2014 legion baseball

[pas2326100]

Manfred, not looking to start a heated debate but you are barking up the wrong tree. The problem isn't the claysburgs, bedfords or somersets anymore than it is with all the other teams. There are a lot more issues with legion baseball. Those teams are doing things completely legal according to the rules set before them. When you get outside of cambria legion... the numbers get even more skewered and make those teams look small. We are getting to a point in our league that forced consolidation seriously needs to be discussed. There are other problems that are affecting the league also. When I first started coaching we used to get our doors blown in by St. Michael, they had some outstanding teams. Nowadays, the mountain teams are getting hurt by colt leagues and other leagues. Look at Forest hills varsity line up and tell me how many of those guys are playing. Many kids are playing down to lesser competition in the colt league that could be playing legion ball. So neither group is to blame but these are some of the issues that local baseball is facing. Just for information purposes, yes St Michael, Portage and lilly all get limited availability of kids but as far as other teams go... Patton has (Cambria Heights, Northern Cambria, Glendale and Harmony) Richland has (richland and windber).. Cernics has (conemaugh Valley, both McCort and Carroll, Westmont, Johnstown and Central Cambria)... Stoystown has (Shanksville, Shade, Rockwood, Conemaugh Township, Northstar and a Somerset kid) Just an example outside of our league... in Central Penn league last year... Philipsburg legion had players from ... Philipsburg, moshannon valley, west branch, Curwensville, tyrone and Juniata Valley all on one team.

[Manfred]

FYI, re: the FH varsity roster: players playing Legion incl. 1 Sr. starter, Gavin Oswalt. Next year Sr.s playing incl. Zach Shearman, Logan Madison, Luke McCormick. Joe Donoughe, a Sr.-to-be and doesn't play varsity baseball, and a few others who are JV-ers at best. The heart of this years' varsity team all plays in the Colt League, Murphy, Polinski, Bambino, Vought. Your points about "the system" are valid, but it still doesn't make for an even playing surface, now, does it? A few years back, when St. M. had a couple great years, those kids knew if they went downtown they would sit more than play, so as a bunch of tight friends, all decided to play at home. Kids like the Mehalls, Myers, Jennings, Baxter, etc. That was a tough lineup. Happens once in a generation, unless you can pull from half a dozen other school districts.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Seems like legion ball is slowly turning into a JV league. If I had a 15 or 16 year old kid living in the Johnstown region, no question he would be playing Colt over Legion. And for the Greater Johnstown region, that is basically holding true to form. Look at this McCort senior class, and the talented underclassmen from Richland and Forest Hills, they're all playing Colt.

Less travel, experience with wooden bat, better gateway to AAABA.

[Manfred]

Sad, but unfortunately probably true, Crimson. Tonight's Saints @ Somerset game was suspended in the top of the 7th due to lightning/ weather, with the score 1-1. Pitcher's duel between Dom Panick, and the sub-mariner for Somerset. Only a couple hits ea. side.

[say_oww]

Seems like legion ball is slowly turning into a JV league. If I had a 15 or 16 year old kid living in the Johnstown region, no question he would be playing Colt over Legion. And for the Greater Johnstown region, that is basically holding true to form. Look at this McCort senior class, and the talented underclassmen from Richland and Forest Hills, they're all playing Colt.

Less travel, experience with wooden bat, better gateway to AAABA.

Hmmm.... I beg to differ on a few points. I agree about the 15 and 16 yr old comments - those kids do play Colt. Even 17 yr olds play as they raised the age last season. Then when they are 18, they go out and play legion because most Colt League kids aren't going to make a AAABA team. Check the rosters, aside from the few great DNA kids, how many that played Colt recently are on the top two or three teams in the AAABA League. And of those kids, how many have starting positions? AAABA League is loaded with legion kids from all over, not 18 yr old Colt League graduates. American Legion is still a higher standard of competition. Take it from someone who has seen each over the past 20 yrs... The Legion kids are more mature and developed.

