New League News and Work Visa Update

I’ve spent the last week planning my attack to bombard various teams and leagues with phone calls and emails imploring the respective organizations to give me a chance to show what I can do on a pitching mound.

I figured no one wanted to be interrupted during the Christmas season and I assumed that planning and tryout logistics wouldn’t be completely unveiled until early 2011. Starting next week, the restrictor plates are off and my cell phone bill is about to skyrocket with a plethora of calls to the United States.

There have been a few changes to the roster of leagues I last discussed in my Where/How column. The Frontier League (still my top choice) and the Atlantic League remain unchanged, but the Golden Baseball League and the Northern League have disbanded.

All of the GBL teams are still in tact, but they are combining with four former Northern League teams, as well as the United League (an independent league of seemingly questionable origins based in Texas), to form a new venture called the North American League. The remaining Northern League teams have joined the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

This seismic shift in the independent baseball landscape took place over a month ago, but there are still no new details on the fledgling North American League, which is a tad disconcerting, especially since I need to start planning my tryout schedule early in the new year. For that reason, I think the Golden Baseball League and the four Northern League teams comprising the new North American League are my peripheral radar for the time being.

I also received some information from one of my contacts in regards to a work visa so I can play ball in the United States legally (the last thing I want to do is create an international incident and have Nancy Grace shriek at me from a state penitentiary). Apparently, maneuvering around the red tape in the visa application process falls under the team’s jurisdiction as does paying for it (the cost hovers around $1000).

This can be construed as both good and bad news. It’s good from the perspective that I don’t have to deal with it, but bad from the perspective that I will have to perform that much better than my American peers to warrant a visa.

There’s no incentive for a team in a league where profit margins are already razor-thin (or non-existent) to choose me over an American citizen of equal talent. Why go through the headaches and financial cost of a visa when you can just as easily pick a home-grown player?

If it comes to that, I suppose I could always offer to defray the cost of the visa if it means garnering a spot on the team. It’s a big financial hit, but ultimately worth it if it means the culmination of this journey ends on a positive note. However, I also don’t want to seem too eager, have a team walk all over me, and end up low-balling me for my services this summer (not that my ball is very high to begin with).

‘I don’t want to seem too eager’? Jesus, listen to me. I sound like a nervous high schooler terrified to approach the captain of the cheerleading team and ask her out on a date. I have to play it cool, make my intentions known, but also ensure that I’m not being played for a fool.

Wow, I am putting way too much thought into this. Over-thinking can only hurt me in this quest.

Nevertheless, because of the visa issue, I’ve decided to add two leagues to my search: the American Association and the Cam-Am League. The reason is that both leagues contain a franchise in Canada (Winnipeg and Quebec City respectively).

This is an assumption, but I think it would be easier to catch on with a Canadian team than one based in the States. I could be wrong, but this is what I plan on discovering in the coming weeks.

Happy New Year and all the best in 2011!