2025 Would have been the best legion all-stars ever
To Celebrate 100 Years of American Legion Baseball
2025, the Centennial Anniversary year for American Lewgion Baseball, was slated to be the best Minnesota Legion All-Star event ever.
Well. It should have been anyway. It would have been the fifth year since we started. And the third year for an all-turf baseball tournamnent weekend. This would have been a great weekend for Legion baseball and a great weekend for Legion players, Legion coaches, and for Legion families. And it should have been a greatr opportunity for Minnesota Legion Baseball as well.
The lineup plan:
- A PBR Showcase to make sure the guys have videos and stats recorded.
- Practice With the Coaches
- NEW!!! Legion All Star Night at the Saints. With the entire left field pavillion open to us, all you can eat, game seats, and tickets available for the entire family to join in. What fun.
- NEW!!! A companiion Invitational Touurnament to allow us to include more player opportunities as we had more than twice the player interest than we could fill in all-star jerseys in 2024.
- Big time opening ceremonies with special guests
- An expanded Meet The College Coaches Breakfast panel.
- Three to four games for each guy to show his stuff with plenty of time to make new and lasting friendships .
- Special secret rewards for participants of the "Sunset Games" - the last games of the weekend.
Our goal was to build the best showcase tournament and family weekend of any American Legion program in the country. Mission accomplished in 2024. Our college coach community endorsed and supported this event on the field, on discussion panels, and scouting in the stands. Many Legion baseball players got connected to future colleges. Many new collaborators come to support Legion baseball including major state youth baseball organizations, area businesses, and the Minnesota Twins. There was talk of nerw sponsors joininbg in what they saw was the feresh face of Legion baseball. A refreshing thought indeed.
The Legion All-Star Prospect Series: Serving kids, coaches, families, and the American Legion. What was there not to like? It was a program and an event that any state Legion organization would be proud of. But not ours. Not Minnesota. Not the half dozen or so individuals that run the show on the Minnesota Baseball Board. Why would that baseball board group have such a growing disdain for such a popular program that many board members made sure to send their local players?
On November1st, 2024, we received a formal "Cease and Desist" letter sent on behalf of the Baseball board and its director and vice-directors. it came from Tim Engstrom who is employed by the state of Minnesota American Legion headquarters and sits on the baseball board with the title of secretary. Until November 1st, we had never heard a single complaint about the All-Star program from the Board or its officers - at least to our faces.
Why kill All-Stars?
Have you heard any explanation?
Did the baseball board even announce the end of all-stars?
The 2025 Legion All Star Plan
The All-Star Event Honored Legion Baseball In 2023
The Good Times Rolled Or So It Seemed
The All-Star program was created in 2019 for the 2020 seaon. All Stars was established as an official function of the Minnesota Legion Baseball Board - an internal event like a state tournament . At inception, founder Mike Perry, a member of the baseball board as State Junior Director, had just served seven years as the State Baseball Director. Randy Schaub is Mike's successor. The two state directors had weekly "directors" talks at least until September 22, 2024, when Schaub quit all contact with Perry. No phone calls, No emails. Dead silence. What leader does that? All-Stars was truly an 'inside job". The All-Star effort required hundreds upon hundreds of hours from many volunteers including Legion supporters and Legion coaches. What fun - new people, new ideas, and new energy. No baseball board member had to help out or even attend, although they were encouraged and invited. One member on the board did offer advice and assistance. It was appreciated. Until that support reversed behind the scenes.
The New State Director Says Let's Grow and Build - Try New Things
From the outset in 2019. the new State Director Randy Schaub welcomed the All-Star initiative to his new regime. He said he wanted to develop new initiatives and he wanted to grow Legion baseball. He recognized the growth of club baseball. New opportunities - that was Randy Schaub back then. All-Stars was just such an initiative. Randy had some other ideas as well. Randy and his vice-director Brandon Raymo promised full support. We promised to create a first-class program. And we delivered.
