Legion/Showcase Article

The following is an article from yesterday's Lexington Dispatch written by Jason Queen.

Post 8 adapts to lineup changes

Matt Griffin has never dealt with a season of change like this one.

And he won't deal with one like it again.

In his seventh season as head coach of Lexington-Davidson American Legion Post 8, Griffin has filled out a lineup card that features a murderer's row of some of the best hitters in the state. Unfortunately, that lineup has been different nearly every night.

Vacations and other baseball options have made every night at the ballpark a guessing game. The one good thing that's come out of the season-long shuffle has been the consistency of Post 8's lineup, regardless of who steps to the plate. The team is hitting .363, and of their 261 hits, 114 have gone for extra bases. That includes 32 home runs, led by Daniel Kassouf's eight and Alex Grubb's seven.

That has translated into a 12-4 record in Area III Southern Division play and a 16-5 mark overall. With Stanly County coming to Holt-Moffitt Field Friday night, a trip to league doormat Montgomery County Saturday and a home-and-home with South Rowan Monday and Tuesday to close out the season, Post 8 has a chance to claim the No. 2 seed for the league playoffs. But the playoff roster Griffin fields will look strikingly different than the one that took the field for the season opener just a month ago.

Post 8 had three Division I prospects on its opening-day roster. Griffin thought their schedule of games in showcase tournaments would allow them to play most of Post 8's schedule. But that has not been the case, so those three players won't be on the playoff roster. "This is the first year I've really had to deal with this," Griffin said. "With showcase ball, I decided to make a compromise, but it didn't go quite how I had hoped."

Post 8 has persevered through the ever-changing lineup and remains one of the top-hitting teams in the league. They still have a chance to go deep in the playoffs, possibly repeating their run to the state title game in 2005. But the lack of continuity and team focus has caused Griffin to consider changes for next season.

"From now on, you're either with us or you're not," he said. "My policy is going to be that you can't play both. I'm going to have a small number of unexcused absences, and I'm going to stick with it."

Unfortunately, the days of American Legion being the hottest ticket in town are gone. Showcase tournaments, which give players the opportunity to play in front of dozens of college and pro scouts, are too sweet a temptation to pass up. Players want to represent their communities to play American Legion, but they want to impress scouts and potentially earn scholarships as well. It puts the players in a bad spot, where they have to choose to represent their community or do what's best for them personally.

You really can't blame the players for choosing to play showcase ball. If anything, the fault lies mainly with the organizers of the tournaments for scheduling them during the Legion season. There has to be a way to hold these tournaments in late July, when few teams are left in the Legion playoffs. That way, players can do both: play with their friends in the early part of the summer, then chase their dreams after Legion season ends.

Regardless of whose name shows up on the lineup card, Griffin is sure of one thing: "We've got a good enough team to win with the guys we have left, and we're going to go at it as hard as we can go at it."

Indeed, with Chaz Frank, Zach Roach, Jay Yount and Grubb in the outfield, Daniel Kassouf and Matt Tysinger in the infield, and Jason Gray, Luke Wilhelm and Zach Burkhart getting hot, Post 8 may be able to put a little run together, as long as the group that's left can form a bond and gain a sense of team over the next few weeks.

"Do they wish the other guys were there? Yes," Griffin said. "But they also know they have teammates capable of stepping up and doing the job. That's why that 2005 team finished second in the state, because they played as a team."

 

Great article and love Griffin's final quote - baseball is all about team and Legion is all about community. The #8 hitter getting a clutch hit is as magical as a superstar hitting .400 all season long. Let's hope Showcase values the community's interests as a whole and structures/schedules accordingly.

 

From what I have seen and heard, Coach Griffin seems to be a classy individual and a great coach. I applaud him for at least "trying" to allow his players to do both, but it just won't work. I knew at the beginning of the season when I read somewhere that Lexington had a few players who were trying to do both, I knew it wouldn't work long. Players have just got to either commit to legion ball or not,,,, its not fair to the others if someone only commits to the team "some of the time".

 

TJ, the kids looked at their schedules & projected when they would be absent. When they return, they have to sit out a half game minimum for each game missed.

As I understand it, the problem arose when the showcase schedule was altered.

I can't blame the kids for putting showcase first since it provides the best exposure. But I think they are all extra-special talents...good enough to get top offers playing Legion. And there's no way they're having half as much fun.

What might have been...I feel Coach Griff's pain.

 

Just my thoughts, but I have to side with the players in this situation.

Can't blame players at all for putting showcase ball ahead of legion ball.

Showcase has taken over as the premier way to get seen in North Carolina, with Impact having a monopoly on college and pro scouts around here.

Also, sadly the showcase ball also provides better competition for these players to play than legion does too.

I can see how the showcase ball would be more fun as well because the games are only played on weekends and the boys have more free time instead of spending most of every day at the field.

The games are also 7 innings in showcase ball rather than 9, which is better for the kids because their high school games are 7 innings.

It's fine and dandy to say that these legion teams can still compete even if the coaches are hardcore and don't let the showcase players play anymore, but the fact is Lexington is no longer a state-title contender in my opinion with the loss of Levi and Briggs.

I don't disagree with the coach not letting them play any longer, because I agree that a commitment is needed to play legion ball that cannot be fulfilled by players who are busy with showcases on the weekends. Lets not act like Lexington will carry on just the same without these players though - they will miss them dearly.

 

Triad, you have to throw Zack White in there too. Big talent...big losses.

But don't throw this team under the bus just yet. Lex is so deep that the losses are minimized. Problem was & is pitching. They'll go as far as their staff takes them.

By the way, I strongly disagree on the fun thing Showcase vs Legion. Legion is eons ahead in that department for just the reasons you mentioned: 9 inning games 6 days a week....Hanging out with your county allies & adversaries....Community involvement....Newpaper articles daily....Part of something that is bigger than "me first" baseball....remembered for years to come.

Yes Showcase is the ticket for top talent. And it has its moments. But playing for your local Post is the most fun I ever had & my son too.

 

My opinion on this is:.....play showcase ball the summer after your sophomore and junior years. By then you are on the map and colleges and coaches know about you and most kids have made a college choice by the end of the senior season. Play legion the summer after your senior year because you adjust to playing 9 innings because you will be playing 9 innings the rest of your life. But if you can play both, the more baseball the better.

 

Both can co-exist. The schedules next to be coordinated. Different divisions and areas next to set up "tournaments and games" on weekends against each other. How great would a Area IV West vs Area III South Challenge be this year on a given weekend. This scheduled in Shelby, Salisbury, or Cherryville would draw huge support and a large number of scouts. Something like a ACC vs Big Ten Challenge in college basketball.

Kids develop comradery this way. There is little or no comradery on showcase teams. No rivalries. Purely self promotion. This is good to an extent, but look what AAU basketball has done to the college and pro game. I don't this baseball will ever get to this point, but ..........

 

oh lordy...here we go again.

One point I have never made about this controversy is the one about rivals. Showcase baseball brings many players together from opposite HS teams. The great rivalries in the past have become diluted.

There was a time when the players, coaches, parents and family pets at South Meck and Providence disliked each other year round. They would never venture into the same restaurants, grocery stores or daycare centers. They would turn around and walk out. The games they played you could cut the tension with a knife........no more. Showcasing has brought the players and parents together. One side of me appreciates the camraderie, but another side misses those past times.

Heck, the coaches at Providence and South Meck (now Ardrey Kell) live next door to each other and are best of friends. How are you going to have a real rivalry with that

 

everyone has my opinion on this Legion is the best to play every legion game i have been to this summer i have seen scouts at the games. i think showcase ball is about the money.