Little League Says It Will Not Permit Cash Incentives

Cash incentives for Little Leaguers violate official rules and will not be permitted next season, a league administrator in western Maryland said Tuesday.

Jay Stouffer, administrator of more than 10 leagues in Washington, Garrett and Allegany counties, said he planned to meet with the league’s board of directors during the next few weeks to put an end to cash incentives that two coaches in Boonsboro’s South Mountain League gave their players this summer.

“These are dedicated guys, but all of us can make a mistake once in a while,” Stouffer said. “We just can’t allow this to continue.”

Delbert House, manager of the South Mountain league, said last week that he rewarded players with $1 for their first hit in a game and gave $5 to players who hit home runs.

The other coach, Robert Keller, said he gave his players a dime for each hit, a quarter for an outstanding fielding play and $1 for a home run.

Both coaches said Monday that they would be willing to discuss the cash rewards with Stouffer, and House promised to stop the rewards if he managed a team next season.

Keller said he liked giving money to players from poorer families who cannot afford to give the youngsters money for the ballpark concession stand. He also said he once bought a player a glove.

“His family was too poor to afford it, so I bought the boy a glove,” he said. “When he asked me how he could repay me, I told him just to get a couple of hits. I guess I paid that player, too.”

E.J. Lehotsky, a senior official in Little League International, based in Williamsport, Pa., said leagues that knowingly violate the regulations can lose their charters.