2023 All-Stars and the Baseball Board In Harmony
2023 had the All-Star effort and the Baseball Board seemingly moving forward together in lock step. All-Stars was taking a big leap forward with turf fields, more games, two levels (Junior and Senior All-Stars), game jerseys and more. The number of players jumped dramatically from the initial test in Year 1 leaping from 3 teams to 8 teams . Player numbers increased from 40 to 170. With a much bigger projected 2023 budget, three fellows (Tim Engstrom, Randy Schaub, and Jim Peck) obtained additional sponsorship with their relationship with Scheels. Randy Schaub and Scheels personnel participated in 2023 All-Star Opening Ceremonies.
The new Junior Tournament was a first year success leading us to move it to turf along side of the senior tournament in Roseville. Crowds were surprisingly strong as they came from all over the state to watch Legion All-Stars.
The development of All-Stars was expected to generate new ideas. It was expected to engage many more poplle inside and outside of Legion baseball. There would be issues, concerns, and opportunities that would need discussion.
On August 10, 2023, Mr. Barron asked Randy Schaub (for the third time) to establish a formal board liaision or better yet a Development Subcommittee with board members assigned. Randy rolled his eyes, and stated that "You guys are my development committee." That would leave Randy to be our sole point of contact for communications and planning. Bad answer Randy. The program was growing and we knew better coordination was essential with your baseball board.
The 2023 event had good times and good feelings. With more and better and bigger yet to come. Or so we thought. The seeds of destruction were already sown as it turned out. We just didn't know it at the time.
The All-Star Event Honored Legion Baseball In 2024
2024 Really Shined Brightly For Legion Baseball in Minnesota
All-Stars Took It Another Step Forward -
The 2024 All-Stars built off the success of the previous year. Some highligbhts:
- 11 teams on the field - up from 8
- 16 games on the turf fields of Northwestern University and Bethel University
- Side-by-side Junior and Senior tournaments
- Large Opening Ceremonies with a crowd that packed the stadium
- Broader collaborations and new sponsors that were excitred about Legion baseball
- The Minnesota Twins endorsed Legion All-Stars (for the first time ever) bringing 17 time All-Star Rod Carew to support the event
- Ten televised all-star games drew 4,000 views on our YouTube channel
- Many great Legion coaches came from across the state to help with the event, coach kids on the field, and lend their support in-person. - great support
- 70% of the all-stars (both Junior ans Senior) came from outstate. What an opportunity to play in front of college coaches
- 35 college coaches (a record for any Legion event) attended to coach on the field, speak on a panel, and scout from the stands
- Nearly 100 communities sent in nominations for players - a record
- 84 communities had players selected to all-star teams
- Attendance was the strongest ever with local fans, families, and supporters from across the state coming to support and celebrate Legion baseball
- There were more that two nominees for every all-star spot as interest was exploding - hence our interest in developing an "over flow" event to accomodate more Lewgion players and families
- Many people volunteered to play active roles in the 2025 All-Star program
- People felt renewed excitement for Legion baseball witjh many wanting to do more than just a one weekend event
Feom the outset. the development of All-Stars was expected to generate other ideas, welcome or not. It was expected to engage many more people inside and outside of Legion baseball. There would be issues, concerns, and opportunities that would need discussion. Good stuff for Legion Baseball! Indeed, many people were reinvigorated about Legion baseball. There is nothing bad about positive energy.
But negativity seemed to grow behind the scenes - behind the baseball board scene that is. No one would openly talk about it. But we could see apparent hostility, vanishing communications, and vanishing suppport from the director and his baseball board. The better All-Stars performed, the more the shot-callers on the baseball board aligned in opposition. Insiders in particular pointed to what we now cal;l "The Substate Grudge of 2023" where a vocal supporter of All-Stars apparently did a 180 degree turn.
Did All Star success scare the Legion Director and his baseball board?
We called it "Under Cutting". It started in 2023. See the "Under Cutting" chapter below for more info.
November 1 2024 They Killed Minnesota Legion ALl-Stars
The M innesota State Legion Issued a "Cease and Desist" Letter
The Cease & Desist letter came on State Legion letterhead. It came in a State Legion envelope and was delivered from a State Legion email address dated November 1, 2024. We took it as not only a letter from Randy Schaub (and his officers Jeff "Slick" Miller and Brandon Raymo) of the baseball board, but also as an offcial communique from the Minnesota Amnerican Legion organization itself - as the author is employed at the state Legion headquarters
The obvious intent was to kill the All-Star program and, quite frankly, to banish its founders Mike Perry and Bruce Barron from Minnesota American Legion Baseball. The author of the letter used the label "fraud" as a smear against the founders. These actions are unprecedented in the 100 year history of American Legion baseball in MInnesota.
