Legion Ball

thanks and more...

Legionisbest and Braves, Im glad you and others enjoyed my post, and this truly has been a great discussion about Legion and "summer" ball in general. Baseball is the greatest sport you can play, and Ill argue that my county (Caldwell) is the best place for it, but it is awesome to go into some of those "hostile" environments (Shelby, Pineville, Cherryville, etc) and see how other crowds and environments stack up to your on. Caldwell takes the movie Friday Night Lights, and puts in on display almost every night during the late spring and summer....MS DEAL is the place to be and lord knows how everyone follows the players, kids choose their favorites and ask for autographs, families want pictures, and lord knows there are plenty of "in-the-stand coaches" who try and assist coach Hamby...and i hope you guys do get a chance to make it to a game this year, as this years team has what the tools and talent to take what we left so close last year.....just have to see if the dedication remains (and as of now, i think its becoming evident)...thanks guys and if you have any questions bout the 29ers let me know

 

Well I'm glad to see some Area 4 posters chiming in,,,, and I agree wholeheartedly that Caldwell, Cherryville and Shelby are the top 3 programs in that area. Each of those communities get behind their legion programs so well and the support is just tremendous.

When it comes to community support, Rowan County is obviously the king of my area (Area 3). Catawba College's Newman Park is filled with huge loud crowds for every Rowan home game. Everything at Newman Park is first class and many times you see opposing teams who are simply awestruck and unable to perform in that environment. Its a tremendous experience for young ballplayers, one that they will always remember, and an experience that will make them better players if they are serious about baseball.

Here in Kannapolis, we already play Rowan County in our league, but we have deliberately scheduled teams like Caldwell County and Cherryville in recent years, and I certainly feel this move has helped in our last 3 winning seasons because its made our players better. You only get better by playing the best, and these teams mentioned are the barometer to measure your ballclub in legion ball.

Hopefully the Kannapolis/Caldwell series will continue in 2005 because both clubs are returning many players from last year's teams.

 

Looks like things are begining to get heated up this winter in area 3. Have heard some new teams may come in and some may fold. But this is a real shocker what i heard today West Forsyth is trying to form them a legion team from jealous parents out of Mocksville and Yadkin County if this team is allowed (which i have heard rumors it was denied) Mocksville will fold and Rown County will pick up Davie County HS. Also have heard the same thing is going on in Concord, Harrisburg is trying to form a team from Jealous parents because they do not like the direction the Concord team has been going. Who decides who can put teams in the league ? This could really wreck Legion baseball in area 3 I don't want to go to Newman park and pay money to see Rowan County 10 run rule everyone in the league because that's what would happen .

I am a legion baseball fan i enjoy watching Rowan County , Mocksville, Kannapolis and Concord. big crowds great baseball games are they going to take this away from the Kids, community, fans. Let's don't turn legion into advanced high School or Little league baseball

 

Was informed today that the Henderson County legion team has disbanded. That came from one of the board members so I believe it to be true. Maybe our paper will have something in a few days. This was after the best season they have ever had. I believe 17-10 last year and 3rd round of playoffs. Appears no interest was being shown for next year.

 

That was the rumor floating around when Caldwell played Henderson in the Area Playoffs last year. Its sad but in those games, Caldwell brought more fans than Henderson had in attendance. It is a shame because Henderson had two nice places to play in East Henderson and Blue Ridge Comm College and their teams have been really competitive. I guess their problem is they have to travel at least 30min to play and that costs money.

They did have a quality staff last year and remember, the only loss Caldwell County had in the Area 4 playoffs was on a Sunday afternoon at Blue Ridge Community College. The Williams kid that played last year could flat hit the baseball and Levi Wright was just a complete baseball player. They also had a strong core of pitchers to go with the bats.

Heres hoping the rumor isn't true or they change their minds....

 

i think the biggest reason they are wanting a legion team in the western part of forsyth county is because of a large group of players needing a place to play, not jealous parents. imho

 

bump...Great thread

 

Why??

Why would a player who has completed a year of college baseball choose to play Legion if playing in a college summer league was an option???

 

Papabear, to each his own,,,, but to answer your question, its really quite simple,,,,,,,,, "to play with his hometown buddies one last time".

 

Great call bringing back on of the great threads of this site. I read everyones words and again saw why at least in my opinion American Legion Baseball is still the truest form of summer league baseball out there. THE PASSION!

I wrote my opinions on this matter before the state championship mess of 2004 or the problems in 2005 but everything still remains that it means something to win or lose an American Legion Baseball game.

You know something else I love about Legion baseball, its a rebirth of some peoples careers. The guy that posted his opinions as StrikeoutKing18 has moved on to pitch in college. I would like to believe alot of that has to do with his legion career because he was NEVER nominated for All-County or All-Conference in HS. You know what his dominating pitch was? Neither does he. But I know how he got people out. He stood in on the mound and said I am not going to let myself or my family or my community down. It was never about stats for him, it was about wins and he never lost a Legion start.

So the season is starting soon and I personally cannot wait. Theres questions upon questions to be answered. I can tell you from a Caldwell County perspective some of those questions. Can Post 29 manager Gary Hamby return from his extended illness to lead the youngest Post 29 team in his tenure to an unprecidented third straight Area IV title? How do they replace 22 of their 32 wins on the mound? What kind of leadership will the returners from last year have for this group? Are several of kids that won the State "B" title a year ago ready for Cherryville and Shelby and Asheville and Pineville and all their big guns?

You don't get drama like this in AAU or any other leagues guys....