The American Legion’s national Americanism Commission canceled its Legion baseball regional tournaments and World Series on April 7. But South Dakota’s American Legion baseball commissioners met Saturday to say sure, we’ll play ball this summer:
“After a long discussion, it was decided to allow a season for American Legion baseball in South Dakota, which will obviously include certain guidelines,” American Legion Athletic Commission’s Dan Sudbeck said.
Local states such as North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin have canceled their legion seasons, but South Dakota will go on for now.
Sudbeck says the state is still planning on a state tournament, but that could change.
“At this point, we are planning on state and region tournaments, unless things go or get out of control with the COVID-19 situation,” Sudbeck said [Grant Sweeter, “South Dakota to Move Forward with Legison Baseball in 2020,” KELO-TV, 2020.05.09].
Yesterday, American Legion national HQ said no, you’re not, at least not with our blessing or insurance:
…The American Legion National Organization has shut down all sponsorship and all involvement in baseball for the 2020 season. This shutdown of all sponsorship and all involvement in baseball for the 2020 season means that those baseball teams that wish to continue playing 2020 season baseball shall be participating in a sporting event not sponsored, nor endorsed in any manner, by The American Legion National Organization, but sponsored and endorsed solely by the group the team is named. Any baseball team that continues play in the 2020 season sponsored by the group the team is named must understand that its team is not playing as an American Legion National Organization “registered” baseball team and it is not playing in an American Legion National Organization baseball program.
The complete cancellation of the 2020 American Legion National Organization baseball season means there is no American Legion National Organization baseball program “national rules,” nor are there “national guidelines,” as there is no 2020 American Legion national involvement. In other words, if an American Legion Department has a 2020 season baseball program, then that Department is having “The Department of ‘X’ American Legion Baseball Program – not authorized, nor endorsed by The American Legion National Organization.” Those departments that conduct this 2020 baseball season program will need to determine their rules, guidelines, schedules, insurance coverage, etc., for their own programs as The American Legion National Organization will not provide this assistance. The American Legion National Organization has already stopped collecting, and subsequently returned to all teams any and all national baseball team fees to the respective teams. With the shutdown of the online National American Legion Baseball registration portal, The American Legion National Organization has stopped referring baseball teams to the K&K Insurance portal for the 2020 baseball season.
The departments that have their own programs will need to determine what insurance their teams need in order to play in their programs; The American Legion National Organization will not provide this assistance. All baseball teams that paid to The American Legion National Organization administrative fees shall have these fees reimbursed to the teams. All other situation(s) that may arise during the 2020 baseball season in a department that elects to have a 2020 baseball season is a situation for that particular department as that particular department is solely responsible for its decision to any situation(s) as The American Legion National Organization staff and volunteers are not authorized to address or help with any department’s situation(s)” [American Legion National Headquarters, public statement, quoted in Greg Beesley, “Legion Baseball Canceled in 2020,” KFYR-TV, 2020.05.10].
Rapid City teams, which began practicing last week with the city’s blessing, insist they’ll still play:
…The season is still on, [Post 22 manager Kelvin] Torve said. They’ll still play their schedule and the South Dakota coaches have a tentative meeting Wednesday to move forward.
“We’ve already had a couple of meetings, and it is virtually unanimous that everybody wants to have a season,” he said. “We may have a state tournament, and it obviously would be unofficial, so it remains to be seen. The encouraging thing is all of the coaches in South Dakota want to play and we’re going to try to figure something out.”
Post 320 manager Brian Humphries said that the national cancellation doesn’t really make a whole lot of difference as they were going to play baseball, whether it would be Legion or not.
“We had already planned that if it would happen, and most thought it could happen seeing the country as a whole falling in suit canceling their seasons,” he said. “The only thing that could change is I did hear that the Gopher Classic might be canceled, although it hasn’t been confirmed. It will be about being able to add some more games if the big tournaments get canceled” [Richard Anderson, “National Legion Baseball Pulls the Plud; Hardhats, Stars Still Expected to Play,” Rapid City Journal, 2020.05.10].
The Sioux Empire Baseball Association tweets it plans to play ball starting May 29, assuming the city opens up the parks for team activities.
Pretty effing stupid people in South Dakota to put kids and their families at risk.
I’ve been thinking about how this could happen safely, but would it be baseball?. Here are my ideas:
The catcher, batter and umpire would have to be at least six feet distant from each other, and all wearing masks.