Our Response:
The premise and storyline presented in the Cease and Desist letter is 100% false - and the authors know it to be false.
When the basis and truthfulness of the story was challemnged, the story was dropped (not retracrted however) with two more storylines advanced. Both new stories blamed Barron and Perry as reqquiring or forcing an end to All-Stars. Yes. It was the All-Star founders and not the officers and board members that brought about the dramatic end.
Our Declaration - all three stories are false. You can read about them. You can decide. We have our truth and we are telling it. These are our views and our opinions. Barron and Perry have opbver 80 ytears combined ewx[perience in Legion baseball. We think we lnow what we are talking about.
on November 1st 2024 They Killed Minnesota Legion ALl-Stars
The Director's Silence Followed By the Execution
A Report, A Phone Call, Then a Total Board and Randy Blackout
Founder Bruce Barron presented a report in person at the September 21th 2024 board meeting. There was a lot of information to share. There were many topics that should be discussed. We had been at the all-star effort for five years without being invited to a board meeting. One would expect there would be information, ideas, and concerns to share. Barron's Report is a 12 page document that is shared HERE. The board members could not have appeared more hostile. A few days later, Randy Schaub spoke with Mike Perry. He said his members were so unruly and nasty when Barron left the room, that he sent an email to the entire board to ask them to set aside personal agendas and to be open to new ideas. The two state directors have never spoked since. Mr. Schaub totally withdrew from the scene erecting instead a wall of silence. Such tactics can only cause friction and rising hostility. What an amazing display of leadership skills, Mr. State Director.
The All-Star Massacre and Banishment of Barron and Perry
By the fall of 2024, that baseball board or at least its most powerful voices, had no personal allegiance to all-stars. Why? The program was developed from Day 1 as a direct function of Legion baseball and an official function of its baseball board. All-stars was a direct report to the state director. It was always an inside program designed to showcase Legion baseball in Minnesota. It was to celebrate baseball and players. But in a world driven by personal agendas as Director Randy liked to call it, the power players on the board not only refused to be a part of the success, they undercut it and killed it.
For what good purpose? Who benefitted from their actions? Who's agenda was furthered? We have a pretty good idea. A tiny few think they have flexed their power muscles and that must feel good. But not good enough to come out in the open. Multiple changing fake stories only masks the real story.
On November 1 2024, we recieved a "Cease and Desist" letter from Tim Engstrom, a state Legion employee and the baseball board's secretary, printed on the official letterhead of the State of Minnesota American Legion. So the Minnesota State Legion was closing down all-stars? Of course it was on behalf of Randy, his officers, their inner circle of the baseball board, and the other board members.
Changing Stories - All False and a Smear Campaign
The baseball board leadership killed Legion All Stars and launched a smear campaign against its two founders. The essentially banished from Legion baseball and blamed Mike Perry and Brice Barron for causing an end to all stars. Why? What was the justification?
- Mom said that you only need to tell the truth once. A lie will have multiple iterations.
- A lawyer said : If you have the facts- argue the facts. If you have the law - argue the law. If you have neither the facts or the law - then lie like hell.
Neither the State Director, the Vice-Directors, the Secretary and Communications person, or the supporting board members have been willing to publicly explain their drastic actions. Their actions are unprecedented in Minnesota American Legion Baseball history. However, there are documents and a couple of conversations that reveal 3 1/2 stories offered by Randy Schaub and his cohorts. They followed in sequence.
- They Hijacked Our Legion Brand. They stole from us. They are frauds.
- He was Caustic. Some feelings were hurt.
- The All-Star guys were going to use the Prospect Series to steal top-tier Legion players to start their own league. They are frauds.
We Will Tell Our Story and Give You the Documents
Yes indeed. Multiple storylines emerged. In our view they are total garbage. Each story is false and we have no doubt that they know the stories to be phony.
