Why would my son want to play American Legion Baseball?

Guess it comes down to what a Legion is like in your area. Ours is not that strong and the level of teams they play against are just average compared to other opportunities in the area. If it fits your son, go for it. Room for everyone somewhere.

In our area it seems that any dad with nine players starts a "showcase" team....so the talent in  many of the tournaments is watered down.  There are a few good programs, but most are mediocre.  I have even heard this from many of the families that have gone to the bigger events in Atlanta and Ft. Myers.

Our Legion district has very competitive teams with very good pitching.  I am actually sad that Legion is doing away with the college kids after this season.  I think the ability for these high schoolers to face college level pitching is beneficial.  I wish they had come to a "happy medium" and allowed each team to carry up to three college players...maybe make them be pitcher-only's.  I think after this year, you will see a degradation in the quality of play (at least in our area.)

This guy is in SE PA – the legion program there are still fairly strong at least at the top of the leagues. The middle and the bottom of the leagues are not strong at all…and they are getting worse. I do like the concept of winning and being a team – that is point that is missing from the travel circuit – it is not about winning it is about getting seen.

Times are changing and the travel circuit is only going to grow for the foreseeable future. The local teams need to find a way to keep the best talent in house instead of losing it, a good starting point would be to hire a top coach and build a program instead of having fathers run the teams until the boys reach 17yrs.

The teams in SE PA that are strong year after year have stable coaching and program in place…the rest just continue to lose the players.

In my area, here's a fairly common example of what I've seen lately.

Kids play Junior Legion after 9th or 10th grade seasons. Then, instead of playing another year of Junior Legion (if eligible age wise) or moving up to Senior Legion, a good number of these kids move away from Legion and play showcase following their Sophomore or Junior seasons of high school. This allows them to gain exposure. And they continue to play showcase through the fall of their senior year of high school.

Following their senior season of high school, they return to the Legion program.

The top teams in SE PA may be good enough to compete at the state level. But all season long they're playing poor competition. How does that improve a kid's game? Most Legion rosters in the area are loaded with varsity bottom of the lineup, bench warmers and JV players. Many kids who don't get in the high school varsity field start for their Legion teams. I dropped by a Legion game on my bike several years ago. I spoke with the local sportswriter assigned to the game. He said Legion pitching in the area had declined so significantly not many pitchers were throwing harder than 82.

In a recent article posted this guy listed all the players he bragged went from Legion ball to college ball also went to showcases. But he ignored that point. The guy's articles should be labeled "for amusement purposes only." The Legion folks in the area believe if they keep criticizing travel and talk up Legion no one will notice had bad Legion ball is. 

It really depends on where you live.

Also another point often missed here. There is value in playing with your local friends and HS teammates and as in many areas HS coaches have legion teams that play part of the summer with their teams. They develop friendships, trust, and understand their coach and HS teammates. They are also able to get in a few mid week games because they are local.  I think people forget here that baseball is supposed to be fun, it does not have to be "where are you going to be seen and who are you playing in front of" all of the time. 

I hear all the time that you "have to play travel ball" this and that. The fact is that you need to be on a good travel team that goes to the main events over the summer. That does not mean you have to run all over the country (county's maybe) playing only for a travel team. At least in SoCal a lot of the recruiting happens in fall scout leagues.

My other point is that at least in my son's case (and most of the better players that he was around) he got better because of the individual work he put in on his on, on the side away from a team. You have to leave lots of time for this, and in fact I am of the opinion that up until puberty your time is better spent developing skills on your own as opposed to playing lots of "travel ball" 

JMO but I think parents sometimes lose sight of these important points. 

OK I will get off the box now. 

In another 10 years, it may not matter. As the American Legion, and other Veterans' organizations, decline in membership, fewer young Veterans choose to join. If this type of trend continues, there won't be enough Legionnaires left to sponsor and run baseball.

Agree with BOF about playing with friends they grew up playing with...that is really the only reason my 2016 son plays Legion. He attends a different HS than most of the roster, so he has moved on a bit. His #1 committment this summer is to his travel team. In his words, "Legion is like rec". 

And looking at the roster, other than my son, nobody else plays any other baseball in the summer. It's a little strange, especially since so many of these parental units want their kid to play at next level. But somehow they assume playing NJ Legion BB will help get them there. Don't think so IMO. 

But on the flip side, he has also said he may not play for Legion again next year. His primary position is 1B (he started on varsity and his travel team)...but on the Legion team he nevers plays 1B. That belongs to a young man (his best friend) who played for the HC in youth baseball (my son is a little younger). My son plays C, LF, 3B, anyplace they need him. He finds it funny that he never gets a chance at 1B even though most recognize he's a better ballplayer. My answer was maybe your friend can't play any other position, and remind him that playing other positions is good for his overall growth as a ballplayer. I think his real issue is with the daddy-ball that is played. I can't argue that with him. 

I like the whole community thing about Legion I guess. 

BOF;

you are correct. In California the Fall Scout teams draw the college coaches and pro scouts.

In the 1980's in Northern California there were no travel teams only Legion baseball. During a 5 year period over 40 players later played MLB.

During the time I started the Area Code games in Lodi [1987], I also coached the Cubs Scout team in the Summer [12 players from this Cubs team played MLB] and in the Fall [we played college teams]. Kenny Williams GM Chicago White Sox played on the Cubs team.

Question: After travel teams begin to disappear. WHAT IS NEXT?

"Barnstorming"?

Bob

Will "travel" teams ever disappear?   I doubt it, but maybe 'travel ball' will become the new 'rec ball.'  Some organizations in this area now refuse to designate themselves as "travel"  teams.  They talk about themselves being "college prep"  organizations.  They sell their ability to train players well,  put them up against the highest level competition, and get them recruited and drafted.   The implication seems to be that the 'travel' industry has become so watered down that it is essentially a higher priced version of 'rec ball'

Don't know if this is happening elsewhere. 

Businesses and towns take over. The teams in our area haven't been sponsored by Legion posts in years.

Agreed, my son may play part time legion next year if the coach is willing to work with his travel schedule. if the legion would go under I would be happy to sponsor a piece of the season and would probably be one of the organizers of the local business community to keep it.

Baseball and the life lessons it teaches, at whatever level, is one of the biggest reasons why I have been successful in business and many many others in our community feel the same way – it is a civic responsibility in my opinion to support it! No different than the local football team, boy scouts or whatever – it is part of what makes merica great!!

As far as playing travel/legion at the same time.... It is my understanding that the rules say this: During the legion season, you can play both, as long as the player has written permission from the legion's baseball director. But, once the playoffs start, the player must only play legion.

I haven't actually looked up the rules to confirm what I just wrote. Just what I've heard.

"Old School"

Years ago when I met the Karolyn Rose, she was with her son Pete Jr with the Cincinnati Team at the CABA tournament in Illinois. After the tournament she and I discussed combining our team from California and the Cincinnati team and traveling West scheduling games - BARNSTORMING.

This would have been "fun" baseball. My budget rental van and Karolyn's Rolls.

You may desire to contact me thru e-mail and I will outline a "barnstorming" system.

Bob

<rwilliams@goodwillseries.org>