2026 MSBL League Profile: Lehigh Valley MABL/MSBL, Joe Vallely, League President
By Steve LaMontia-Carlentini, MSBL Director of Communications
We are kicking off our 2026 series of MSBL League Profiles with Joe Vallely, League President of the Lehigh Valley MABL/MSBL. Joe has been a board member since 2020 and assumed the leadership role in 2024.
We asked Joe to answer a few questions for us, and he was very gracious with his time. Please enjoy a moment with Joe Vallely and his Lehigh Valley MSBL/MABL, a league that has worn the MSBL banner since 1988.
League name: Lehigh Valley MABL/MSBL
Your name: Joe Vallely
What is the history of the league, and how did it start? Lehigh Valley MABL MSBL started in 1988. The Lehigh Valley chapter of the Men’s Senior Baseball League was founded as a 30-and-older league by Joe and Rhonda Casazza, of Emmaus, who had heard about the Long Island, N.Y.-based National MSBL organization on the radio.
The inaugural LV MSBL season featured six teams that played 16 games each in a Sunday-only league, with games held at the Schererville complex, Fullerton A.A., Ironton, and the Bethlehem Township municipal field.
What age divisions of play are now offered? 18/45/60/65 weekday, hoping to add an over-30.
How many teams are anticipated this year? 28 teams.
When does the league begin play, and when will it finish, including any playoffs? The season starts in the second week of April and should be wrapped up on the 20th of September. We will be holding our first annual golf outing and awards dinner on October 11th.
When did you personally start playing in the league? I started playing adult men’s baseball in the Bux Mont MSBL in 2013 in their over 45 division. In 2019, the Lehigh Valley MABL broke away from the national and our prior president, Turk Starniri, stepped in to keep the league afloat.
The New Jersey Bucks were invited back to play in Lehigh Valley MABL MSBL, and we left the Bux Mont MSBL. In 2019, we were in the over-55 division with some grandfathered players, so teams that came back could stay whole. I took over managing the Bucks in 2020, when the league added an over-60 division in 2023. The New Jersey Bucks became a baseball club, putting teams in the newly formed over-50 and over-60 divisions.
What is your personal baseball playing history? I played Little League until I was 15, I tried out for my high school team, and told my coach I had to leave practice at 6:00 to go to work. He told me, “Vallely, you can’t work and play baseball.” I told him, “Well, I have to work.”
At 21, I played industrial league softball and broke my leg in five places in a game, colliding with the left fielder 3 weeks before our playoff started. We won our championship that year so decisively that I was able to get an at-bat in the game in a leg cast up to my knee. As I recall, I hit a single and one crutched my way to first base.
From there, I never stepped onto a field until I was 40 years old and began coaching my son. Well, I got the bug back quickly and was told by two of my coaches that as soon as I turn 45, we want you to play in our men’s league.
Since then, I have been able to manage playing full-time, run youth all-star and travel teams, and run the leagues both my son and daughter played in. The bond of baseball and softball will forever hold me close to my kids.
Life lessons taught on the field and in the car on the way home, such as how to win with grace and lose with dignity but always compete, have ensured that my wife and I have raised competitive, respectful young adults who can use the skills learned playing the game as they navigate through life.
When did you become president? I became president in 2024, after being vice president in 2023 and a board member since 2020.
Who were your predecessors, and are they still involved in any capacity? Turk Starnri was our previous President and is still the commissioner of baseball for our over-60 and over-65 divisions. Turk is instrumental in leading the charge in raising funds for our charities with a mindset of keeping it in the community.
What is your most memorable MSBL moment as a president or a player? Going from a team that won one game in the first three years I played, while still having a blast, to becoming champions on two different occasions.
Seeing the same guys who could not piece together a win, becoming a formidable competitor in the league, including two championships and five championship appearances. Forming bonds of brotherhood along the way.
What are your biggest challenges in running the league today? The biggest challenge we face today is getting the 30 and over players to form teams and start a division so we can continue to feed our over 45 and over 60.
We are an older, established league with many people playing since the 90’s, and that has always kept our oldest division strong in terms of numbers. Thanks to Vinnie Eiden, our commissioner of baseball, for the 18/30/45’s we have a very strong over 18 division.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction? Keeping people playing baseball and getting more people playing baseball with limited lift and worrying on their part. Also, the generosity of our members raises the bar every year on our donation efforts.
What do you see for the league in the future? I see a strong over 65 division, a vibrant 45/60 division, and an over 30 feeder division to keep things growing.
What is the reason for the continued success of the league? We are first and foremost a not-for-profit, so we keep costs down. Managers arrange their own fields, solicit their own players, and have full control over their franchise. They have a seat at the table about how the league is run, and our board is made up of players and managers across all divisions.
We do all we can to get people together. We also have a brotherhood that is bonded by baseball, where, despite all the passion that can happen on the field, we leave the field as brothers in baseball.
Do you still play in the league? I still play in the league, and I will continue to play until I can’t. I am in awe of the 20 or so players we have over 70 that still play competitively every weekend, and the 25 or so over 65 guys that do the same.
I will either die in my 80’s, legging out a double at an MSBL tournament with my family cheering me on, or I’ll die dreaming it happened. Once you get the bug, there is no going back.
What part of running the league do you enjoy most? My favorite part of running the league is playing in the games. Gathering with my fellow teammates and the opposing team around the pitching mound post-game and joining each other in prayer.
Singing the Star-spangled banner on the foul line with my teammates and adversaries, knowing that whatever happens or happened in the game, we are united in God, and we are united in country, and we are united in family, a baseball family, and by extension our actual families. It is with that mindset that I try to run the league and approach the problems we encounter, no matter how big or small.
What is the history of your league team’s participation in any MSBL national tournaments? We always have teams participating in Arizona, Las Vegas, and Florida tournaments comprised of players from our league. We also have many players, past and present, who join up with other teams that play in all the MSBL tournaments.
We have had many successes over the years, and our players represent the best of baseball in the Lehigh Valley. We are working diligently in 2026 to get our 18’s division to send a team to a tournament and are working on fundraising efforts to help them mitigate the costs.
What would you say are the most important accomplishments in your league? Since 1988, we have raised over $340,000 for charities in the Lehigh Valley. I’m sure, like me, our players are truly honored and grateful to still be out here playing baseball at our stage of life.
It’s a privilege to feel the rush, the camaraderie, the competition, and the joy this game brings, and we cherish every moment we get to keep doing what we love, especially in our over 48/60 division, where our continued good health allows us to stay personally connected to the game.
It’s with that in mind that we raise money for The Miracle League of Northampton County, a special baseball park for challenged children and adults, and for Leo’s League Pediatric Cancer fund.
How valuable is your relationship with MSBL? MSBL is a tremendous support for keeping us on track and answering questions that come up along the way, as well as sharing with me how other leagues approach things so we can ensure that we are giving our members the best baseball experience possible.
What advice would you give to new league presidents? Surround yourself with like-minded people who bring a diversity of opinions, who are doers as well as idea men. Nothing gets done without the doers, and the world is full of idea men that will ground our progress to a halt if they don’t do.
How important is family support? Family support is everything. A wife who understands and accepts that the desire to play and compete regardless of outcome, for the primal need for male camaraderie, is one of the deepest, most ancient wiring in the behavior of human males.
Its effect on our social standing and mental health cannot be discounted.
The banter, the ribbing, the sense that we are in this together, being there for each other, celebrating success and tempering loss, the social aspect that extends beyond the field. It’s even better when the kids and wives show up and watch us play!