- We will tell what we know and what we think.
- We will offer opinions which after a combined 80 years of Legion baseball experience, we are entitled to share. Free speech is a right central to the Americanism doctrine of the American Legion.
- You can read the documents. You can read our response. You be your own judge.
Bad System. Wrong People. Bad Results.
We have been lifetime proponents of Legion baseball. We are shocked at the behavior of a handful of people that are wierdly granted full operatinal control of trhe country's largest baseball program - 360 teams, 5,500 players, 1,200 coaches, and 11,000 parents. All decisions rest with a tiny group of unelected, appointed for life board members that have no accountability under the Minnesota American Legion chaerter with the baseball group.
We see a stunning failure of people and a bad system that, without accountability, can be distorted and taken over by people that seek exclusive authority and control. American Legion takes a fundamental stand against autocray (dictatorship) and stands for Democracy and American values and institutions. Minnesota Legion baseball is the opposite of democrartic values. It is autocratic - a tiny few controlling all aspects of baseball with the mindset that they "own" Legion baseball. But, in reality, under the agreement with the state Legion organization, these guys ac tually are the owners. Autocratoc owners at that. Leaders are normally supposed to serve the program, the players, and the coaches. Not the other way around. We never would have imagined the Minnesota Baseball Board becoming a more abusive group that acts as a secret gang. That's our opinion. You make your own.
More recent board activity reinforces what amounts to be a pattern of behavior that rejects any opinions or views that are outside of the Power 8 on the board. Recent activity reinforces the wall of secrecy that shields decision makeers for visibility and accountability.
The Story is told in chapters listed below.
Why Multiple Stories? How about one truth?
Why Do Bruce and Mike Scare You Into Changing Storylines?
This is a quick response (to the cancellation of Legion All Stars) because I'm just getting to the school. Tons of typos but the basic info is what I wanted...
I pr
One Prominent Coach Speaks His Mind
Randy and The Board: You Hurt Programs and Kids
This is a quick response (to the cancellation of Legion All Stars) because I'm just getting to the school. Tons of typos but the basic info is what I wanted...
I presume Legion was created for kids to play baseball regardless of where they're from. They implemented rules because they wanted fair play. They wanted to ensure people followed regulations to participate in the "Legion" league. With our technology constantly evolving to new "clubs" and "associations", how does Legion think they will be relevant in a couple of years if they won't advance to accommodate those kids that can't afford club ball but want to participate at the highest level? I thought Legion was created for this exact reason. It resembles something of the past. They will continue to operate with a rag-tag group of old men trying to keep an outdated dream alive, while club ball continues to explode and take the best players out of small towns and the few local players left will try to scrap together a team. Since Legion All Stars was created I have been lucky enough to have 3 players make appearances. All 3 have come home with great stories and new experiences they otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford playing club ball. They have all since been in talks with college coaches! Legion is supposed to be inclusive. We need to allow players and parents the opportunity regardless of income to put all talents on display. Being the local HS coach I talk to college scouts who said the first recruiting tool is PBR baseball, then HS coaches, and then boots-on-the-ground recruiting. Why have MLB scouts been cut in half throughout the entire US? Because Major League and College Baseball finally figured out that if clubs are willing to put together ALL-star tournaments and in-depth stat sheets like PBR and other clubs why would they go to any small-town games when the event brings the player right to them? I came from a small town and was college recruited from the MN state HS All-Star Game, if that wasn't an option when I was growing up I highly doubt I would've had that opportunity to play college baseball. Our HS never had scouts at a game, and we never saw college coaches at our practice. If the Legion All-Star game isn't the right way to reboot Legion Baseball, I'd like to hear from the Legion board what is. How am I going to keep my legion team afloat if I continue to lose kids in xxxxxx to Club baseball? We're over 45 min away from any club teams and I have already dealt with players lost to the sales pitch of club ball. Right now I have almost 10 players in spring club ball that have yet to say they are going to come back for summer. What's the answer Legion? I'd love to hear how you're going to rebuild Legion Baseball. I don't have time to fight the good fight right now because I'm going to be ramping up for HS ball but this game needs to be played. Tell Legion teams they need to nominate and we can call it the "NON-ATTACHED TO LEGION ALL STAR GAME" parody so All Stars can still exist.