You can’t socially distance in a dugout, so players would have to be spread out along the foul lines.
No spectators.
No sharing of bats or other equipment.
The ball would have to be sanitized after every pitch, unless the pitcher and all fielders used a glove of some sort on their throwing hand.
Needless to say, no spitballs, and no spitting in general.
No one could be tagged out as that violates social distancing.
My conclusion is this is not baseball, but not doing these things puts young folks in danger. Baseball is mostly about fantasy, but needlessly endangering people is not. Live in reality, for Christ sake. Cancel the goddam season. There’s always next year, as someone once said of baseball.
Donald, how about 14 days before the first practice, test all the players and coaches, then quarantine the team and do not break quarantine until after elimination from the state tournament? Keep our baseball teams a sterile-covid-safe environment.
My granddaughter competed in two HS rodeos Saturday. They were conducted at Wall SoDak and consisted of two consecutive rodeos. Philip SoDak’s HS rodeo followed Wall’s in the same arena.
The track season was cancelled. Not rodeo, though. Do MAGA caps deter CV19 bugs?
With Donald Pay’s rules, which I find are good and necessary, sunflower seed companies would go bankrupt. No spitting?
Unfortunately, or fortunately sometimes insurers risk assessments step in when the adults fail to lead. Kudos to the national Am Legion for acting like the adults, adults sorely lacking in South Dakota.
Rodeo isn’t governed by SDHSAA, so I guess they can do whatever they want. What sort of social distancing precautions did those rodeos follow, Bob? How many people were in the stands? Did competitors and their help keep their distance from each other?
Indeed, Donald, all the contact, dugout seating, gear sharing, and oh my spitballs—running a baseball game is pretty tough under the current public health risks. I appreciate the importance of trying to preserve some important elements of youth and summer for our young people, but is reconfiguring and maintaining baseball really worth the hassle and the risk?
Consider: does a restaurant really want a busload of strangers from elsewhere piling in for a fast supper? Will the boys have to pack sandwiches for their road games?
It has been my observation there can be no baseball without spitting. Kids seem to learn this from a very young age. :-)
o,
Definitely would work. That’s how the Chinese kept COVID out of their meat plants, along with constant testing. But, would South Dakota do for baseball what they wouldn’t do for workers at a business supposedly essential for the nation’s food supply and South Dakota’s economy? I doubt it.
Speaking of insurance, this will put the cities up for responsibility as they own the ball fields. Better think it through boys, could be costly.
Cory, I do whatever I can to avoid going to rodeos. In this case, it was enough to simply not know about it until my daughter got bored enough to call me to tell me where she was.
Some parents of softball players, especially in the South, are very upset that an ASA softball season has not begun. The American Softball Association is the big one that the large majority of games play by.
USSSA is a smaller softball org with slightly different rules than the standard. They’re planning on beginning play fairly soon.
The parents complaining in the FB group sound very similar to the anti-health protesters. I imagine the baseball complainers sound about the same as well.
Debbo, I worry that people will believe what they want to believe. They will choose the information that affirms their desires, and they will use the nihilism promoted by Trump to dismiss any evidence to the contrary.
If I were feeling really unneighborly, I’d say, fine, let nature run its course. Let people who will choose trivial pursuits over health and safety go out and congregate, and let coronavirus weed their lack of common sense from the population.
But their contagion won’t be isolated. Those folks will spread the disease, and then at least some of them will be in the grocery store when I make my trip for necessary supplies, or they will send their kids to school to be cooped up in classrooms in September with my child. Or they will be crowding in too close at church when my wife is trying to conduct a reasonable service with social distancing guidelines. Their error won’t be contained. The idiots will take some of us with them.
Because they are living a heedless life, they are forcing me to live an even more constrained life… and making the sacrifices I’m already making worthless.
Exactly true, Cory. Exactly true.
Maybe we are NOT all in this together.
Something all liberals need to watch, IMO. You can skip the Bronx candidate but the rest of Nomiki’s interview and discussion on where the Democratic party needs to go is quite good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GYXqSdebtk
An hour and a half! For the love of humanity, you wasted an hour and a half watching that Clyde? I won’t even devote that much time to porn. Edit it Clyde, snippets are so much better.
Gosh, Golly. What’s gonna happen when Timmy breaks his leg stealing second? Dad’s out of work so his employer provided health insurance isn’t.
There’s no American Legion insurance. The team has a policy ???
OK, OK …. USA, USA, FREEDUM !!