MORRISTOWN – Unable to field a team large enough to compete consistently, the Morristown Central School district will not field a modified boys baseball team this spring.

“Unfortunately it’s a numbers game,” Superintendent David Glover said of the decision.

The minimum number of players needed to form a team is nine, Glover said.

“Ideally you need more than that because you need more than one pitcher,” he said.

Glover said between nine and 10 students are currently interested in playing at the modified level – a number he doesn’t believe will be sustainable over the season.

With too few boys interested in playing, Glover said, ninth-graders slated to play at the modified level will move up to varsity, while the seventh- and eighth-graders will have to wait for another opportunity to play.

“At this point I’ll talk to other schools just to see if we have other options available,” Glover said. He said four or five players who would need to find another team.

If no neighboring school is willing or able to take on additional players at the modified level, Glover said, the seventh- and eighth-graders “may not have a team this year.”

The decision was voted upon at last week’s Board of Education meeting, with board member Mary Ann Bailey alone in her opposition.

Board member Mark Tayler abstained from voting. He did not give a reason other than that he didn’t have enough information to vote.

Board President Cyril Aldrich said he supported canceling the modified baseball team.

“We’d have to forfeit every game because we don’t have enough students,” Aldrich said, adding that it isn’t fair for Morristown athletes or to other teams.

The decision not to field a modified team will save roughly $1,350 in coaching fees this year, according to board Clerk Maureen Bouchey.

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