It is time to tell it all - Who killed All Stars and why
Overview: Phony Stories and a Smear Campaign
In past years, we would be gearing up for Legion All Stars 2025. Coaches would nominate kids. Families would make plans. The college coach community would line up to be on a coach's panel, to coach Legion kids on the field, and to scout Legion talent from the stands.
But not anymore.
A handful of baseball board officers and board members killed All-Stars. We find evidence of three different storylines. None are true. The truth, as many know, is something you only need to tell once and the you can just repeat it. Falsehoods often involve multiple versions. When one story fails another story pops up instead.
Any program or organization relies on trust and integfrity. These are fundamental principles of the American Legion.
We will offer what we know, what we think, and some opinions to boot. We will present several documents for the reader to consider. The Legion baseball board is a small group that operates behind closed doors. Most in Legion baseball land have no idea what decisions are made., who made them, or how they were made. With over 80 years of combined experience in Legion baseball we have been shocked at what we have seen in the past months. You be your own judge.
The Legion All Star program grew quickly from an idea and trial testing into the largest Legion All-Star program in the country. And that was only after two years of a full rollout. Minnesota coaches and players love Legion baseball and want to do more with the program that the standard season and playoffs. The Minnesota all-star program was one of the only all-star programs to feature sophopmore and junior players - the very guys that are hoping to play college ball. Graduated senior know where they are headed. The younger guys are the ones that need exposure to information about the changing college landscape. The younger guys are the ones that are targeted by club teams who wish to pull them away from their local community teams either on a part-time or full time basis
By any stretch and by any metric, the All Star initiative was a smashing success. 170 players from 75 communities all across Minnesota came to Roseville to compete in two tournaments - Junior and Senior. Seventy percent (70%) of the players came from outstate. College coaches supported the program by turning out in unprecedented numbers to coach Legion kids on the field as scout from the stands. Never has any Legion baseball function seen such a turnout. The college guys called Legion All Stars - "The best showcase tournament in all of Minnesota."
Tell us, oh wise Board members most of whom are out-staters - where are Legion kids going to ever have the chance to play before 35 college coaches? The answer is - We don't care.
Legion All-Stars was an internal function of American Legion baseball in MInnesota. Legion baseball coaches and supporters rallied to the program and volunteered to join the effort in numbers we did not foresee. Not only did a record 170 players make it onto All-Star squads, but an additional 215 kids were oiminated that we could not place on teams. The overflow suggested we should to consider a basketball format like the NCAA- NIT sort of thing. Top-line Legion coaches not only embraced the All-Star effort, they wantesd to develop more opportunities for their communities and for Legion baseball. The crowds that attended both tournaments were impressive. Live-game broadcast had over 4,000 views (a record). Our website had over 35,000 visits (a record). Positive press coverage traversed the entire state as local media followed their local players.
American Legion baseball and American Legion players and American Legion coaches were showcased at a level of quality that was tryly All Star. Talent can vary from year to year. But the quality of the event must always be first class.
Our All-Star program did not create the broad interest and enthusiasm for Legion baseball. Rather, All Stars tapped into a desire that exists across the entire state for a revitalized Legion program that offers more than a standard league play followed by season ending elimination in what we call "play offs". It is critical for Legion baseball to maintain league play, sectional playoffs and state tournaments. It is 2025 and the baseball landscape is vastly different that is was twenty or thirty years ago.
It Could Only Happen In Minnesota
Most any baseball organization would be thrilled with a program that was presented with cklass and was greeted with such great enthusiasm. Heck, new sponsors and new collaborators and even the Minnesota Twins came forward to engage Legion baseball - or what they thought was "the NEW Legion baseball". The State Director was asked for three years in a row to better connect his board members with All Stars. We bet they would have had a fun time. The State Director refused to act, instead he took the oposite tect and reduced his own communications with All-Stars.
Nope. Not in Minnesota. Two Vice Directors (there are only two) and an Emeritus board member attended the National Legion annual meeting in September 2023. National Baseball Director Steve Cloud pushed All Star programs to all the states noting Minnesota as one of the states that had such a program. These guys reported the national all-star push to the entire board according to the minutes of the 2023 fall baseball board meeting.
