Other Annual Reports










Dear Members & Friends of the Cosmic Baseball Association,

When the Cosmic Baseball Association was created in 1981, I could only dream of becoming its Commissioner. It took more than twenty years for it to happen, but I must confess, I am as happy as I thought I would be. It is a great honor and privilege to serve as your Commissioner.

I am reminded of some of our past Commissioners who served with great distinction. I think of Paul Arthur (1981-1984), Jim Jerue (1984-1989) and Harvey Nosowtiz (1998-2001), and I must confess again: I am humbled. These were great leaders and I can only dream about aspiring to their level of service. I will try.

When there is a change in an executive office, expectations of widespread change follow. Expect 2004 to be a busy year, full of change and raising expectations. The Board of Directors remains committed to the Cosmic Baseball Association's website and I support the emphasis that has traditionally been placed on the website. I hope to help make that emphasis even greater.

The Statistical Operations group needs revitalizing. There is much data that we should be mining. The reorganization of how our statistical data is managed will be a high priority issue in the coming months. The long hoped for but not yet realized goal of greater interactivity between and among our members and friends will also be elevated.

Much attention will be spent on the operations of the cosmic baseball teams. We intend to vigorously emphasize and support Personal Cosmic Baseball games. The Archives of the Cosmic Baseball Association need renovation. I plan to propose a major overhaul and restoration project for the archives. The work of the Cosmic Baseball Research Alliance and its educational functions will not be ignored.

Finally and personally, I would like to see a vast increase in the presentation of poetry at the Cosmic Baseball Association. After all, it was poetry that inspired the creation of the CBA and it will be poetry and poetics that will be our future. Baseball is just a metaphor for the life of the mind and poetry is the expression of that mind.



Catch you later,

Andrew M. Lampert
Commissioner
COSMIC BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

December, 2003
Washington, D.C.






CBA Annual Report, Page 2








Elka Stein
Chairperson



The Board of Directors meets at least three times a year in various locations. Refer to the Calendar for upcoming meetings.







Major actions by the Board in 2003
  • Discontinued use of "Copyright Notice" on CBA WebPages

  • Approved recommendation to restructure and contract Cosmic Baseball Association playing league

  • Approved the discontinuance of all financial operations at the CBA's website

  • Restructured Office of the Commissioner and appointed Andrew Lampert as Commissioner of the Cosmic Baseball Association



CBA Annual Report, Page 3












Membership in the Cosmic Baseball Association is open to everyone and anyone. Annual Dues of $10 are optional. Benefits of membership have been stabilized and include the joys of association and unrestricted use of the Cosmic Baseball Association Membership logo.

Current "active" membership as of November 30, 2003 was 3,103 which represents a modest increase over last year. Less than 2% of the membership pays any dues and all proceeds from membership dues are applied to general operating expenses. (Membership Operations functioned without a discernible budget during 2003 and the same situation is expected to continue in 2004.)

A proposed "benefit of membership" is currently under discussion by the Membership Committee. The "benefit" would be the automatic acceptance of any member as a certified cosmic baseball player. Certified players are eligible for a simulated season or lifetime batting/pitching/fielding record.

For more information about membership at the Cosmic Baseball Association, please send an email to membership@cosmicbaseball.com








CBA Annual Report, Page 4








Overall "hits" at the Cosmic Baseball Association's website increased 2.6% over the 2002 period. Domain name and web hosting services remained stable for most of the period. Our primary web hosting service continues to be provided by NTT/Verio. Additional alternate and backup hosting services are provided by Geocities, Seanic, Worldzone, and Website-Works. We are currently using 25% of our 300 megabyte storage capacity on the Unix server administered by NTT/Verio.

CBA's Website Operations published 54 new plates during 2003 including the twenty-four Official 2003 Cosmic Team Rosters. Five Personal Cosmic Game Reports and Volume 21 of the JCBA were also published during the past year. However, for the first time since CBA appeared on the World Wide Web no Cosmic Player Plates were published. This fact caught the attention of our members and visitors. CBA's Board of Directors noticed too. The Board has informally indicated that at least ten new cosmic player plates should be published next year. To meet this challenge CBA's Website Operations is being revamped, reorganized and reengineered.

The following tables detail and summarize website activity for the 12 months ended November 30, 2003:













CBA Annual Report, Page 5










  1. The financial situation of the Cosmic Baseball Association is currently stable.

  2. The Cosmic Baseball Association's total annual expenses in 2003 totaled $1,303.47. The largest expense is the fee paid to NTT/Verio who provides hosting and domain registration services for the CBA's website at www.cosmicbaseball.com.

  3. Expenses are paid from received income. Membership Dues, the only source of income in 2003, covered 1.87% of total expenses. The Cosmic Baseball Association operates on a budget deficit.

  4. The Cosmic Baseball Association has discontinued its venture into the business realm. Our enterprising skills are best practiced in the free market of ideas and expressions...somewhere in Aisle 1, far from the checkout lines.




CBA Annual Report, Page 6











January 26
Winter Meetings
Palm Beach, Florida


February 11
Winter Rookie Draft


March 15
Ides of March
Cosmic Season 2004 Begins
Paradise Pisces @ Washington Presidents


June 28
Spring Meetings
Boston, Massachusetts


July 20
Summer Rookie Draft


August 19
Summer Meetings
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York


September 23
Regular Cosmic Season 2004 Ends


October 1
Subleague Series Begins


October 9
CBA's 23rd Anniversary/Fall Meetings
Washington, D.C.


November 25
Thanksgiving
Cosmic Universal Series Begins







CBA Annual Report, Page 7




Other Annual Reports








CBA Annual Report 2003-2004
URL: http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/04report.html
Published: December 28, 2003
email: editor@cosmicbaseball.com
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