La Mirada Baseball Association

1. What is All Stars?
All Star play happens after our regular season has ended. The most talented players in each division are chosen for the teams to continue playing games against other PONY leagues in a quest to make it to the PONY World Series.

2. Is my child eligible for All Stars?
Every child Shetland through Pony is eligible for All Stars unless they live outside the PONY designated boundaries, have disciplinary issues or committment issues from a previous season.

3. How many children are on an All Star team?
PONY rules state that a team can be no more than 15 players and no less than 12. Most LMBA teams take on 12 players.

 4. How are players selected?
If your manager feels your child has the ability to compete at the All Star level he may ask you to fill out an "All Star Committment Form" which can be found in the documents section of our website. Some managers forget to ask so, if you feel your child has the ability you may complete the form on your own and give it to your manager.

After mangers collect the Committment forms they attend the All Star vote meeting. This meeting generally takes place after division championship games are played. At the meeting each manager will write his/her available & eligible players on the board. After each manager has written thier players on the board they are given a sheet of paper with the desending numbers15 to 1 written on it. The managers are asked to place the top 15 players next to each number with 15 being the best. After all of the mangers have completed thier votes the totals of all sheets are calculated.

In the case of a 12 player team the top 9 players are automatically placed on the All Star team. The remaining 3 players are the choice of the All Star manager and no more than 2 of those choices may be from his original regular season team.

5. I filled out a committment form and I feel my child is good enough for an All Star team. Why was my child not selected?
LMBA only had one All Star team per division in 2008. This likely means that there were only 9-12 players voted onto the team among all of those available. Perhaps your child was the 10th best in his division as ranked by the managers. This would be enough to exclude your child from the team. It doesn't mean your child isn't among the best. It simply means the league doesn't have enough space for all of the best.

6. My child was voted onto the All Star team for his/her division, what's next?
If your child was voted onto an All Star team you have most likely received a call from the manager of the team. Your manager is going to need your immediate cooperation putting some items together. Your manager will need the following documents ASAP; birth certificate & utiliy bill. The manager will also need a photo of your child and may elect to do those collectively with the team.

You will be required to participate in fundraising for All Stars. Typically our fundraising is done by operating a fireworks booth in the city from June 30th through July 4th. You should expect to work a few 3-4 hour shifts for your team.

You may also do additional fundraising as a team including obtaining team sponsors. Your team keeps 100% of team sponsor funds.

7. Why do we have to fundraise. Can't the league just pay for All Stars?
All Stars is both an honor and an opportunity to continue playing among the best. However, the league's primary responsibility is to its recreational player base. Since it is not every parent's or player's intention to be an All Star it should therefore not be funded with general league monies. All Stars is treated as a seperate entity playing a seperate season and is funded seperately. Generally it cost approximately $1,400 to $2,000 to outfit and enter a team into All Star play.

8. When does All Star playing start?
Generally after the Championship games are completed in your division the All Star team is formed. Typically the manager will want to get started right away with practices. You should expect to practice far more than your regular season team. Your manager will also schedule Pre-All Star tournaments for your team. Typically the first tournament is a "Father's Day Tournament" or during the last 2 weeks of June. PONY Sanctioned tournaments typically start the first week of July.

9. When does All Star playing end?
If your team continues winning they could play through August.

10. What if we can't fullfill our commitment to the team?
It may affect your child's ability to be voted onto future All Star teams.

11. Does my behavior as a parent affect my child's ability to make an All Star team?
Most of us believe a child's ability should be weighed on its own and parent behavior shouldn't be a factor in voting. The reality is, you are dealing with human beings and everything you do or say will have an affect on thier decission process. Managers may feel a child would be an asset to the team but the parent(s) are difficult to deal with, try to tell a manger how to coach the team, or constantly complain about one thing or another.

12. My child isn't getting as much playing time as I feel they should. What can I do?
All Star teams are structured as the manager feels is in the best interest of the team. Your child may not play as often as they did on thier regular season team.