The All Star program received great support from the baseball board in 2023. But that support ended behind the scenes. Most things happen with this baseball board and its officers behind the scenes, by the way. The goodwill and the growth of Legion All-Stars was not met with greater support. All Stars was not met with expanded communications and board member involvement. Quite the opposite occurred instead. The very guys (and others) that brought back Steve Clouds push for more all-stars in Legion baseball, were part of the group that spent the next year undercutting the all-star program. And they were a leading group in killing the All-Star program and any other possible opportunities on November 1, 2024.
- Who kills a program that benefits kids and families and the American Legion program?
- Who kills such a positive program and then floats three-and-a-half different stories, stories we know to be phony?
- Who promotes these storylines to the top brass at the Minnesota Legion organization, the broader baseball board, and then send out what we term the "secret" story to the entire Legion post command structure?
- Who keeps the Legion coaches in the blind? Who keeps the Legion players and parents in the blind?
- And who lashes out again the two All Star founders (Mike Perry and Bruce Barron) with such aggression that some called out as defamatory to cast them as frauds? These are two guys with over 80 years of combined service to Legion baseball with records that appear to be unblemished. Why attack two American Legion members in such a nasty manner?
Its People And The Minnesota Legion System
Yes. There are specific people most of whom wer will not name. But could. Names will be used within the narrative if they played specific roles known to us from direct contact or relayed by reliable third parties.
- Minnesota Legion baseball operates baseball under a unique and strange arrangement contained in a "constitution" that is not public. The State gives 100% control over all baseball matters including inmternal governance to the Minnesota Legion Baseball Board. No one looks over their shoulder. These people are not accountable to anyone. And they act like it.
- Unlike the state Legion itself, baseball uses an anti-democratic system. Not one officer or board member is elected by coaches. No other state Legion baseball program uses this model and no other state is seeking to adopt the Minnesota system.
- Board members have lifetime appointments. The people that stay around forever and the people with the strongest personalities dominate meetings and decisions. Having a position is very different from being a leader with a position.
- When critics point out that this board and its officers and members act like they own Legion baseball - that's because its true. They literally own Legion baseball in Minnesota.
- It may seem backward to many, Make no mistake: Legion baseball in Minnesota serves this board (or serves the control group within the board).
We Remain Stunned With the Audacity of These People
We Question the Very Fitness of Failed Leadereship
We have seen state directors come and go over the last 50 years. We have seen board members come and go. We never seen nor would have ever expected the sort of behavior that these folks have exhibited.
- Its not just All-Stars.
- You see it in the angry rejection of the entirte D1 Junior coaches.
- You see it in the process that gave you the wild new $25,000 commitment to buy hotel rooms for kids.
- You see it with state tournaments that use a short single-elimination versus a double elimination format just to save hotel costs. In double eliominatin, every game is a possible step to a championship. It maxmizes the playing experience for the kids. But players are merely a commodity to this board crew.
- You see it at a D2 substate when a coach approaches a board member to discuss the D2 system that ends the regular season just after the 4th of July and elimiates nearly 60% of the teams from ever seeing a substate field. The Board Member reply: Shut up. You just play baseball. Its never going to change.
- You see it in the written words of a state offcial playing that nice amiable role encouraging coaches to - bring me ideas while claiming to be supportive of opportunities for "players in Legion uniforms" - all the while doing his very best to cut off ideas, to close off communications with any one outside of his tiny group of board friends and to kill any meaningful opportunity including all-stars. Is it hypocritiocal? Is it dishonest? What is it? We don't prentend to know. But the difference between word and action is glaring.
Bad system? Bad people? Decent People Gone Haywire in a Bad System?
Keeping the Legin structure alive is important to all of us. We are Legion baseball people to the core.
- No one will claim that this outfit, the controllers of the baseball board, have made Legion baseball better. They haven't. They haveactually shrunk the Legion program to the very minimum.
- Whatever it is - Legion kids from around the state will never ever play in front of 35 college coaches in a Legion only event again.
- And no one in their right mind should trust the system or the people at the top.
