Bucks need help to come back, will fold without volunteers

The future of the Shelter Island Bucks, the Island’s franchise in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League (HCBL), is in jeopardy, according to members of the Bucks management team.

A press release from the team’s management committee this week stated: “The league needs a commitment — ASAP — that we can field a team of local volunteers sufficient to support the college ballplayers headed our way in June … To be blunt, without some new volunteers, the team will fold.”

A part of Shelter Island’s summers for seven years, the Bucks have provided competitive and entertaining free-of-charge baseball in a pleasant, small town setting.

The team has had success, drawing good crowds to Fiske Field, while putting on the field last season’s league-leading home run hitter. In the summer of 2015, the Island boys racked up the most wins ever for a HCBL team to that date and capped it off by bringing home a championship. The team has also had players who have gone on to sign processional contracts.

But there won’t be a chance to repeat any of those feats if, as the management team states, the residents of Shelter Island don’t step up. The nonprofit HCBL depends on volunteers to keep teams operating.

There are multiple slots to fill, including:
• General Manager, who takes charge of baseball operations and coordinates team activities with HCBL management.
• Assistant Manager, who oversees team communications.
• Housing Coordinator, who works with current — and finds new — host families for two coaches and about 26 players.
• Sponsorship Promoter, who renews existing and secures new commitments from local businesses and organizations.
• Game Day Facilitator, who organizes volunteers for games to work as statisticians, scorekeepers and announcers.
• Concessions Organizer, who staffs the concession stand with volunteers and sells Bucks merchandise.

The release ends with: “Help us keep this good thing going. Contact Frank Emmett at (631)749-4251 or [email protected].”