Players with birthdays falling between May 1 and August 31 will be impacted by changes made this fall by PONY.

During the 2022 PONY International Board of Directors meeting, a proposal to change the date for determining player eligibility from August 31 to April 30 was passed. The change will be effective starting with the 2023 spring season. This decision was reached after careful consideration of input from leagues, parents, coaches, and other sources important in the decision-making process.

October’s vote reverses a change put in place several years ago and has been a topic of discussion from almost the moment the original change was first instituted. 

The change effectively aligns PONY’s league ages with the rest of the youth baseball world. The immediate impact to our West Seattle Baseball players is that each league division (Shetland, Pinto, Mustang, Bronco, and Pony) will age by four months. For example, players who turn ten-years-old between May 1, 2023 and August 31, 2023 would have anticipated moving from Mustang to Bronco this season, but will now have an additional season of eligibility for Mustang play.

For the 2023 season only, players born on even-numbered years in the months of May, June, July, and August will have the option to “play up” in the higher division without having to qualify via evaluations ratings. All other players would still have to qualify to “play up” as dictated by league rules.

Find your player’s league age for the 2023 season using the chart below: