Safe or out?
July 7, 2009 North Carolina
By Paul Durham
Wilson Daily Times
For more than 40 years, American Legion has been the unchallenged summer baseball option for high school players in Wilson and surrounding counties.
But in recent seasons, alternatives such as showcase and travel baseball have taken their toll on the Legion ranks, not just at Wilson Post 13 but in other posts in Eastern North Carolina.
Some observers will bluntly state that American Legion baseball is on its way out the door while others opine that showcase baseball, being a relatively new phenomenon, is destined for a short shelf-life.
Post 13 head coach Rusty Dail says he doesn't think American Legion baseball is headed toward obsolescence but he can no longer rely on getting the top high school players to show up each summer.
"If people are smart enough American Legion baseball will be here," Dail said. "I don't know if the same quality will be here. Look at the teams you would have if all these kids came back and played American Legion baseball."
SHOWCASE A THREAT
Current options available to players ages 18 and under are showcase baseball organizations such as IMPACT Baseball and the Carolina Cubs. Playing for a showcase team virtually ensures exposure to college coaches and scouts who attend the showcases regularly.
"There's value in the showcase and because as a college coach, you can go one place and evaluate a lot of kids," Barton College head coach Todd Wilkinson said.
The criticism of showcase events is that the players are there, literally, to showcase their talent in hope of attracting attention from college coaches.
Wilkinson echoed the complaint that many Legion coaches have offered as to why showcase events aren't true indicators of a player's value in the team setting.
"I think people playing on a team and learning the value of a team is important. That's what baseball is -- a team sport," Wilkinson said. "I think kids now in general, just knowing hitting with two strikes, move a runner over, playing position, the little things that go into playing a team game."
Dail noted East Carolina University head coach Billy Godwin has indicated to him that "they go see kids at showcase but he would rather see a kid play for something."
Wayne County Post 11 head coach Brad Reaves also noted there are just as many college coaches at the American Legion state tournament as at showcases.
A former NCAA Division III All-American at N.C. Wesleyan College, Dail pointed out that he has numerous contacts within the college coaching ranks, as do many of his American Legion colleagues.
Getting exposure to collegiate programs seems to be the most attractive aspect of showcase baseball but there are other methods.
Babe Allen, a college and high school umpire whose sons have played both showcase and Legion baseball, offered the insight that a prospective collegiate player might benefit the most by attending a summer camp hosted by his target college while still an underclassman in high school.
Marshall Crumpler, another Wilson baseball dad whose son has played both Legion and showcase, sees some positive aspects of showcase baseball.
"When you go to a showcase camp or program, you get to see where you really stack up. That's the reason why I love it," he said.
Reaves said he was supportive of showcase baseball when it began in the area as strictly a fall league.
"But I'm not a fan of it now," he said. "They (the players) pay thousands of dollars and play three or four innings and sit."
LEGION'S ADVANTAGES
One advantage that Legion baseball has over showcase and travel baseball is that it's free for the players. Participation fees for showcase and travel teams can easily exceed $500, making those options less democratic than Legion baseball.
The pay-to-play aspect of showcase and travel baseball raises another issue as well.
"The thing that bothers me about it more than anything is that I didn't think of the idea because somebody is making a bunch of money off this," New Bern Post 24 head coach Gary Smith said.
But both Reaves and Smith think that showcase baseball is not going to outlast American Legion baseball, which has been around since the 1920s nationally.
"North Carolina was slow, compared to the rest of the country, getting in on the showcase deal," Smith said. "So we're probably 3-to-5 years behind. The friends I have around the country who coach at the college level, they don't even recruit at showcases any more."
American Legion baseball in Wilson has been ongoing since the late 1960s when Bradford Barnes revived the program that started in the 1950s, former Post 13 head coach and longtime Wilson sports authority Alton Britt said.
As the then executive director of the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club, Britt began a Babe Ruth Baseball program here in 1990 but disbanded it once the Wilson County Youth Athletic Association started its own Babe Ruth program in 1995.
But both Britt and WCYAA Athletic Director Mickey Davis say Babe Ruth was never intended to compete with Legion for the older age groups.
"Never has been because the better players play American Legion," Davis said.
STILL THE BEST OPTION
But there are issues with Legion baseball's structure, rules and scheduling that have had a negative impact. Smith suggested that nine-inning games and long playoff series should be reconsidered. Playing 30 games in 35 days is a commitment that many high school players can't meet. But that's not a recent development.
Player eligibility issues have clouded participation in Legion baseball as well, and, Reaves noted, it's getting harder and harder to fund the program even in Wayne County where American Legion baseball is as strong as anywhere in the state.
However, there are two reasons to think that American Legion baseball is still safe as the best summer option for this area.
One is that players who will still be 19 or under by the end of the calendar year can compete, meaning it's a summertime option for many players coming off their freshman season in college. Those players are not going to be involved in showcase baseball.
Secondly, the Legion junior programs have flourished in recent seasons, creating a natural feeder system for the senior program.
"I think it is needed and does a good thing for the community, bringing the high schools together," Crumpler said. "It gives them a chance to play after high school. I'd say it would be a great ballgame to see the state champion Legion team facing the best showcase team."
|
NATIONAL
NORTH CAROLINA
