RJM posted:
I would say as a whole the quality of Legion ball has declined significantly over the years due to travel ball. There are still some areas where it's relevant. But when you get to the ALWS level a lot of the kids play travel and enough Legion to be qualified for the post season.
Somewhat agree. What you say about AL is also true about a number of summer teams (weak travel teams too). Pennsylvania, Minnesota,and parts of New England are still competitive in American Legion . I remember watching a player my son played against during one Legion 4th of July tourney. Quite a player 2 HRs , 6 RBIs in the game- captain of his Legion team. Turns out son would play against him in college as well. Player was all conference and drafted in late round this year.
Team that knocked out son's team in state tourney had 6 D1 players (including 5 pitchers). Legion ball never hurt son's recruitment (though he supplemented his exposure through showcases which targeted specific schools). I would agree though that some teams at the bottom end are very weak, and often times have trouble fielding adequate numbers needed to compete. The top teams (with the best pitching) usually advance, though you can see an occasional upset.