About PBO

Palos Baseball is a 60+ year old organization in the town of Palos Heights. We are non-profit group made up entirely of volunteers. PBO is not funded in any way by the city of Palos Heights. Our program is paid for by your registration fees and by other fundraising efforts.

Our Board of Trustees consists of our Executive Committee which is made-up of five officers (president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and sergeant at arms) and trustees who run all aspects of the program.

Additionally, we have an advisory board made up of the head coaches for several of the local high school baseball teams. Their role is to advise us on all aspects of the running of our league. In particular they put considerable time in helping design our coach’s clinics, our coach development programs and our travel program.

Currently this advisory board consists of:

• George Fear, Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach, Sandburg High School
• Matt O'Neill, Head Varsity Baseball Coach, Stagg High School
• Frank DiFoggio, Head Varsity Baseball Coach, Shepard High School

Our recreational or "in-house" program is our core reason for existing. It is available to any individual between the ages of 7 and 14, who wishes to participate. This year we will have over 500 kids making up approximately 46 teams. Our divisions and their age limitations follow these guidelines:     

      -Shetland: Pre-K and Kindergarten (5-6 year old) - Click here for info on the Shetland Program as it differs from the other divisions. 
      -Pinto: 1st and 2nd graders (7-8 years old)    
     - Mustang: 3rd & 4th graders (9-10 years old)   
     - Bronco: 5th & 6th graders (11-12 years old)   
     - Pony: 7th, 8th and 9th graders  (13-15 years old) *

* 9th graders are eligible for Pony as long as they do not play for their HS team. If you resister for PBO as a 9th grader and end up making your HS team your registration fee will be refundable in full. 

Registration:  The PBO registration takes place in the winter for the next season. This is done so the trustee volunteers have suitable time to plan and prepare.

Manager selection:  When registering your player online, there is an option to sign up to be a volunteer manager/coach. For those who think they do not have the time to commit to manage a team, consider that there are many parents out there that are willing to help. It can be a wonderful experience for you to share this time with you own child as well as to make a difference in others lives. For those who haven’t coached before, not to fear. We have coaches clinics set up in the early spring and there are plenty of experienced coaches in our program to help you plan practices, etc. At the end of each season, parents on each team are asked to evaluate their manager in several categories. This evaluation is part of the basis for selecting managers.

Final manager approval and selection will be done by the PBO Board of Trustees

Player Team Selection:  In late February, managers will meet by division and draft players. They are informed of a player’s previous history by evaluation forms that show the players ranking by his/her previous managers. This information includes the main positions they played, how many innings they pitched and whether or not they were all-star or travel team selections. We encourage an attempt to get as equal teams as possible. Draft night often turns into an open forum to facilitate this.    

     - Special placement requests such as “buddy”, car pool, friend manager, cousins, etc, are not allowed.   

     - Relative placement (brother/sister) are allowed and will be accommodated.   

    - Parents are reminded that no manager should suggest to you that your child will be on his team as there is a draft process.   

     - Any special request to not be placed with a particular manager should be noted on your registration form.

Games and Practices:  Games begin mid April and our season ends around July 1st. There is a 14-16 game schedule. All scores are recorded on our website and standings are posted. At the conclusion of the regular season, all teams make a bracketed single elimination playoff. PBO cannot guarantee that all games will be played if the weather does not cooperate. Every effort will be made to re-schedule rain outs. Whenever possible, make up games are scheduled for Sunday afternoons as this is a day where regular games are not scheduled.

Games are scheduled on weekdays (except Wednesdays ) at 5:30 pm and on Saturdays from 8am - 5:30pm. Each team will have the opportunity to play under the lights for a night game. Games are not played on Sundays for in-house (exception is if there are rain outs there is potential for a game to be rescheduled on a Sunday). There are occasional night games that start at 7:30pm. 

Your teams practice schedule and location will be determined by your manager and will vary per team. Typically teams average 1-2 practices per week. Practice space is not assigned to teams. It is up to individual managers to secure his own practice space. Practices are not allowed to be held on the PBO fields to preserve fields and for maintenance. 

Playing time procedures:  Each division has specific rules regarding the minimum number of innings each child is required to play. All divisions use a continuous batting order regardless of who is playing in the field. All divisions utilize a “free substitution rule” except for the pitcher position.

Uniforms and Equipment:  Uniforms are provided as part of your registration fee. Included is a pair of baseball pants, t-shirt, hat and socks. Your manager is provided with an equipment bag which includes batting helmets and catchers gear. Each player will need to provide his/her own glove and bat. 

All Star Selection and Games:  Near the conclusion of the regular season, each team will select 3-4 players to represent them in our annual all-star game. There is no formal procedure for this selection. Often times it is either at the manager’s discretion or the team votes on the players on team vote for whom they want to represent them.

The Annual Picnic (Diamond Days):  Each year PBO in conjunction with Palos Power Girls Softball has a picnic for the players and their families. This is held on a Saturday in mid June. There are games for kids of all ages. Some of last year’s highlights were lunch for the players, jumpies, cotton candy, and a dunk tank.

Pictures:  A basic picture package will be provided.   The photographer comes to the park on several Saturdays throughout the season to take the team photo as well as individual photos. 

Umpires:  PBO is proud to have its own internal umpire program. We provide summer jobs to over 30 kids in the community each year. Training and equipment are provided and kids can start at 13 years old. You can sign your child up to umpire by contacting our umpire coordinator. This information is on our website. 

The PBO Thunder Travel Program

In addition to the in-house recreational program, PBO also offers an optional travel program. This program is designed to offer the more advanced players an opportunity to play more games and against similarly organized teams. All players who participate in the travel program must also play in our in-house program.

Click here for additional information on the Thunder Program.
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Your Volunteer Obligation:

Having each parent do their part in volunteering is vital to the success and viability of our program. Without your help, we cannot exist. 

Concession Stand: A parent/guardian for each player is required to work one concession stand shift to receive their concession stand deposit. 

Field Days: A parent/guardian for each player is required to work one concession stand shift to receive their field days deposit.