The inaugural season of the IT Sports League has wrapped up with a team from Simply Measured taking the softball championship. League organizer Steve Mayeda said it took some effort to get the league off the ground, but he called it an overall success.
The co-ed softball league, which Mayeda started from scratch in June, featured four teams. Simply Measured and White Pages fielded employee teams, and two teams were made up of players from multiple companies: TINYPulse/Avvo and WTIA, which combined Washington Technology Industry Association, Quantum, Tableau Software and Market Leader players.
Simply Measured, the Seattle-based social analytics company, beat TINYPulse/Avvo 15-9 at Interbay Athletic Complex in Seattle on July 28. Simply Measured finished the season with a 7-1 record. Their only loss was to White Pages earlier in the season. White Pages finished in third place, beating WTIA, 7-0.
“Starting this league from nothing was scary,” Mayeda told GeekWire. “I got a lot of feedback from people that wanted to play but had already committed to another league. They all said they would play next year. That in itself was encouraging but it didn’t help me get this league off the ground.”
With previous experience starting a Radio, Advertising, Television (RAT) League, Mayeda was expecting his new endeavor to start small and hopefully grow.
“We ended up with just enough teams to have a league and I could make sure that all the teams got to play the games they signed up for,” the semi-retired tech vet said. “Once we got started, I knew it was going to be a lot of fun — that’s one thing I am good at, making fun.”
According to Mayeda, all of the teams had a great time and after the playoffs many of the players personally thanked him for his efforts. He said the only complaint he got was about umpires. “To me it’s not real softball if you’re not complaining about the umpires,” Mayeda said.
He also noted that the league attracted two women with Division 1 college softball experience.
“They were outstanding to watch play,” Mayeda said. “One of them had a swing like Ted Williams — I kid you not.”
In order to keep the ball rolling, the IT Sports League is accepting teams now for dodgeball season, which starts Sept. 13. Details can be found here.
