with Commissioner Terry, Solly Award winner Chris Cicatelli, GM Hoder, and coaches Bruce DePuyt and Keith Abernethey working long hours to come to this conclusion, we all feel pretty confident this mixture and formula can be a success for years to come in the MMSL.”

Hoder also said his rosters will be available to coaches of opposing teams should they want to cross-reference any names.

The Safety Base
The biggest rule change of the new season will be the use of a safety base at first base, which coaches passed unanimously. Seen at the regional parks, this is the base — usually painted orange — that’s anchored to the right of the foul line, adjacent to the bag. It’s designed to minimize collisions at first base. Players are instructed to run to the safety base on any play at first; the regular bag is used on any extra-base hits or situations where the base runner makes a turn toward second.

The idea was first floated last season, and generated enough back and forth on the Yak message board that the Commissioner tabled the idea until 2007. Somewhat surprisingly, there was little if any argument against the safety base among coaches and team reps, so the Commissioner played devil’s advocate based on the Yak discussion:

• Using a so-called safety base that’s only held in the ground with a spike, not an anchor, is anything but safe;

• With so many teams doing a less-than-stellar job already measuring, lining up and securing first, second and third base, it would be foolish to add a fourth bag and increase the administrative burden of coaches on Saturday mornings;

• First basemen who know how to play the bag and use proper footwork have no need to worry about collisions.

The prevailing wisdom in the room, however, seemed to be that any measure improving everyone’s chances of going to work on Monday (or Saturday night or Sunday) was a good thing. Use of the safety base passed unanimously in a hands vote.

The Commissioner warned that it will be the responsibility of coaches to measure and secure the bases properly, and ensure that their players know how to use the bag. Additional coordination with our umpires will be needed.

“If this thing’s a disaster after a couple of weeks, we’ll just pull the plug,” the Commissioner said.

The “Chicago” Bat
A topic generating far more debate was the use of the so-called Chicago model wood softball bat. Notable for its bigger barrel, the bat was occasionally tossed by umps the past two seasons and generated a lot of questions.

The barrel is bigger because it’s used in slow-pitch leagues in Greater Chicago, which feature a softer 16-inch ball. Several coaches argued that, rather than be subject to the whims of individual umpires, the Chicago bat should be legal in the MMSL. Others, however, considered the bigger barrel an advantage to the hitter — and a potential safety hazard to pitchers and corner infielders because of our harder COR ball— and wondered why the league would endorse a ruling that ran counter to having uniformity and consistency with equipment.

The debate ultimately hinged on personal wishes — “I just paid $20 for this bat two years ago, and now we’re going to make them illegal?” — and the desire for competitive balance for the league as a whole. Another near-unanimous hands vote deemed the Chicago bats illegal for MMSL play.