As far as the quality of the local league. Its simple. The larger teams have advantages and are against relinquishing those advantages to benefit the league. Teams like Claysburg, Patton, and Bedford have no problem doing whatever they can as long as it is within the rules. And they really don't have to worry about anyone ever changing it because they always seem to be able to convince those in charge - the president is from Patton, what a coincidence - not to change anything to benefit the small teams. Bedford and Claysburg have been crying for 30 yrs that if they don't have nine school districts, they can't have a team. And now Patton is the same way. Meanwhile, proud franchises like Lilly, CVJ, and Stoystown take whoever shows up and pays for everything for those kids. Meanwhile, when CVJ can't get kids they can't have the smallest district in the state - Ferndale. But Claysburg and Patton just add AA and AAA schools to their zones with impunity. That is why I have always been an advocate of kids playing legion even on bad teams, because it will make you better seeing these loaded teams of 18 yr olds. Much different than pitching against another 15 yr old with a wooden bat. The reason I didn't mention St. Micahel and Somerset is because they have always fielded teams with their own kids, and nobody else's. Sometimes you have great teams, sometimes not, but they are always their own kids. Pretty much the same with Richland. Windber isn't exactly the baseball capital of the world.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Martella's roster
1 Nate Negri IF/OF
3 Shane Supanick P - Breakers
4 Nemo Trexler OF - Breakers
6 Dillon Boyer IF/OF - Breakers
7 Nathan Neiderhiser OF/P - Clippers
8 Pat Gully C
9 Nate Pope UT/P
10 Tony Strasiser OF - Breakers
11 Brad Coleman IF/P - Breakers
12 Anthony Fanelli C
13 Jesse Cooper IF/P - Breakers
14 Justin Vardian IF/P - Breakers
18 Tim Mulvey P
20 Nick Cubarney P
23 Matt McMillen IF/OF - Delweld
24 Andrew Keirn P
25 Nathan Bearer P
27 Kyle Morrow C/OF
28 Luke Williams IF - Delweld
31 Ross Orgera P
32 Zach Martinelli P
35 Ken Gault P


Delweld Roster
2 Ben Legath - Delweld
3 Alex Dirienzo - Clippers
5 Ross Dirienzo - Clippers
7 Ryan Orlovsky
8 Ian Helsel - Delweld
9 Adam Ferita
10 Eric Weyant
11 Joel Polites - Delweld
12 Drew Hemminger .
13 Grant Noon UTL - Delweld
15 Marcus Shippey
16 Austin Sleek
17 MP Buckley 1B/OF
19 Michael VanLenten - Clippers
20 Devin Pritts
22 Nick DiDiano
23 Zach Solarczyk - Delweld
24 Logan Brown
28 Stone Rice - Delweld
29 Luke Campbell
34 Randy Brewer - Clippers

I'd say Renegades is the third top team, but the majority of their team appears to be from Westmoreland County. But It still seems like a good portion of the younger half of the AAABA league from the Johnstown region played Colt. Now the 4 Somerset kids that play for Delweld and played Colt for the Clippers definitely played both Legion and Colt.

[Manfred]

That dual-roster-ing is another issue that gets discussed in secret circles a lot.

[biffpocoroba]

POPULATION BASES
Bedford 43,222
Somerset 42,029
Richland 41,770
Conemaugh 37,981
Claysburg 30,422
Stoystown 25,875
Patton 24,694
Ebensburg 20,121 (no team in 2014)
Lilly 16,351
St. Michael 13,597
Portage 6,879

[sydfinch]

And now Patton is the same way.

3 Single-A districts (including the smallest public in the state) and one Double-A, which is going Single-A next year
3 struggling high school programs that won a total of 8 games this spring and one decent program
Seventh largest population base
What a juggernaut!

[Manfred]

Since some of you like to throw numbers out there, since Ebensburg doesn't have a team this year, and had 2 kids who now play for CV-Johnstown, do you add Ebensburg's 20K population to CVJ's 37K, to make it the biggest district in the league? You can spin any numbers any way you want.