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    • American Legion Baseball in NJ: Why Has It Decline?
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    American Legion Baseball in NJ: Why Has It Decline?

    Vaseline Posted on

    For decades, American Legion baseball was a fixture of North Jersey summers.

    This summer there was not a single team in Bergen, Passaic, Morris or Sussex counties.

    This absence is part of a larger trend in New Jersey and beyond.

    In 2008, there were 336 Legion teams in the Garden State. In 2017, there were only 51 teams. This summer, there were 23 teams, all from the midstate.

    “There are several reasons why baseball has declined in the New Jersey Legion over the years, but the primary cause is the rise and growth of club and travel ball,” said Frank Calandrillo Jr., longtime chairman of the New Jersey Baseball Committee. “Little by little, the teams declined.

    “Some years we’ll see a Legion field a team and then the next year they’re gone. That wasn’t always the case. The league flourished at one point because it was once one of the few games in town for high school players.”

    New Jersey isn’t alone. Delaware (seven teams this summer), Florida (28), Georgia (four), California (63), Florida (28), Oklahoma (eight) and Texas (six) have all seen significant declines over the past 15 years.

    The Glory Days of American Legion Baseball

    The American Legion introduced its baseball program in 1925. According to its website, Legion baseball was the first program in the world to hold a national baseball tournament for teens.

    A year later, posts in 15 different states introduced teams, organized and sponsored teams, established local schedules, and held championship tournaments.

    Nearly 100 years later, the format hasn’t changed much. The national tournament still follows a similar format: 64 teams play in eight regional locations, with eight teams advancing to the World Series. The winning team earns a trip to Major League Baseball’s World Series, a tradition that dates back to 1926.

    Irvington Post 16, from Essex County, won New Jersey’s first state title in 1928. Lyndhurst Post 139 was Bergen County’s oldest team and winner of three state titles

    Brooklawn Post 72, from Camden County, has won a record 32 state titles and four national championships (1991, 2001, 2013, 2014). Trenton Post 58 is the only other New Jersey post to win a national title, in 1948.

    Last Friday, Brooklawn won its second straight New Jersey state title, a 7-4 comeback win over Bordentown at the Wood-Ridge Athletic Complex. Brooklawn (27-6) advances to the American Legion Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament, Aug. 7-11, in Ridge, Md. The winner of that tournament advances to the World Series, Aug. 15-20 in Shelby, North Carolina.

    “There were hundreds of teams in the state when I played Legion ball in Parsippany in the ’80s,” said John Kroeger, director of player and program development and assistant coach at Wagner College. “Once travel ball came along, it went downhill.”

    Decreasing participation

    The travel ball is not the only factor.

    American Legion has strict rules regarding residency and age.

    Players can only play for the post closest to their school or hometown.

    “A rule like this doesn’t work for everyone,” Calandrillo said. “Some want more freedom and scope to play where they want.”

    Players must be between 14 and 19 years old.

    “With fewer college boys and college teams in the area, Legion baseball was forced to raise the age limit from 18 to 19,” Kroeger said. “Now you see mostly college boys playing Legion baseball. That’s what you see more of now.”

    The COVID-19 pandemic has also hit Legion teams hard.

    “Just as we were starting to build our numbers back up and get interest from the high school community, everything came to a screeching halt and the momentum stopped,” said Scott Frezzo, the newly hired director of Bergen County Legion baseball. “We haven’t been able to bounce back the way we had hoped.”

    What’s next?

    Frezzo will take over as the head of Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties in the fall. He remains optimistic about the future of Legion baseball in North Jersey.

    “When you play American Legion baseball, everyone gets a chance to play the game. It’s a chance for kids and families of all backgrounds and financial statuses to get in front of college recruiters and showcase their game,” he said. “Legion ball gives back to the kids in so many ways, including a chance to play at the next level.”

    Kroeger expects the number of teams in New Jersey to remain about the same, perhaps even approaching 30.

    “The only good thing about it is that with 30 teams you get some of the best players and you don’t just have out-of-town teams like you used to,” he said. “The competition is pretty good. I wouldn’t be here to watch it if it wasn’t. The games are exciting with good pitching, defense and solid baseball, as far as I’m concerned. Back in the day, American Legion baseball was the thing.”

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