American Legion baseball season canceled by state commander

American Legion baseball season officially was canceled across Pennsylvania on Monday, but Jason Bush isn’t ruling out playing games later this summer.

The Region 7 director and president of District 31 in Westmoreland County is trying to organize a one-year league that could provide the players a welcomed return to normalcy once the coronavirus pandemic restrictions are eased.

“We’re trying to explore some of those options. We can’t say we are under Legion auspices since Legion baseball has been shut down,” said Bush, who also is the manager for Latrobe’s Legion team.

“We’ve got so many kids itching to play ball. We’ve got a lot of kids who are high school seniors who haven’t been seen by college coaches or made decisions. We’re trying to keep that window open. There’s some hurdles, no doubt. But, we’re not going to shut the door on April 13.”

The decision to cancel the season was made by Robert E. John, who is the Pennsylvania American Legion department commander. Bush expressed disappointed in the timing of the announcement, because the Legion season typically doesn’t begin until mid-May after the high school spring season is nearly complete.

The cancellation includes teams at the Senior and Junior Legion levels for the regular season as well as region and state tournaments. Most Western Pennsylvania teams under the Pennsylvania American Legion Baseball umbrella are included in Region 6 (Allegheny South, Beaver County, Fayette County) and Region 7 (Westmoreland County).

Teams had yet to hold tryouts or even finish the registration period in many cases.

“We were obviously disappointed because it came above the baseball faction,” Bush said. “It came from the commander of the state who decided to cancel all activities for 2020. The baseball directors had no say. The other disappointing part was we were going to stay put until May 1 and then make some decision. I wish we would have stuck with that (timing).”

The timing of the announcement seems to have confused many involved in Legion baseball, both close to home and around the state. Gov. Wolf’s stay-at-home order is in place through April 30, well before the Legion season would have begun.

“High school season would have had three full weeks, plus playoffs still,” Bush said. “Typically, in a season, we wouldn’t get those kids for four, five, six more weeks which is why I thought it was a premature to make the decision now.”

Last week, the American Legion World Series and regional tournaments were canceled, which left each state to decide how it would handle the respective seasons.

The PIAA also announced last week its decision to cancel all spring sports, including baseball, for 2020.

“It’s disappointing for the young men who can never get this year back,” said Kiski Valley manager Denny Montgomery, whose team includes players from Freeport, Kiski Area and other nearby A-K Valley schools. “Being 56 years old, you never get it back. I thought we might wait a little longer and see what Gov. Wolf and others would say in early May, but I respect their opinion.”

Hempfield East won the past two Region 7 championships and expected to field a team capable of challenging for a title again. Last season, East finished as the runner-up at the state tournament and qualified for the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

“We put a lot into it already this year, but safety first,” said Hempfield East manager Scott Smith, whose team includes players from Greensburg Salem, Hempfield and Greensburg Central Catholic. “We expected the same, honestly. We have some really good kids coming up and the returning kids, including the starting infield and one of the starting outfielders; the pitching lineup is promising; plus, two good catchers coming back.

“I am a little disappointed they made this decision this soon. We had time.”

Many managers and others around youth and Legion baseball are concerned about missing an entire season of development and the trickle-down effect for years to come.

“Legion baseball is going to suffer some numbers-wise because of this,” Montgomery said. “Kids will find something else to do. I’m concerned about the long-term effect this will have.

“Repetition in everything is how you get better. That extra year is priceless.”

While there are issues with timing, costs, insurance fees and other logistical details, Bush is hopeful to be coaching baseball this summer, if given the go ahead by state government officials. He said he received inquires from 11 teams for a possible upstart league almost immediately Monday.

“We’re not going to give up hope just yet on our side,” he said.